Now that we've talked about how to reduce hidden biases in systems and at the individual level, I want to address the elephant in the room. Here I am offering advice on managing diversity, but let's be blunt. I'm a White person. I'm male. I'm straight. I'm able-bodied. I, myself, am not a great example of diversity in most workplaces. So what I'd like to do in this unit is to speak about the folks who are like me, from a majority or an advantaged group. If you're not the target of a particular diversity initiative for your team, basically, how can you help? How can you be a good ally or supporter of diversity? Well, I'd like to give you a few tips. The first thing to do, generally, is to proactively include yourself as a supporter. Remember we said that diversity initiatives are less successful when they're seen as being divisive rather than inclusive. Well, inclusion is really a two way street, and one thing you can do is to offer help to the person managing that initiative. For examples, if it's a mentorship program targeted toward people of color, see if you can sign up. By including yourself, you'll feel better about the initiative, and you'll also set a strong example for others. Another thing to try in meetings and other team dialogues is called Step Up, Step Back. What that means is that while you should include your view point in team decisions, try to be mindful of when you're taking up more than your share of meeting time. And try to then, quiet down so that other voices can be heard. Remember that teams benefit when more people contribute equally. By being aware of the fact that the more time you spend time talking, the less time available to others, you can be even more inclusive. So try to make a point of asking for other's opinions, especially if they tend to be a little bit quieter in those group settings. Now part of letting other's voices be heard means listening to their constructive feedback when you do something to offend them, even if it can be a little bit tough or uncomfortable to hear. One guarantee with any sensitive diversity issue is that we're all going to make mistakes. It's easy to unintentionally say something that might make a person from an underrepresented group feel less valued or just like they don't belong. This might be an insensitive joke or some other dismissive comment that relates to that person's gender, race, orientation or some other characteristic. So take a common example in the workplace. Someone might say to a working mother, I don't know how you do it all. It must be so hard to manage a household and have a full-time job. Now for those of us who have made a comment like that, it might be hard to see why that would be a problem. After all, in your mind, right, you're trying to be supportive. But notice that working dads almost never get comments like this. The hidden implication is, women should be the ones to take care of children and not men. We expect men to be employees and parents at the same time. But we often assume that a woman either can't or shouldn't do both. So if you make a comment like this, and you get called out for it. There are three things you should probably do. The first is to just sincerely apologize. This can be hard to do because most of us just don't see ourselves as racist, or sexist, whatever the case may be. And when someone challenges an offensive comment we made, our automatic reaction can be to get defensive. So try to pause and just resist that feeling. Put your ego aside, and as a way to open the door to a good conversation, just say, you know I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive, but it seems like I was, so let's talk about it. The second step is to seek to understand. Basically, just listen to the other person, and you'll probably learn something new about their personal experience which helps you form a better relationship with them. And this third step is then to discuss concrete steps to avoid making the same mistake. This demonstrates to them that while you’re not perfect, you have a positive intention of being more inclusive. Now what I hope I've shown you is that even if you're not the direct target of a diversity initiative for your team, you can still help out. Remember to be proactive in including yourself, step up and step back, and be open to criticism By following these steps, you can be a better supporter and ally of diversity in the workplace.
