Event Details

Don't Put Lipstick on a Pig

Presenter: Gerri Hobdy

The nation raced to address equity after George Floyd’s murder.  His death and others like it triggered a world-wide response to do something. We couldn’t live with the discomfort. Diversity officers were again brought back to tables and hired. Magazine covers and media stories featured black people and corporations posted diversity and equity statements everywhere.

When people think of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) by now it is generally understood that the goal ideally is to promote a greater understanding and appreciation for one another, and to build and maintain a work culture that ensures everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

That is the idea but studies suggest that just introducing the term may actually harden negative assumptions and bias rather than opening the door to growth and cultural change. 

This session will suggest ways to identify and move past superficial efforts that may have negligible impact in changing a culture that hopes to be authentic in its efforts to embrace DEIA values.

DEIA is not a program, a workshop, or a box to check off.  To do it in earnest will require examination of historical systemic practices in your industry to exclude persons or hold power for a limited set of individuals.  Some of these practices have become so part of systems you can barely see them, making them difficult to address. These practices may be so ingrained that even individuals from excluded groups of people will perpetuate those practices unknowingly.  Knowing that a cultural shift is necessary is just a first step. Thought and effort must be applied to review parts of your systems to see if those practices are present and develop a strategy for change and within that, steps on how to introduce DEIA to your organization.