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Diversity & Inclusion (Generally):
D&I is a marathon, not a sprint.
Push leadership all day every day to be deliberate in their approach to D&I.
It is important that we appreciate the conversation around D&I as not excluding others based on difference, but rather how to respect, embrace and learn from our differences.
Treat D&I as you would any other business imperative--and that is with care and deliberation.
D&I & Leadership:
Be curious--of other people, their experiences, their lives. In this day and age, we actually have no excuse for ignorance outside of willful neglect.
Practice empathy--stemming from curiosity.
Show up for D&I events.
Ageism:
Make your voice known, which is not easy, but absolutely necessary.
Recruiting:
The biggest thing is to be present. Keep your ear to what is happening in the D&I space. Be in the know. Diversity pipeline programs. Seek referrals from underrepresented folks in your agency. Show up at multicultural career fairs. MAIP. Marcus Graham Project. AdColor. SheRunsIt. WeAreNext. Peruse academic institutions’ affinity groups. Engage diversity recruiting specialists. Put a premium on deliberately recruiting diverse candidates.
Authenticity:
If you feel you have to compromise so many layers of your authentic self before even walking in the door, is this really a place you want to work?
Interrupting Bias:
Pre-Convo
Take a deep breath and assume the speaker just doesn’t know any better—this is big. Shout out to a dear friend of mine for the mantra ‘First assumption is love...until you prove me wrong.’ Gets me through some hard moments.
Determine what you want from the convo—an apology? Punishment? A teachable moment?
Schedule time to speak to this person directly—Hey Joe, can we chat for a second?
The Convo
Have the convo in private—not in the bathroom or middle of the hall.
Keep the convo short, simple and direct.
Stick to the facts—when we were meeting earlier, I heard you say ‘X’.
Ask clarifying and open ended questions. ‘Would you tell me what you meant by that?’
Focus on how the statement made you feel—When you said x, I felt infantilized etc., the team felt ostracized. What have you...but be mindful of talking for everyone.
End with what you would like—I want you to be mindful of that going forward. Thank them for their time and keep it moving.
Worst case scenario, talk to HR.
Language:
The language we use to talk about people of color, women and LGBTQ (and a host of other identities) is dynamic and has socio-cultural and historical import. And consequently, how we talk about bias is tantamount to how we interrupt our biases. These conversations are meant to expose our vulnerabilities as humans and as such, are supposed to be uncomfortable for everyone. As we continue to have these oftentimes difficult conversations, it is important that we are open to learning the nuances and impact of the language we use.