I am finally launching my
first blog! With all of the thought that
I give to advancing innovation through increasing inclusion and creating real
diversity in the workplace, it has taken me a while to catch up to this
innovative means of communication!
;-) Perhaps because writing is an
isolated, team-less activity - until I hear from you that is. Once this becomes a dialogue and is no longer
a monologue it will be an inclusive activity for me.
I have been in the diversity
and inclusion business since 1988 when it was called EEO. Well, I have actually been involved with
diversity and inclusion much longer than that.
As a child of incredibly diverse parents: my father was from Puerto
Rico, where he was born in 1902 and my mother was a New Yorker, although born
in Canada in 1928 of Irish, English and German descent. There are nine of us,
but we have five half-siblings who are much older than I am, being the second
youngest of all. I grew up primarily in a
public housing project in Astoria, Queens, NY a neighborhood typical of many
port cities in its regular, almost tidal ethnic shift from one dominating group
to another. When I was a young girl, the
dominant ethnic group was Italian, but immigrants and migrants arrived daily
changing the demographic formula of the community.
The riots of the late 1960s left
an indelible impression on me of conflict, polarization, marginalization and segregation.
Some friends became distant, safe places became dangerous, and school yard
fights more frequent. I moved through
different worlds: White, Hispanic and others but never belonged fully to any of
them. I was intent on defending those
poor new kids from other countries whose hand-me-downs of green socks, brown
plaid skirts and red blouses screamed, “Bully me!” I was not immune to the attacks of racists however,
including the gang of girls who threw a bucket of water mixed with laundry
detergent on my sister and me while screaming “You dirty spicks!” My experiences inspired me to help others to navigate the
complexities of different cultures.
I
established Inclusion Strategy to help organizations to overcome barriers to
real innovation & diversity with real-world solutions. What that means is
that I use my many years of practical experience, or distance traveled,
professional experience and education to help employers hire, retain and grow
the best and brightest employees into amazing leaders and innovators who love
to come to work! That can be
accomplished through five basic steps: The 1st
step is to assess your current organization
culture; the 2nd step is to create a realistic,
measurable and flexible strategic inclusion plan; the
3rd step is to develop clear, concise communication on your commitment to being inclusive; the 4th step is to provide interactive, effective education on diversity, inclusion and culture and
measure results to determine your return on your investment; and the 5th step is to establish an Inclusion
Support Network© to make your investment
sustainable.
Future blog entries will include
details on the five steps that I have developed to advance inclusion in the
workplace; my observations on current events that relate to diversity and
inclusion; and excerpts from my upcoming book, Let’s Not Be Polite: 5
Barriers to True Inclusion and How to Overcome Them.
I also want to hear from
you. Remember, this needs to be an
inclusive exercise! What concerns you about workplace diversity and
inclusion? What observations have you
made regarding fairness in the workplace?
What has your experience been with discrimination or bullying? What do you think of leaders of organizations
that you have dealt with?
Back in 1988 when people
asked me what my goal was regarding my EEO work I would reply, “To put myself
out of business by ending discrimination.”
Twenty-five years later, the issues of diversity and inclusion are as
deeply entrenched in controversy and debate as they were back then so I no
longer harbor such a naïve goal. I remain as committed to diminishing the fear and
ignorance that divides us and keeps us from being our best today as I was when I
was a 10 year old girl mediating in the school yard. I invite everyone to explore the benefits of
real diversity in an inclusive society!
Onward!
Wendy Amengual Wark
April 25, 2013
www.inclusionstrategy.com
