WE WANT DIVERSITY – BUT CAN WE HANDLE DIVERSITY?
Posted on 15th March 2022 at 17:34
The joy of having different voices, different opinions, different motives, different attitudes…. differences in strengths and weaknesses is indeed just that – a joy. Comfortable?
Definitely not. But that’s just it – there is space for us all to be the very best that we can be. Unfortunately, the tolerance for us to be ourselves in the workplace isn’t easy and results in women feeling like they are ‘muted’ for fear of revealing their true thoughts, feelings, and skills to a work situation.
Lack of commitment to diversity
Lack of commitment to diversity in the workplace is impacting women returning to work the most.
RLE Critical Issues for Women survey results (majority = >50%) 179 women
In the same survey from 2020, women that we spoke to said:
“Majority of senior people are men. I am expected to behave and dress a certain way. How do I continue to progress by adapting to meet the needs of senior positions whilst maintaining my individuality?”
They also posed the following question…..
“How do I juggle work-life balance and expectations in a male-dominated environment.”
As a black female in education, I have been welcomed, championed, and rejected in equal measure – the sense of belonging in organisations remains with you and also the sense that there is a ‘set way of doing things’ or ‘ways of being’ in organisations are quickly communicated and corrected, despite the mission statement or the values that the organisation proudly commits to on their websites and social media posts. The challenge will always remain where the desire for diversity is not matched with the skills and strategies to celebrate diversity. We need to look at our assumptions and challenge them. In this ever-changing world, we are seeing, clearly and vividly, that we ARE different, but there is POWER in our difference. Let’s capture it and use it for good. Our Awareness – through the appreciation of your own and others’ motivations, cultures, strengths, and weaknesses is what will give ANY organisation the edge over their competitors – or is groupthink what you were looking for?
Tagged as: #BreakTheBias, #DiverseEd, #IamRemarkable, #LeanIn, #Resilience, #Resilient WomenLeaders, #TheFemaleLead, #WomenEd, #WomenEmpoweringWomen, #WomenEmpowerment, #WomenInBusiness, #WomenLeaders, diversity, ElevateAndCelebrate, IWD2022, RLE
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