Building an Inclusive Workforce

The connection between diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and employee wellbeing is profound. In this episode, we talk about how diversity, equity, and inclusion at work can make employees feel good and do better. When companies prioritize diversity, employees with different backgrounds feel respected and valued. This makes them happier at work and less stressed. It also helps them feel more secure and confident. Overall, it creates a supportive environment where everyone belongs.

Our guest on the show is Eden-Reneé Hayes, Ph.D. She is a DEI strategist, educator, speaker, and executive coach. As an expert in the social psychological factors related to bias and the intersecting identities of race, class, and gender identity and expression, Eden helps companies to understand their DEI needs and design and implement solutions to achieve their goals.

You can find out more abour Eden Renee' on the platforms linked below:

PluralismSolutions.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eden-reneé-hayes-phd/

#diversityandinclusion #diversitymatters #inclusion #inclusionmatters  #leadership #equity #diversityequityinclusion #community #wellbeing #employeewellbeing #organizationalculture  #dei

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Aesha Tahir is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and columnist.  She delivers high-energy presentations that challenge audiences to leverage their focus to what matters most at work and in life, their health. Audiences love the practical strategies she shares. She helps the organizations create a culture of wellness by implementing health programs that put organizations’ biggest asset, the employees first.

 Aesha earned her Master in Exercise Science from Concordia University. She is a distinguished Toastmasters, a designation held by less than 1% of professional speakers. She engages groups from the moment she steps in front of them and leaves them with empowering tools that they can use for the rest of their lives. She has presented workshops and spoken at organizations such as Salesforce, Coffman Engineers, Pyramid Club, Voyager Media Group, National Libraries, 92NY, and Coaching4Leaders to name a few.

🌟 🌟 🌟. You can learn more about Aesha Tahir at

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My passion is helping organizations create a culture of wellness, and I do this by setting up health programs that prioritize the most important asset they've got – their employees. Cheers to a healthier and happier journey ahead!

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Transcript

 Welcome to the nine to five wellness podcast,  a show about corporate wellness solutions with innovators and forward thinking leaders who are at the forefront of the workplace wellness movement.  I'm your host Ayesha Tahir. 

 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of 9 to 5 wellness podcast and show.   Today I want to talk about building an inclusive. Workforce and understanding the power of D. E. I. Because lately the topic of inclusion has been on top of my mind. I recently spoke at an event where diversity and women in sports was being Being discussed and I was the keynote speaker there.

And because of that,  I've been thinking a lot about it and how it plays a huge role in organizational productivity and well being of employees who work there. In my experience, when  I'm consulting for organizations, what I've seen is that organizations that allow employees with different backgrounds, mindsets, and ways of thinking to perform to their highest potential have high productivity, they have a higher chance of succeeding. 

high performance, profitability, and prosperity.   talking about DEI, which stands for diversity, equity, inclusion when I look at the well being structure of those organizations, I also see that the, the employees have a high morale. They, they have reduced health and safety risks. And.  In general, I've noticed that it promotes a greater sense of self worth and belonging.

As well as more powerful and integrated work teams.  So I wanted to bring an expert in on this topic to talk more about this, because this is all my observation and my experience. And I wanted an expert to really chime in on this topic about what I'm noticing and feeling. Is that really true or not?

 I have a wonderful guest with me today who's going to help us dig deep into the power of D. I. Eden Renee Hayes. Eden is a DEI strategist, educator, speaker, and executive coach. She's an expert in the social psychological factors related to bias and under, intersecting  identities of race, class, gender, and race.

Identity and expression. Eden helps companies to understand their DEI needs and design and implement solutions to achieve their goals. So I'm super excited to have Eden 

here. Welcome, Eden. Oh, it's Eden and Renee, both together. And thank you so much for having me in such a nice introduction. And you're already hitting all the nails on the head. 

Thank you. Yeah. I wanted to 

introduce the topic because I wanted people to understand, like, why we are talking about DEI because sometimes that gets lost. And thank you so much for bringing my attention to your name, Eden Renee. So, Eden Renee, I'd love for you to share more about DEI and How it's best defined. 

Oh, well, DEI really is just an acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity having to do with, with the people. Is it a diverse environment in terms of a multitude of demographics? We have a tendency to focus a lot on race and ethnicity, but it also means ability. Like, are you disabled? Are you neurodiverse?

Are you.  Like with your mental wellness, it also has to do with gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, it has to do with your religion, and like, can we bring all of that to work has to do with that, that inclusion piece. So I really do like The, the phrase, although I'm not sure where it originates that diversity is being given an invitation like to a party, but, but inclusion is like being asked to dance. 

That's the inclusion. If inclusion is like that, that action is all those things that we do to try to create a sense of belongingness. So some people say D E I B that B stands for belongingness and belongingness is whether or not the inclusion efforts work. Do people feel a sense? That they can bring their authentic self to work.

Do they feel like they're safe here? They're psychologically safe. And this is a place where they can be,  express themselves  without backlash and equity really. And so the E part of DEI equity, and so I'm going out of order there, but, but equity has to do with.  How is it that we can ensure that everybody has what they need in order to succeed?

And that may look a little bit different for different people, which is why we say equity instead of equality, because some people are going to need some things and some people are going to need different things in order to be their best self, as well as like be able to express their skills in the best way at work.

You know, someone may have an accessibility related need and others don't like meeting that is equity.  

 Love how you gave the example of invitation to the dance and then, letting people dance at the party once you are invited. So I'm glad that you brought up the B part, the belonging part too, because that's such an important part.

It's not just about diversity, equity, inclusion, if you, if the person still doesn't feel like they belong. Right. So there's no use of the first three if the belonging isn't really taking place. 

Yeah. I mean, the belonging is what you're trying to, to achieve. So diversity, equity, inclusion are your efforts and belonging.

Well, did you do it in a way that works? 

Yeah, exactly.   I, I want to talk a little bit more about the .  Equity.  Equity versus equality. So I was talking to a friend a few months ago on the phone about DEI, and she mentioned something, and I've seen that before too even as I was preparing for this interview,  that visual came along, but she was the one who actually brought attention to that visual where there's a tree and you know, a fruit or apples are hanging from the tree and there's this one person who can reach the apple easily because they're tall, right? You know, tall and height. And then the other person who is shorter in height, they're trying to reach and they can't.

So according to my friend with equality, you give a ladder to both. The people, but the thing is the person who is shorter, they still can't reach the apple 

and the top doesn't need the ladder.  

Yeah, I know.  Yeah.  I loved how she explained that to me. And then I looked it up, and that visual is easily searchable on  Google.

So let's talk about it a little more, how equality and equity are different, and how does equity work? Equity actually help with the inclusion and belonging part. 

Yeah. So for those of you who are looking for that image, the, the images of the giving tree, the book but it's the images are, are changed a bit from the, the original in order to be able to display like the different terms within diversity, equity, inclusion, but also with justice and thinking about like, well, the tree curves.

And we can change, like, basically the, the structure of the tree, help it to basically be more straight so everyone has an equal chance, then, yes, then we've, we've changed in such a way where everybody does have the fairness at work, and when it comes down to it, DEIB, no matter what the acronym is, some people are, are changing it a little bit, sometimes it's JEDI, which is, as a Star Wars fan, very near and dear to my heart,  of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, JEDI With that, I'll try to get the corporations that I work with to start a Jedi team. 

But basically, no matter what the acronym is, it really just comes down to fairness. Like no matter how we look at it, like Is what's going on? Is it fair? Like, do the people have an equal chance? Like, if people have the same skills, do they have an equal chance to be able to get the job? If they are displaying the same measures of competence and success, do they have an equal chance of being able to, like, advance?

And when we're talking about the difference between equity and equality, what we're really asking is, okay, how is it that we can do our best job with our efforts? You know, in order for everyone to have that equal chance, we are looking for equality, but we have to go through it via equity. So  with equity it is, some people are going to need specific assistance.

in order to be able to let their skills shine at work. Other people are not going to need that, that same assistance. And it's not about giving them something that you're not giving others. Like equality really does mean everybody gets exactly the same thing. One person has an apple, another person has one apple, but you know, well, somebody is allergic to apples. 

Oh, that's not going to be very useful, is it? So in the workplace, we have to think about that in terms of, you know, if someone really does have a learning difference. What is it that they need in order to ensure that they can understand what's what's going on? You know, so that may be something having to do with like a high contrast because of a vision related need that could be many, many other things.

So what is necessary at work in order to ensure that this person can shine.  

. I totally agree with you that what does the person need to shine? So when  the organizations work on culture of belonging it, Affects workers as much as the job that they perform, right? So recognizing differences and workers abilities and backgrounds helps us with the real end game, which is to improve lives.

And livelihoods. And I believe closely related to DEI is the concept of psychological safety culture. So I want to discuss that more in detail. How does DEI work within the psychological safety culture? 

So psychological safety and wellbeing go hand in hand with DEI. The way I see it, it's basically like, it sounds like it's two different groups, but they have similar goals.

And if you don't meet those goals, they're similar consequences. They're similar, like outcomes of this is not done well, but both want people to be able to bring their authentic self to work  people, like both want people to be mentally healthy. Yes, we'll go on to, you know, people to be able to be an atmosphere, you know, where they feel like if they say something, they're not going to like experience backlash.

And if they say the wrong thing, or make a mistake, that basically, when that happens, we can all hold each other up and say, Hey, you know what, I'm not really sure that's where we want to go here. Let's let's try a different angle, whatever is necessary in order for again, us to be able to shine at work. So psychological safety in DEI, I actually have seen some organizations and I'm not sure if they started here or this is where they ended up with the backlash against DEI, but they've actually, I've seen some organizations combine them into the, the same department and put like wellness and DEI as like one title for, for the entire department to, to put them in the same place, which makes a lot of sense. 

 You just mentioned that there's some backlash against D. E. I. Would it be possible to talk a little more about it? 

What's going on there? Well, I'm I'm sure many people saw the viral statement. It's a D. E. I. Must die from a famous brilliant billionaire who actually interestingly also, I have heard has a diverse teams himself.

So it's very interesting to hear. It makes me wonder how people who work for him are feeling about the statements that he has said. But there's been a lot of backlash against DEI and it's a specific focus on trying to define DEI as something that it isn't. You know, people, when they hear DEI, they think that it's only something to help black people who are unskilled or something like that.

And I don't really understand that as the idea because, you know, DEI is for, for everybody. And it truly is. Everybody has something about them that that's worthy. And that's what DEI is trying to pull out and say, yes, you are worthy and you should be here. And there should be no question about that.

You're not a DEI hire. You're, you're here because you're skilled. And then there lies the reason why you have this position. But the, the backlash tries to say the DEI is about trying to hire people that are unskilled. Everybody has a space within DEI. 

Everyone has space within DEI and we, you're all different. Just in different ways. We are all different. So we want to  highlight those differences and how they can make us shine even more brighter.

within the workplace and beyond, right? It's about  bringing somebody's strengths out. And if there is a difference, how actually that difference works towards their strength, 

right?

Right. It's about managers thinking about, okay, how is it that I can bring the best out of my staff?  Everybody's wondering about that and everybody wants to know how is it that we can be the leader that has, you know, the, the staff that has the best profits, the best successful outcomes, the best everything, and DEI is about helping the managers to figure out like, okay, what's necessary for your staff. 

I think we  really highlighted the most important aspect of DEI and why it's important in the workplace because it's all about helping your employees shine figuring out what their strengths are, then, you know, just working on those and for the employees to feel fulfilled and lead a fulfilling life.

Right.  But, you know, Beyond that, like, you know, maybe just going towards smaller benefits, what is the connection between DEI and well being and even the benefits of, like, psychological safety in the workplace? 

There's one study came out of Washington State University. And what they found is that people of color experience 291 microaggressions on average in a 90 day period.

And I'll back up a second, just to define microaggressions for those who are less familiar with a turn. It really has to do with these subtle slights that have to do with someone's demographic. So it's someone asking to, to touch my hair because of these luscious, beautiful curls here. It's someone saying, you know, Oh, you're so pretty for a black girl.

It's someone asking someone of Asian descent. Where are you from? And when they say New York, cause I don't want to know where you, where are you really from? Like, where are you people from? It's, it's the prying, you know, and, and that one's is a specific category. 

The micro of the microaggression doesn't mean that it isn't. that it is not impactful or that it has a small impact. It's really just the fact that it's, it's often a quick interaction. It's often, you know, it's something that's happening so swiftly that you're like, hold on, wait a minute, did that happen?

And then the moment passes you by and you didn't say anything. And you're like, Oh no, what do I do? But you're, you just have a great impact from it. But it is, it is a subtle, Like it's a subtlety that that others someone is that it reminds someone that you're not normal. You're not the traditional type for this role.

You're not meant to be here. Those are the microaggressions.  And if people of color are experiencing 291 on average in a 90 day period, then That's, it could be in the roughly like three in a day and that's just for one category. What about for my religion? What about for my gender? What about for ability level?

You know, what about for a sexual orientation and gender identity expression for those who are trans and non binary? Like there are so many different marginalizations someone can have and those microaggressions can compound and that leads to a toxic work environment. a stressful work environment and one that we basically begin to disengage.

And a Gallup poll found that disengagement at work is a 500 billion problem.  Wow.  So  And these, these ideas are very expensive and they're not helping us. And we want to retain our employees. We want to be able to keep them.  We want them to be able to bring their best self to work because then they put their best efforts at work.

They refer their network to wanting to work for us like that, that just enriches our workplaces. But if they're  experiencing that lack of psychological safety that's connected to  extreme microaggressions levels, then  yes, that's where you can see a great connection between DEI and wellbeing specifically, but also with psychological safety at work. 

 The economic impact.  That's really big.  And it's costing all of us. Not only just the employees, their mental and physical health, but  it's costing the companies, their productivity too. 

 Let's talk about solutions, then. How to incorporate DEI initiatives into workplace culture. And I'd also like us to talk a little more about the employee wellness platforms. How can they be used? those help in this regard.  

Excellent. So  it is in thinking and combining, how is it that we can do our best job of reaching that goal of belonging, but our efforts are, you know, are inclusive efforts.

So with that, it's important that you hire a skilled individual. Just because someone is of a marginalized background, doesn't mean that they have the background to be able to, like the, the, Professional background as opposed to the demographic background to be able to, to do this work. It takes training, it takes education, it takes, it takes experience, it takes time.

And that's where it's important to ensure that you're hiring a trained consultant, you know, or looking within, try to figure out, okay, well. who already has, you know, these particular abilities. I just hear lots of stories where someone, you know, it's just like, Oh, but I'm, I'm, I'm trained as a surgeon. This isn't my arena.

Like you have to have a professional background in order to be able to do this work. It isn't just from lived experience. All the lived experience is a great help for trying to figure out how to connect the dots between the best practices and the research about DEI. And how do we apply this to this particular company, to this particular staff, to this particular industry?

I also, you know, find it very important to really just be thinking about, okay, well, What's already going on now is because most people are thinking about how can I be the best leader?  How is it that I can bring my best self to work? How is it that I can contribute in the best way? How is it that I can be kind and not that psychological safety means that everybody has to be nice to each other, like, but we do have to be cordial. 

Right. And we should be in an environment where we can express what Kim Scott calls radical candor. We can be honest and open with one another without having to, you know, sugarcoat it too much, but deliver it in a way where people can actually hear and listen to what's happening. Right. You know, with that What's already underway?

Because most corporations are already thinking about this. I saw something recently that maybe slightly outdated with the, with the DEI backlash, but all of the fortune 100 companies have, you know, DEI initiatives. So what are they, where are we now? How are they working? How is it that we can move forward?

And that's where you want to, you know, tap your consultant or your whoever you've already hired within your VP of DEI suite.  It should be a suite. It needs to be a group of people, not just one person. And also, you know, think, okay, well, what are, what are our metrics? What are our measurables? And how are they working?

What different measurables should we have so that we can continue to move forward and do our best job? Because that's all we ever really want is how is it that we can all do our best job?  

Exactly. And then the employee wellness platforms. How do they help or how do they connect with 

the DEI initiatives?

It's important for us to have outlets to be able to think about what's going on with our own mental health. So it may be a specific platform that a company has decided to retain. Like a headspace, you know, or I prefer insight timer personally. I love insight timer, but basically, you know, there's lots of wellness platforms out there.

Some of them are even. specifically  run by people who are of marginalized groups and create them  for, for everyone. And you know, seek out those and indefinitely use them because with those microaggressions at work, you're not going to make them 100 percent stop,  but you can make it so that when it happens, we can turn it into an educational moment.

And also so that when it happens and it's causing stress for someone that there's a platform for them to go to, to think about it. I also personally like the VIA character Institute. It's a big focus with the underlying theories of positive psychology, which is a a branch of psych that really focuses on how can we emphasize what's going well, it's not about ignoring the things that have traumatized us, that have hurt us, that we still need to process.

It's really just focused on both. something's going well, how is it that we can make that count for more? And how is it we can exercise that and to a greater extent. So with it, it is a 24 different character strengths that every individual has, but you have top character strengths that are more like go to for you.

And basically in and of themselves are motivating and fulfilling. So someone might have a curiosity as a character strength, if they have curiosity, well, you know, can we send them off to some professional development? Maybe they also have leadership as a character strength. If that's so, then when they come back from that professional development, maybe we can have them lead a reading about everything that they learned during that professional development session.

You know, how is it that we can help them to exercise their character strengths so they can have more positive experiences at work and feel fulfilled at work. And that feeling of fulfillment is one of the elements that helps people to think, I should stay working here. Even if I can get a better salary somewhere else, people have a tendency to stay where they like working, where they feel connected with everyone there and feel like they're contributing meaningful work and feel important. 

 Thank you for sharing all of this information, because it  Helps us understand the I better why it's important. And then how organizations can go about incorporating it  into their culture and then also implementing the initiatives to improve the,  inclusivity and belonging for people with diverse backgrounds.

Any parting thoughts?  Thank you for having me. And I really do love to emphasize how important DEI is I'll even what's been resonating with me is a quote from Jedi Master Yoda.  And I think that he is the you know, the DEI master of the Jedi High Council as well. But you know, he says, luminous beings are we.

Not this crude matter.  Yeah, yeah, 

I love that. Luminous beings are we not that crude matter. That's exactly what we are. Where can our listeners and viewers find you if they want to get 

in touch with you? Well, you can certainly find me on LinkedIn. You can also find me at my website, PluralismSolutions. 

com.  

Awesome. And I'll include that in the show notes as well. Eden Renee, it was such a pleasure talking to you and thank you so much for really sharing all of your expertise and your wisdom with us. I hope we can continue this conversation even more because I know DEI tends to evolve over time  as I've been working  as a wellness consultant .

I have noticed how it has evolved over time and especially after COVID we saw a drastic change. So I would love to continue this conversation, bring you on again. Thank you so much for your time today. So I'd love to come back. That'd be lovely.  Thank you. 

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