December 2011 News flash - the world is becoming increasingly diverse. We have been talking about embracing diversity for years. And yet, I still hear people say they are tired of talking about it and sighing as they long for the day when it will “no longer be an issue”. Reminds me of the Rodney King quote “can’t we just all get along?” Well, apparently not. All you have to do is watch or read the news and you will quickly be disavowed of the impression that we are sensitive to each other’s gender, culture, race, sexual orientation or religious differences. And by “we” I don’t just mean Americans, I mean “we” the people of the planet. So, let’s not seduce ourselves into believing that because we “embrace differences” that…
Continue Reading “Diversity – a double edged sword”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
Unconscious bias is the new leading edge on the Diversity and Inclusion journey. Despite all of the strategic sessions and training dollars spent on this topic, not to mention the discrimination cases, there is still a glass ceiling and discrimination continues to exist. Human Facets latest assessment, Cognizant, explores unconscious bias at both an individual and group level. You can download the PDF files on the Human Facets home page for more information. There is a price to be paid for ignoring the impact of unconscious bias as the companies listed below can attest. “Unconscious bias is increasingly being used in employment litigation to prove discrimination. Unconscious bias has been a central issue in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the largest class action discrimination lawsuit in…
Continue Reading “The New Leading Edge”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Cognizant, Diversity Assessment, Global Inclusiveness, Unconscious Bias. Leave a Comment
Imagine being able to show your leadership team, HR team or Employee Affinity groups the impact of their conscious and unconscious preferences and biases. This graphic is a sample of a leadership team’s perceptions of gender differences in their workplace. For more information on Cognizant and the impact it can have on your Diversity and Inclusion journey please email info@humanfacets.com
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Cognizant, Diversity & Global Inclusion, Unconscious Bias. Leave a Comment
Someone said that to me recently. “Make it a perfect 10″. At first I was taken aback. What were they telling me. Was it a reference to Bo Derek? Did I need to improve my golf handicap or had I already achieved 9 of something and was, unknown to me, missing the elusive tenth. I quickly regrouped, realizing she was wishing me a Happy New Year and wanting me to have a perfect 2010. What a nice thought. What would a perfect 2010 look like I wondered. Apart from the usual good health, weight loss, happiness and prosperity was there something else? I have a long list of items I could fit into each of these categories and my goal this year is to plan…
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Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
The holiday season is upon us and many of us are getting ready to wish each other a “Happy Holiday”. In recent years we have learned that this is the politically correct way to wish each other seasons greetings. It is designed to ensure that we offend no one. In a season where we will be offered lots of tasty morsels to whet our appetite and please our palate, I would like to offer another perspective for your consideration. Political correctness is not the answer or the end point; it is a step on the journey. Using politically correct statements may be a step in the right direction, but it can also leave people feeling inauthentic, empty and incomplete. It is a bandaid solution; it…
Continue Reading “Happy holidays – or not?”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
Tomorrow, September 22nd, I will be delivering the Last Lecture at Nova SE University; speaking on the meaning of life, what kind of legacy I want to leave etc. and it made me wonder what you would say if you were asked to speak about your legacy? What difference do you want to make in the world? Are you working on your passion already or are you just marking time?What have you done to enhance diversity and inclusion recently?
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
What does Susan Boyle, a middle aged white woman from Scotland, who has catapulted from obscurity to fame overnight, have to do with diversity and inclusion? Seven weeks ago the judges and the audience on Britain’s Got Talent all rolled their eyes and laughed as she stood on stage. No one believed she had talent. They stopped laughing when she started to sing. They rose to their feet in wild applause as her dulcet tones raised the roof of the theater. The judges eyes were wide with delight and amazement and they told her that they had misjudged her. 150 million You Tube clicks later she is a household name around the world. We all know the old adage “Don’t judge a book by its…
Continue Reading “Susan Boyle”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion, Unconscious Bias. Leave a Comment
Someone recently sent me an email with a morality story….you know, the ones that you have to forward to seven people within seven minutes. I usually don’t pass them on, but I liked the message in this one so I thought I would share it with you. A recently married young couple move in to a new neighborhood and the wife notices the neighbor’s laundry hanging outside in the breeze. She comments to her husband that someone needs to teach her neighbor how to wash clothes as her laundry is not clean enough. Her husband says nothing. Each week the wife complains about the neighbors laundry until one day she comes down to breakfast and notices a change. She tells her husband that “finally, someone…
Continue Reading “Washing your windows”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
Much has been written about the Millenials and their strong desire to be independent. It is said that they are only loyal to themselves, self absorbed, entitled and challenging to manage. They have a short attention span, are looking to be entertained while at work and have a high need for power, while at the same time demonstrating an equally high disregard for authority. Millenials are said to suffer from ADS – Attention Deficit Syndrome. If you do not capture and hold their attention in the first few mintues, or maybe seconds, they are on to the next adventure. Their thumbs do the talking and they send text messages faster than you can think. The Blackberry Prayer is their constant companion and asking them to…
Continue Reading “Millenial matters…”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Generation Gap, Millenials. Leave a Comment
For those of us who are not bi-lingual or multi-lingual the headline reads “Diversity is everywhere, but inclusion is not”. We only have to watch the constant Cable chatter to know that we are a LONG way from being an inclusive society. The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court this week has unleashed a veritable tirade of racist comments from some predicable and not so predictable sources. It is the 21st Century; we are the most advanced and the most diverse society in the world and yet we are deluged daily by the espousal of divisive rhetoric in the interest of publicity and television ratings. Being inclusive does not always mean we have to agree with each other, but it should mean that…
Continue Reading “La diversidad esta por todas partes, pero la inclusion no esta”
Posted by Dr. Helen Turnbull in Diversity & Global Inclusion. Leave a Comment
