Work Weekly No. 91

Civic engagement at the workplace, the importance of pay equity training, and reclaiming the DEI narrative.

GUIDE

Five ways to make your learning and development strategy stick.

Your organization has made a firm commitment to learning and growing to be more inclusive and effective. You’ve booked the workshops, started the book club, and created a space on Slack for conversations around these issues. But it feels like the work just isn’t sticking.

How can you ensure your learning and development plan resonates? And how can you build more accountability to convert these insights into practice? Here are our recommendations.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

FREE: Civic Engagement in the Workplace

Tuesday, June 4 at 3pm EST

Join us for a free, one-hour virtual workshop designed to help you encourage civic engagement in the workplace, even in polarized times. This session will prepare you to foster healthy and productive dialogues among colleagues.

In this session, you will:

• Learn techniques to facilitate respectful conversations on civic topics.

• Develop strategies to handle disagreements constructively.

• Gain confidence in creating an inclusive environment for diverse viewpoints.

• Explore ways to inspire and sustain civic engagement initiatives.

IN THE NEWS

Amazon workers say they struggle to afford food and rent. Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that they’d experienced one or more forms of food insecurity in the prior three months, and 48% experienced one or more forms of housing insecurity.  Bloomberg >

Citigroup accused of racial discrimination for its policy of waiving ATM fees for customers of minority-owned banks. This anti-DEI lawsuit by a conservative group is challenging an equity-driven policy. Bloomberg >

Here’s how leaders and advocates can reclaim the narrative around DEI. This article provides tangible ways to use language and context to protect the urgency of this work. Forbes >

Learn: Leading together for systems change. Social change requires a deep understanding of how people and systems interact, and of how to tap into the powerful effects of people leading together. Stanford Social Innovation Review >

How women can break through the gender wage gap barrier. This comprehensive review of gender pay inequity outlines tactical ways employees can help shift the narrative. Investopedia >

This group of 80 million is missing from DEI conversations. Conversations about stuttering remain rare in workplaces, but the condition has a big impact on those who have it. Here are four ways workplaces can be more inclusive. Fast Company >

Just 36% of managers have received pay equity training. In a SHRM survey, HR professionals stated that they conduct regular audits to identify pay gaps. But that alone is not enough to resolve inequities. SHRM >

States push back against guaranteed income with new bans. More than 100 pilots have been advanced across the US to give low-income residents monthly cash payments. Now, some legislatures are blocking them. Bloomberg >

INTERVIEW

In Conversation with Ciarra Jones

Ciarra Jones is a consultant, writer, and educator who believes workplaces are sites for connection, community, and belonging. She received her BA in American Studies from UC Berkeley and her Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University. She draws upon her unique background in American Studies and Theology to help organizations deepen their commitment to equity and inclusion. Organizations can learn how to create more psychologically safe and interpersonally connected work environments with her support.

How does your lived experience influence your approach to your work?

I am a Black Queer Woman who grew up as a conservative Christian. I know firsthand what it means not to belong. I know firsthand the painful experience of existing in a community that does not see or value you. I draw upon my own unique experience of exclusion to help organizations understand the importance of crafting an inclusive environment.

What do you hope to see from this industry as it evolves?

I hope we can move past the war of rhetoric in order to help improve people's lives. Right now, as the anti-DEI movement rages on, we've gotten into a battle of narrative and language. Those who are against DEI frame DEI as a "handout" to minoritized communities that simultaneously strips dominant groups of their rights and resources and gives marginalized communities an "unfair advantage." This narrative that DEI is "reverse racism" continues to hinder the progress of this work. This pushback is not new; since the emancipation of enslaved Black people, dominant communities have held onto their power by any means necessary. However, I think our industry is scrambling to appease those against this work, and I don't know if this approach will be helpful. 

I yearn for a future where DEI leaders refuse to appease those against this work and proudly stand up for what is right. DEI does not need to be harmonious work, and our desire as an industry to please everyone removes the reality that inclusion has never been easy or simple work. The work of inclusion and belonging will always be disruptive to someone because the redistribution of power is necessarily disruptive. How can we, as practitioners, better accept this discomfort? How can we embrace upheaval as part of change?

JOBS

DEI Program Manager
The Evergreen School
📍 Seattle, WA (On-site)
💸 $65K-$75K/yr

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest
📍 San Diego, CA (Hybrid)
💸 $26.05/hr - $27.35/hr

DEI Client Services Coordinator
Catalyst Inc.
📍 Los Angeles, CA (Remote)
💸 $56K-$70K/yr

Campus Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Initiatives (CD-DEI)
Connecticut State Colleges & Universities
📍 Bridgeport, CT (On-site)
💸 $97k

Senior Director, Leadership Development
Chief
📍 Los Angeles, CA (On-site)
💸 $200K/yr

People Program Manager 
Notion
📍San Francisco, CA (On-site)
💸 $150K/yr - $210K/yr

Learn, the learning and developing platform by Reclamation Ventures, empowers organizations and their teams to build more equitable and just spaces to live, work and thrive. Learn more >