Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This practice-based participatory workshop will provide strategies and experiential scenarios for incorporating effective inclusive and equitable practices in educational and organizational settings. Beginning with an invitation to participants to brainstorm issues related to representation and inclusion in their organizations, we will then present eight strategies and examples for supporting JABEID (Justice, Accessibility, Belonging, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity). These strategies include: 1. Stop seeing marginalized people as the problem; 2. Recognize that organizations and institutions are not objective nor unbiased; 3. Integrate diversity and inclusion in all planning and policies; 4. Acknowledge that every person’s experience of race, class, and gender matter; 5. Practice cultural humility; 6. Collaborate; 7. Support the recruitment of employees or members from marginalized groups; and 8. Support the retention of employees or members from marginalized groups. Following any questions, participants will break into smaller groups and be given a scenario to reflect on. Topics for scenarios include: human resource practices; affinity groups based on majority-defined identities that the groups themselves did not choose or define; involvement and inclusion of ambiguously raced, white-passing BIPOC in JABEID work; primacy of English-only communication without support or acceptance of trans-languaging; and accommodating people with disabilities. Reflecting on the eight strategies, participants will collaborate on how to employ one or more of them in creating effective solutions to each scenario. We will conclude the session with a debrief of each group’s findings and a call to action to identify how participants can apply what they learned to their organizations.