Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Sabrina Meherally
“I was bullied for my appearance for 10 years in school. And what that experience taught me was what it felt like to be on the outside. I was excluded for a large portion of my life and it felt horrible. It felt horrible to be left out, felt horrible to never be picked. I was basically ostracized for something that was no fault of my own. It was entirely solely based on my appearance and had nothing to do with my who I was is an individual on the inside with my intelligence, with my heart with my compassion for others.”
Sabrina Meherlly joins us on Crazy F’in Retail to discuss Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Question: “What is Diversity and Inclusion? Why does it matter?
- It is not just a “buzzword” even though many organizations throw it out there like it is
- Diversity is the “presence of difference”
- Quantitative
- Companies bring in different backgrounds and different mindsets
- Inclusion is the “feeling of belonging”
- Qualitative
- Companies valuing and leveraging their talent
- Enabling individuals to showcase their differences
- Creating a “Safe” place for talent to be themselves
Question: “Diversity enhances our ability to innovate” What does that mean?
- Diversity contributes to profitability and innovative solutions
- Diversity needs to be present in senior leadership throughout hierarchy and NOT JUST AT THE BOTTOM
- Leveraging of different perspectives and different backgrounds to tailor and cater to diverse communities
Question: “Why is there such resistance behind it? Why is it so difficult to break the habit?
- People are uncomfortable with change
- People are unwilling to put in the work to make the change in the organization
- The individuals who are in privileged positions need to give up a bit in order to enable other individuals with diverse backgrounds to thrive
- CONFRONT YOUR BIASES – BE OPEN TO IT
Remember: Every single person on this planet who has a brain has a bias
Listen to our podcast for Sabrina Meherally’s Visualization – Unconscious Bias
Question: “Is it possible that I do not visualize the CEO, the receptionist and executives being who they were in the visualization? Because I haven’t seen that”
- Our brain does not capture something that is NOT familiar
- Having self-awareness is key – Anyone who has a brain HAS a bias
- THIS IS IT – THIS IS WHY WE NEED AN INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE
Remember: Having biases does NOT mean you are racist, sexist, etc. As Sabrina states, “Based on what we see in our world, our brains like to categorize things and it likes to create patterns of familiarity. That is how our brain works”
TIP: Have self-awareness and dig DEEP to understand the WHY’S behind our unconscious bias.
Question: “What actions can I take with my peers and my team?”
- Reflect on your own
- Racial Diversity, Gender Diversity, Age Diversity, Geographical Diversity
- Plan with a purpose
- What is the sentiment behind it
- The Quantitative and The Qualitative
Question: “Is it possible to have honest conversations/ honest feedback with your subordinates?”
- It depends on the culture that YOU create/have
- It depends on the trust that YOU create/have
- Are you the ally?
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is something that starts with US. As stated in previous blogs, we speak on the culture that YOU create.
This starts with YOU.
Check Sabrina Meherally out by clicking the following link:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sabrinameherally
Website: sabrinameherally.com