by Manpreet Dhillon | Jul 18, 2019 | Diversity, Equality
Canada is my home. I was born here. Tips to overcome the challenging of one’s identity.
This week, we have seen the statement “go back to where you came from” all over the news. In Trump’s latest controversy, he suggested four progressive congresswomen go back to their own countries. All are American citizens and three of them were born in the US. The incident has brought up a lot of emotion in many of us watching across the world. These types of comments can leave us feeling angered, enraged, hurt, confused, and unsafe.
Many persons of diverse backgrounds born and raised in Canada and the US have had this statement directed at us, especially when we were younger, and many of our parents heard it in the workplace. “Go back to where you came from” style statements usually arise in a conflict or in some form of retaliation, especially where the culturally diverse person has the perceived upper hand. It’s a low blow that is challenging to respond to.
The first time I heard this comment I was in grade 6 and it was made by a “friend” with a Japanese background who was mad at me. I just looked at her and said, “But we are both born here, so where would we go?” I remember my teacher talking to me about it and having us both apologize. She admitted she said it because there was nothing else she could say to hurt me. I forgave her, but I wasn’t sure of how this comment would impact me.
I am not the only one who has gone through this and I share my story because I know many others can relate. The “You don’t belong here” discrimination has been leveraged against my parents, my friends, their parents, our cousins… the list goes on.
It is so difficult to hear this comment in particular as it does challenge one’s sense of self and one’s identity. It challenges where people feel at home and where they feel like they belong. It challenges how safe they feel being in the country they live in.
It was really difficult to go back to school for a few days. I wasn’t sure of my place, as I didn’t know if my other classmates felt that this country wasn’t home for me either.
When you experience a shaken sense of self around your belonging, it may impact your work, cause extra stress and unknowingly impact how you show up in the world. Some people hide, while others get angry and there is an entire spectrum of valid responses in between.
Here are 5 strategies that you can use to move through this experience:
- Find a way to express the emotion in a positive manner. The emotion is not only in response to what is happening now but is arising in the context of what has been happening for generations. It may be about the injustice of people being bullied and being treated like they are second class citizens. Outrage is valid, but that emotion needs to move and be processed – holding it in your body will cause deeper problems. So let it cycle. Journal, go to kickboxing class, talk it out with people you care about, punch a pillow, go for a run. Do whatever you need to do to come back to a strong sense of self and take back some control.
- Talk about what others, especially kids, are feeling. If we are going to end the cycle of people of culturally diverse backgrounds having to struggle and fight for their place, we need to focus on the kids and help them navigate their emotions and what is happening. Children hear snippets in the news or at school, so try to address the messaging they are receiving. Ask them how they felt and reinforce that they do belong. Also discuss what feelings are arising for your friends and family and ask how it is impacting them.
- If it is impacting your work, talk to your manager or HR representative and let them know that you need extra support. Such action is particularly important if there is something that needs to change in your organizational culture. Then you can take this as an opportunity to address and only discuss that issue, which should help resolve that feeling of ostracization and othering in your workplace.
- Remember that you do belong. Meditate on all the ways that this is your home and how you can feel more at home exactly where you are.
- Have compassion and forgive. Have compassion for those who make these comments, as bullies are usually broken and forgive yourself if you need to for your reaction to the situation.
It is up to you to take back the power and take back your place in the country. When people make hateful comments, address it, but recognize that they may not change from you fighting them. So show them in your own way that you belong in your home here in North America.
by Staff | Jul 5, 2019 | Business, Culture, Diversity, Equality, Leadership, Management
Millennials are stereotyped as being less competitive, entitled, avocado toast loving, technology addicted workers. Sure, many millennials are glued to their smartphones and social media, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have important things to contribute to your organization – nor does it mean that they don’t work hard.
By 2020, millennials will make up 50% of the workforce and their share of the workforce will continue to grow from there. On the whole, this group is goal and value driven and cares about its impact on society and the planet. So, millennials are not only going to represent a large portion of your talent pool but will also be looking to the job market for an opportunity to make that impact. That is good news for employers – hiring millennials can actually offer a number of (maybe) unexpected benefits to companies.
Perspective
There’s no denying it – millennials aren’t as experienced as the baby boomers in the marketplace, but boomers can’t beat the open-minded perspective millennials have. Millennials have experienced the world changing around them quicker than generation X, so they see new possibilities before they arise. They are always willing to think out of the box and come up with fresh and innovative ideas.
Plus hiring young employees can work out great if your business aims to attract young customers. After all, who knows better what the young generation wants than themselves? They’ll bring marketing and product design strategies that better appeal to their age group, which will kickstart your sales.
Qualified
Millennials are on track to be the most educated generation ever with 27% of women and 21% of men having completed a Bachelor’s Degree by age 33. Most of them are highly qualified, having done sometimes multiple internships to gain professional work experience. Hiring millennials will modernize your organization’s workforce, as well as bring the most up to date knowledge pertaining to your sector.
Tech Savvy
Millennials have grown up using computers, portable devices, the Internet, and social media. They have digital and technical knowledge at their fingertips. They pick up and apply technology better and quicker than the experienced baby boomers in tech-companies. You’ll have little or no trouble training these people on computer systems or new equipment.
Further, millennials are familiar with the latest communications technology and know their way around social media. There is no company in existence today that does not need a social media presence to be relevant. Even the millennials without a communications background can help you harness the power of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms and turn that into brand awareness and sales.
Less focused on money
The older and more experienced generation have high expectations from their previous workplaces when it comes to compensation. The bottom line is usually their only bottom line.
Unlike baby boomers, the calculation millennials make is usually based on meaning rather than pay. A recent study of Canadian millennials showed that nearly half of this demographic would forgo a raise of about $9,000 to do work they considered more meaningful and impactful, so this benefit may not work for every job you offer. Also, with less experience, their salary expectations tend to be lower. But do ensure your salaries are competitive and commensurate with experience and responsibility. If you are truly unable to offer competitive salaries, millennials are more likely than other generations to be open to flexibility perks, such as remote days or additional vacation days.
Motivated
What’s better than having a highly motivated and excited workforce? Millennials are driven and deeply invested in what they do. They are motivated by their will to perform better and bring high-end results. It goes without saying how this particular attribute impacts your business outcomes.
They tend to be more tenacious and eager to learn in the workplace than other generations. Such a disposition leads to quick problem solving and adaptability, as well as a desire to get the job done well before moving on.
Collaborative
A survey of millennials conducted by IdeaPaint found that 74% of millennials prefer to collaborate in small groups, as opposed to large teams or on their own, and that 38% of millennials feel that antiquated collaboration processes actually damage their company’s innovation potential. Teams with more millennials mean better teamwork, less internal competition and more innovation. This leads to a stronger bottom line, but also a more positive work environment.
The Bottom Line is….
Hiring millennials helps you bring new and innovative talent into your organization. They are highly motivated and enthusiastic about their work. They know (or can find) their way around technology and are keen to learn new things, as well as seize new opportunities. The fact that they seek meaning through their work means that organizations have an opportunity to harness their enthusiasm towards achieving something greater.
by Staff | Jun 20, 2019 | Business, Diversity, Management
A diverse workforce produces better services, higher quality product, and higher profit margins. You, as the leader of your organization, need to manage your diverse workforce to achieve your organizational goals efficiently. To begin with, you’ll need to come up with certain guidelines for your employees to work as a team and train them to coordinate well with each other. However, it’s an ongoing process. If you don’t handle your diverse workforce well and ensure those guidelines are followed, your employee turnover is likely to be higher.
Overall, people stay in organizations that invest in them and provide a safe, inclusive working environment – that means allowing people to show up as their whole selves and not have to hide aspects of their experience or identities in the office. Inclusiveness is easy and happens naturally when you work with a group of similar people, but it becomes more difficult when people come from different backgrounds, gender identities and diverse abilities. Only when the variety of experiences come together to form one team over the long-term do you really get to reap the benefits and improved performance that a diverse team can achieve for your organization. But what management strategies can you use to improve retention of a diverse team?
1. Take Feedback from Time to Time
Feedback works both ways. By creating an environment of trust and openness, your employees can address their concerns with you directly, which gives you the chance to make necessary changes in your organization before they become a liability. Some cultures that are more hierarchical discourage direct employee to supervisor feedback, so you may have to take initiative in sourcing feedback from your staff. Ask your team how they are performing and you’ll find which areas to work on. Encourage your team to give both constructive and positive feedback. Constant bi-directional feedback can help you improve delegation and the overall work environment.
2. Data-Driven Approach
Most organizations take retention actions based on emotional decisions, which is the reason these actions sometimes don’t deliver the desired results. A data-driven approach to optimizing the retention of a diverse workforce is necessary. Collection of data should include periodic surveys, issues faced by a diverse workforce, and their overall progress. Use the collected data for making decisions, alterations, and retention actions to achieve desired results for diversity retention and recruiting in the workplace.
3. Stay Interviews
Stay interviews are the number one tool for employee retention. They are easy to carry out and effective in reinforcing the reasons your retention target should stay. To carry out stay interviews as a part of your strategy requires scheduling a one-hour interview at least twice a year with staff.
The meetings allow the manager and their employees to talk about their progress, expectations, and the reasons why the employee adds value to the organization. Having stay interviews also allows you to understand why your employees work for you and what your organization can do better to keep them over the long-term – when done widely across a workplace, you can spot patterns in the feedback you receive. They are a proven type of employer investment in your employees as taking the time out of your schedule to hear about their experience and improves employee satisfaction.
4. Performance Measurement and Rewards for Retaining Employees
It’s a well-established rule that you can execute what you measure and further, that you can improve efficiency by rewarding employees. To make your executives and managers prioritize retaining key employees, set rewards for retention. Retention of employees can be added as a KPI for their promotion and bonus metrics.
The measure and reward technique worked quite well for high profile firms, like Intel. By running a company-wide bonus program for diversity retention, Intel managed to bring their diversity turnover below the industry average.
The Bottom Line is…
Having a diverse workforce is not effective for an organization if diversity retention falls short. The steps above create a foundation for strong communication, trust and investment in your employees, which should get you well on your way to improving retention of diverse employees.
Did you know that each hire costs on average $4,000*? That’s only one reason why hiring and retaining good people is so important. If you’re interested in addressing your hiring and retention of diverse employees, we can help. Borrow expert, customizable solutions to apply to your workplace with Veza Global’s Diversity Assessment.
*Source: Society of Human Resources
by Manpreet Dhillon | Mar 6, 2019 | Business, Diversity
We have all heard of the glass ceiling and we have seen its effects. Webster’s dictionary defines the glass ceiling as “an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions.” Fortunately, we are now witness to how the glass ceiling is being broken and shattered as women are rising in numbers to new levels of leadership. We are seeing multiple women at the table for various roles for the first time ever.
Most recently, we can celebrate the number of women from minority backgrounds in the US Senate.The women of colour elected to the Senate were not only dealing with one glass ceiling, but two. Identifying as a woman and as a visible minority is a double whammy in many ways. They each had to overcome the mindset of having to push their way into spaces others have easier access to and on top of it all, they did so while visibly looking different than those who have been in power up until now.
They had to go above and beyond to break the perceptions of voters to show that they have the same qualifications and can make the same or better contributions than those typically being elected.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recently published a report stating that women face a “double-pane glass ceiling” at the top of Canada’s corporate ladder — first, in getting to the executive suite and, once there, in earning as much as their male counterparts. Women earn about 68 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts at the CEO or Executive level, whereas the gap has shrunk to 86 cents on the dollar at senior management.
As a minority and a woman, you experience the biases of the generalizations and stereotypes associated with race on top of those associated with gender. A recent report on Silicon Valley from the Ascend Foundation revealed that Asians, though the largest racial cohort in the industry, are the racial group least likely to be promoted to managerial and executive positions.
“The infantilization of Asian women, who report being treated as younger than they are, is yet another cultural barrier.” (For more on this, see: Huffington Post) “We’re seen as younger, more naive, less experienced, on top of less American,” says Lata Murti, an associate professor of sociology at Brandman University who researches the experiences of female Indian doctors.
In breaking the double glass ceiling, we must first tackle the societal biases and uncover the individual bias that may exist in the unconscious. It is through the tackling of these bias that we are able to accurately address the situation.
Here are few ways that you can begin to overcome cultural bias for yourself:
- Just do what you feel called to. It may be uncomfortable, you may feel lonely, you may be surrounded by people who don’t look like you or that you don’t resonate with. Regardless of these feelings, take the actions that you are called to. When we follow that call, we are listening to our intuition, soul and heart that are pulling us towards our purpose. It is important to listen and take the inspired action.
- Find a mentor that can show you a path that would otherwise feel overwhelming. Mentors give us advice based on their experience. Sometimes it works best to have multiple mentors who can speak from the varied angles of cultural experience, gender experience and the career experience.
- Connect with people who are likeminded, who will understand the fear and resistance, yet still push you through it. Surround yourself with people who understand the cultural experience, yet allow themselves to be pulled towards to their goals.
Another resource to overcoming the double glass ceiling is this talk by someone who did: Barinder Rasode in her TEDx talk: Smashing the Double Glass Ceiling
What have you done to smash the glass ceiling? Please share below.
by Staff | Feb 15, 2019 | Business, Diversity, Management
Diversity by Design: Co-Creating Inclusive Workplaces for Immigrants and Newcomers Recap
On January 28th, veza community hosted our second annual Diversity by Design workshop at Women in Tech Regatta. This year we were joined by Hanif Ladha from the Immigrant Employer’s Council of BC, Humaira Ahmed of Locelle Digital and Gwen Pawlikowski of Highlight Communication, who all provided incredible insights on the immigrant journey. The following blog will share some of the key highlights and takeaways from the panel and breakout groups.
Organizations can be designed to encourage diversity (and they should be!) A suite of studies have overwhelmingly proven that companies with more women in leadership and higher rates of ethnic diversity are more profitable, have higher retention rates of staff and are better at solving problems because of a diversity of thought around the table. For instance, according to Statistics Canada’s Workplace Employee Survey, for every 1% increase in gender diversity and ethnocultural diversity, there was, respectively, an average increase of 3.5% and 2.4% in revenue and 0.7% and 0.5% in workplace productivity.
We know that diversity is important secret sauce that makes organizations work better, but what is the secret to fostering more diversity? And further, what can we do to make sure that diversity is accompanied by belonging, especially for newcomers?
Onboarding
Onboarding is an important juncture for all employees that sets them up for success in their new roles. Poorly executed onboarding can create unnecessary stress, frustration and often, an end to employment. Newcomers need additional support to fit in and have an easy transition into a Canadian workplace.
Recommendations included:
- setting up their workspace with the tools they need and an onboarding guide ahead of time, perhaps even an acronym dictionary if the organization leans heavily on jargon;
- setting clear expectations and pathways to success;
- having all staff participate in a welcome lunch or party;
- creating a buddy system that links the new hire with someone of a similar background who can help show them the ropes;
- Encouraging patience in current staff ahead of time by highlighting some different ways that people of their culture show up in the workplace.
Belonging leads to retention
As panelist Hanif Ladha shared, “Trust starts with meaningful conversations.” In the workplace, that means conversations that create a human connection between current staff and new hires of different backgrounds to build trust and a sense of belonging. Staff take a queue from senior managers on this and that is why it is important to create an office culture that encourages people to be people. Workshop participants expressed a feeling of belonging coming from colleagues showing a genuine interest in their families, stories, and culture (and not assuming men don’t want to have those conversations!) and from having their office celebrate holidays and birthdays.
Belonging requires promoting a culture of celebrating diversity in the workplace. For example, participants fondly recalled Diwali parties with samosas and a Moon festival potluck that allowed them to take part in their colleagues’ cultures.
The key piece is buy-in from leadership. Having committees and resource groups for different backgrounds or LGBTQ employees and even for cultural celebrations is appreciated by staff, but do require discretionary funds. Participants also highlighted volunteer projects in their communities as a huge boost for staff morale and a way of infusing meaning into a newcomer’s transition into a team.
One participant stood up and shared that on the whole, newcomers don’t want to be treated as newcomers. They want to be treated as people. All people have a history and a culture. All people have skills and interesting perspectives. All people have something to offer. All people should be accommodated.
The ultimate goal is for every employee to feel like they belong and they are identified as a team member rather than being labeled as an immigrant or newcomer.
Opportunities for growth
Staff from all backgrounds want to work in organizations that take a personal interest in their wellbeing and their professional advancement. That includes opportunities for mentorship, professional development and space to move up, but also, one-on-one time with leadership. Many appreciate systems of recognition or peer spotlighting.
A strong workplace culture should ultimately allow all people to be heard without judgement, because adding different cultures adds different perspectives. That’s why we need to make the space and take the extra care where it is needed. It’s the right thing and the smart thing to do.
If you want to do a quick strategy session on your HR programs and policy to promote greater diversity and inclusion in your organization, please contact us at hello [at] vezacommunity [dot] com.
Ishu Kler is a photographer and Social Media Manager at Veza Global. She currently owns and operates a freelance photography company called Ishu Kler Creative where she specializes in branding, portrait and event photography. Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., her love and passion for photography led Ishu to travel and live in New Delhi, India, where she obtained her Diploma in Photography. She also travelled to Costa Rica in 2015, where she obtained her Certificate in Documentary Photography from Photographers Without Borders.
Kelsey is a passionate Multimedia Designer & Communications Specialist with a diploma in Multimedia Production and over nine years of diverse design experience in different areas of the world including roles within multinational in-house marketing teams Microsoft and Technetix, marketing agencies and freelance. These experiences have led her to develop strong use of design principles, skills in Adobe Creative Cloud, knowledge in motion graphics and video editing, and knowledge in creating effective communication for a wide range of audiences and cultures.
