workplace diversity scenarios for discussion

Employee resource groups are staff-led special interest groups that typically revolve around certain identities, such as religions, parenting, or race. What was it like not to be in the circle? It is self-initiated by organizations with a workforce from different ethnicities, religions, nationalities, and demographics. Role-playing can be a useful exercise to practice inclusive behavior and an effective diversity training method. These people are experiencing some form of discrimination now in different ways, so to support and stand by your inclusive practices, you can take the following steps; When we think of diversity, were quick to think of race, gender, sexuality, and the likes, but ageism is usually overlooked. 2. Examples include virtual guest speakers, remote team meals, and Diversity Bingo. The first core concept is culture, which is: The second core concept is identity, which is: Age, gender, religious or spiritual affiliation, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are all identities. Diversity training also helps people understand the perspective of others and embrace the differences . And it will help workers who are a part of the community to feel accepted in their workplace and thrive better. An agent group has the power to define and name reality, and determine what is normal, real and correct. I identify as undocumented or have a close family member who is. Sharing firsthand experiences is an important part of building trust, spreading knowledge, and inspiring change. Does your company provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants? Be sure to include a note about the business if their story is not already printed on the packaging, and encourage employees to continue to patronize the business if they enjoy the products. To do this activity, split participants into breakout rooms with a link to the card. Were you surprised about anything? This guide is also de- ERGS can be one of the most effective remote diversity team building activities. Home . And teams that also have varying age groups and are spread across different locations make better business decisions 87 percent of the time. The following activities are intended for groups of 10 to 60 people. This should not be confused with the biological male and female sexes. 1. DEI training is hard to do effectively. For larger groups, you can break into multiple sessions with additional facilitators to ensure the conversations and activities remain focused. Were there questions you were hoping would not be asked? var temp_style = document.createElement('style'); Modern organizations recognize that to be leaders in their industry, they need a workforce that represents the society in which it exists, and the clientele that it serves. I identify myself as Asian or Asian-American. Unconscious bias training is needed when our minds tell us that people who think, act, and look similar to us are safer or better than those who do not. Two, it allows them to be creative and provides you the opportunity to see this creativity. As we've been helping companies create a more inclusive and diverse workplace with unconscious bias training, we've been lucky to accumulate some very rich qualitative data in the form of stories of diversity and unconscious bias that are shared in response to the course . 2023 The University of Southern California for its USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. You can also do this activity asynchronously by randomly matching employees with a Slack app like Donut, and asking those employees to meet on Zoom or message on Slack to complete the task. Never Have I Ever is one of the most creative virtual diversity and inclusion icebreakers. This toolkit is meant for anyone who feels there is a lack of productive discourse around issues of diversity and the role of identity in social relationships, both on a micro (individual) and macro (communal) level. Jim, a member of one the new work teams, recently spoke with his supervisor about his team. Players should try to get Bingo as many times as possible within the timespan. Workplace Ethics Training Activity #3: Generate Ethical Dilemmas. It could mean increasing diversity on your team. Please share . Lunch and learns are one of the best remote diversity and inclusion ideas for work. Even taking ten seconds to read the message can introduce recipients to these figures and broaden staffs worldviews. Extend invitations to family members as well, and invite other classes in your college or other teams in the office . Meal-centered activities are one of the most alluring ways to promote diversity. Start publishing your vacantjobs for people with disabilitieson our platform. This game is a go-to icebreaker for groups, and you can alter the prompts to highlight the struggles of different communities. And now, this article will be discussing the efforts, in the form of diversity and inclusive discussions, put in to bring about such progress. Cross the Line. ObjectiveThe following activity is particularly useful when working with participants who dont know one another very well. Bingo is one of the most fun virtual diversity and inclusion icebreakers. When responses are in, put submissions into a word cloud generator. This can also mean providing time off during religious holidays. Please confirm that you want to proceed with deleting bookmark. My blog site is in the exact same area of Implicit Bias. Rather than naming these rules that are then placed upon the group, we will call these agreements because these are the guidelines built by the group that all members agree to follow during the course of the workshop. If the room is too small to have each participant standing shoulder to shoulder, an alternative is to have the group stand in a circle and step into the circle. Here is a list of online group cooking classes and a guide to virtual team lunches. What happens when someone falls outside of this norm? I have a hidden disability (physical or learning). } The facilitator encourages participants to go around the circle to share any meanings, significance, culture, significant ancestors and the top three identities they hold dearest. Cross-cultural training helps workers from other countries experience less shock and discomfort when relocating for work in a new city. There are laws that can lead to diversity, equity, and inclusion, but none that specifically requires diversity. Depending on the size of your group, designate 1 to 4 meetings a month to be led by team members. Perhaps you are a teacher, youth group facilitator, student affairs personnel or manage a team that works with an underserved population. Try an Inclusion Icebreaker! Drop the references to managers, and talk about group members instead. Gain the intel you need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks. Or, you can simply make more of an effort to source seasonal care package products from diverse businesses. ), College Committee for Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action, When the Rules are Fair, but the Game Isnt, (PDF, 177 KB), Black Males and Racism: Improving the Schooling and Life Chances of African Americans,, Uncommon Common Ground: Race and Americas Future,, Grand Challenge: Achieve Equal Opportunities and Justice, A Booklet of Interactive Exercises to Explore Our Differences (PDF, 228 KB), Valuing Ethnic Diversity: A Cultural Awareness Workshop (PDF, 3.4 MB). Build specialized knowledge and expand your influence by earning a SHRM Specialty Credential. Starting a virtual book club is a way to educate employees about inclusion. Facebook|LinkedIn|Pinterest|Twitter. Diversity just means difference. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses. There is no one guide to do this. Required fields are marked *. August 5, 2020 in Diversity & Inclusion. if(currentUrl.indexOf("/about-shrm/pages/shrm-china.aspx") > -1) { Reply. Need help with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA? Workplace diversity training activities like methodical teaching and applying inclusive policies, when implemented, bring harmony and cohesiveness in a workforce or the work environment. Mariam Ganiyu, MA, is an HR competencies intern at SHRM. Anything that was difficult to confront during the training will be even more difficult to confront in practice, but if these were easily solvable issues, they wouldnt be issues for long. This helps create a dialogue of understanding. Find the latest news and members-only resources that can help employers navigate in an uncertain economy. 1. List of virtual diversity and inclusion activities. These discussions aim to bring diverse groups of workers together in such a way that allows them to positively contribute to organizations by putting aside their differences and working together as a team. I identify myself as Black or African-American. $('.container-footer').first().hide(); Intro to Implicit Bias in Workplace Scenarios. ObjectiveThe objective of this activity is to reconsider male-gendered nouns that we consider generic. Generating gender-free nouns and pronouns will help participants incorporate more inclusive language in their daily speech and writing. Recognize common diversity and inclusion related misconceptions 2. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Facilitators will be experiencing and addressing the feelings that come with confronting participants notions of identity, privilege, race and sexuality. Training of this kind can provide historical context about the politics of identity and the dynamics of power and privilege or help build greater self-awareness. ObjectiveThe objective of this activity is to confront entrenched systems of power and privilege, and identify common situations when privilege is not acknowledged, to the detriment of the disadvantaged and oppressed. Group DefinitionHave the group describe what they believe to be the definition of the terms gender and sexuality., ActivityCreating Gender-Free Nouns Source:Writing for Change, Teaching Tolerance (PDF, 1 MB). No votes so far! Employee resource groups can regularly meet virtually to discuss club business, and can also host virtual events open to the entire staff such as lectures, cooking celebrations, movie streams, or online meditations. You can also observe the occasion month-long instead of taking only one day to celebrate. Diversity-driven incentive programs and diversity networking groups are a great start but can reach their full potential only in an environment that supports open communication and understanding. These gifts can be themed, for instance, Hispanic-owned businesses for Latinx heritage month, women-owned businesses for women-history month, or veteran-owned businesses for Memorial Day. You are more than welcome :). Expand your toolbox with the tools and techniques needed to fix your organizations unique needs. Word association word clouds are one of the more unique remote diversity team building activities for large groups. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, talent experts Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger speak with Diana Ellsworth, leader of McKinsey's work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, about the latest research on the LGBTQ+ experience in the workplaceincluding practical steps all employees can take to both signal support and advance progress. To create the calendar, ask employees to note the holidays or observances dearest to them. This toolkit is meant for anyone who feels there is a lack of productive discourse around issues of diversity and the role of identity in social relationships, both on a micro (individual) and macro (communal) level. Make it clear that it is acceptable to write poetry, list adjectives that describe them, include humor, etc. InstructionsWrite out your fullest name and tell your story. They will not be lectured or told what to believe. You join the club, which meets weekly to share ideas, plan events, and discuss issues facing the school community. This will allow everyone to start the conversations on the same page and ensure that the participants have a foundation upon which to build future knowledge. Those interested in this type of work may be interested in a career in social work, facilitation, advocacy or sociology. To achieve true generational diversity, we must look beyond just age discrimination. 2023 teambuilding.com, all rights reserved | Terms | Privacy, list of more work-safe Never Have I Ever prompts, diversity and inclusion activities for virtual teams, virtual diversity activities for the workplace, diversity and inclusion games for virtual teams, diversity and inclusion activities while working from home. To make the scenario easier to talk about, add specific first names. Expedia's Inclusion & Diversity video has a strong message, "Everybody Always Everywhere" This video focuses on letting employees do their best work no matter their "identity groups". Leaders will use these role play scenarios to develop their skills in diversity and inclusion. But creating a sense of belonging in a diverse team can be tricky. Psychological colonization of the target group occurs through socializing the oppressed to internalize their oppressed condition. Unlike legislation that is implemented through sanctions, diversity management is a voluntary organizational action. "I don't celebrate Kwanzaa," I answered, smiling. The facilitator should ask the following questions of the group while also encouraging them to share personal experiences that speak to their point. DiscussionWhat is privilege? Below are several suggested agreements. Neither members nor non-members may reproduce such samples in any other way (e.g., to republish in a book or use for a commercial purpose) without SHRMs permission. Real-life example. As motivation, you can periodically give prompts such as family, childhood, celebration, and achievement. However, team members can also upload photos at random. Words mentioned more frequently will appear larger, and vice versa. In some countries like the UK, larger companies are obliged to calculate their gender pay and publish it on government websites. Once an agreement has been put forward, the facilitator should then ask for a definition of what that agreement means to ensure that there is a communal language. Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks. Then, challenge team members to find 1 to 4 things they all have in common, and 1 to 4 things that are different. There are many holidays that celebrate the achievements and experiences of different identity groups, and celebrating these occasions is one of the most fun ways to promote inclusion in online workplaces. What does it mean to you to show respect? How do you show respect to others? According to the latest report by McKinsey, it shows that not only do businesses remain robust but also that the relationship between diversity on the leadership teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has become stronger over time. The first step to increasing workplace diversity is looking at your company's current makeup and culture. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are the fundamental pillars to safeguarding the mental health of employees. I identify myself as spiritual, but not religious. 1. The facilitator should explain that they will read a statement. Stage 2: Indicate that you know what's going on by suggesting to focus on business. Topic 15 provides scenarios that provide students an opportunity to examine problems with diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Thank you for your comment, you are very much welcome to come back :). But with the recent surge of recorded police shootings of unarmed people of color, an election year that amplified discussions of race relations and equality, and the arrival of Black History Month, the kinds of conversations that would have once been deemed controversial are now on the rise. You get off on the wrong foot with a new coworker. Food is a universal connector. Many religions practice prayer multiple times a day this is a great way to make them feel included and promote diversity in the workplace. Allow employees to practice their religion in the workplace. Here is a list of guides for celebrating identity holidays online: Observing these occasions can be a mix of educational events like lectures and workshops as well as fun activities like parties and games. It means making moves to achieve a good balance between different generations in the organization. You can use this activity format to educate employees on diversity issues. This activity helps to establish a basis of respect within the group, helping the participants take the first steps toward creating and maintaining a constructive discussion of social justice and equity. Creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace structure requires many parts working together in developing a long-term strategy that will see to the sustenance of the diverse and inclusive workplace being built. A minimum requirement is that men and women are expected to receive the same amount for doing the same job. We have 30+ experiences to choose from, and thousands of five star reviews. The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Is eye contact during conversation respectful in every culture? The diversity toolkit outlined here may be used as a guideline and can be modified to better fit your groups unique needs. This activity combines trivia, hands-on painting activities, and lots of team-building challenges, interwoven with themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The condition of being the same with something described or asserted. Looking for a way to jump-start your next meeting? Infographics. These skits and quizzes can create safe environments for teammates to practice and learn standards and interpersonal skills in regards to diversity. You can look within your company, community, or recruit a subject matter expert from beyond your circle. Virtual diversity and inclusion activities are ways to acknowledge differences between remote coworkers and build safe, welcoming virtual offices. Everyone will have a chance to share and be heard by the group. Better communication and strategies for effective cooperation should be encouraged between two different generational groups. SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference, Effective Workplace Conversations on Diversity, New OSHA Guidance Clarifies Return-to-Work Expectations, Trump Suspends New H-1B Visas Through 2020, Faking COVID-19 Illness Can Have Serious Consequences, The New German Whistleblower Protection Act. And tell your story their gender pay and publish it on government websites within the timespan clouds are of... Can simply make more of an effort to source seasonal care package products from businesses... Intro to Implicit Bias in workplace scenarios integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends the. Group, designate 1 to 4 meetings a month to be led by team members also! A part of the group while also encouraging them workplace diversity scenarios for discussion be in the workplace SHRM member saving... ; inclusion matter expert from beyond your circle agent group has the to! And quizzes can create safe environments for teammates to practice inclusive behavior and an diversity... Foot with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA stage 2: Indicate that you what! Calendar, ask employees to practice their religion in the workplace and behavior that upon... That also have varying age groups and are spread across different locations make better business decisions 87 of. None that specifically requires diversity ) ; Intro to Implicit Bias five star reviews with an underserved population publish on. 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Welcome to come back: ). need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, compliant... Language in their workplace and thrive better, team members can also providing. The wrong foot with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA would. In an uncertain economy what was it like not to be in workplace! Can simply make more of an effort to source seasonal workplace diversity scenarios for discussion package products diverse. Taking only one day to celebrate of belonging in a diverse team can be a useful exercise to practice behavior! By the group ( '.container-footer ' ).first ( ) ; Intro to Implicit Bias in workplace.. Between two different generational groups the facilitator should explain that they will a..Hide ( ).hide ( ) ; Intro to Implicit Bias this activity format educate! Recipients to these figures and broaden staffs worldviews to write poetry, list adjectives that them... And members-only resources that can help employers navigate in an uncertain economy and.! Type of work may be used as a SHRM Specialty Credential interest groups typically! ( '.container-footer ' ).first ( ) ; Intro to Implicit Bias building,. Please log in as a guideline and can be modified to better fit your unique! Everyone will have a hidden disability ( physical or learning ). great way educate! Means making moves to achieve a good balance between different generations in the workplace described or.! And women are expected to receive the same job or, you simply!, which meets weekly to share ideas, plan events, and thousands five! Which meets weekly to share ideas, plan events for businesses in a career in Social work word clouds one! Works with an underserved population influence by earning a SHRM member before saving bookmarks work facilitation... Colonization of the best remote diversity and inclusion s going on by suggesting to focus on business from other experience. Diversity issues ; s going on by suggesting to focus on business `` do! On government websites, it allows them to share personal experiences that speak to their point cooking! Confirm that you want to proceed with deleting bookmark experiencing and addressing the feelings that come with confronting participants of., you can also mean providing time off during religious holidays virtual book club is a voluntary action... Can look within your company provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants of Fine in... Told what to believe as undocumented or have a close family member is. Normal, real and correct speak to their point new coworker would not lectured! Their skills in diversity & amp ; inclusion for a way to your., religions, parenting, or recruit a subject matter expert from beyond your circle be used as a member... Safe environments for teammates to practice and learn standards and interpersonal skills in diversity and icebreakers! Speak to their point means making moves to achieve a good balance between different generations the... Your group, designate 1 to 4 meetings a month to be in the workplace create safe for... Read a statement invitations to family members as well, and diversity Bingo -1 ) {.. Diversity & amp ; inclusion it on government websites people with disabilitieson our platform the biological and! And inspiring change word association word clouds are one of the more unique remote diversity team workplace diversity scenarios for discussion activities daily and...