Inclusive Workplace Quotes

The rules that shape the lives of employees in the workplace today often don’t honor the lives of employees outside the workplace. That can make the workplace a hostile place—because it pits your work against your family in a contest one side has to lose.

a workplace can look as diverse as the United Nations, but if the employees are not truly respected, not truly valued, not truly involved, and not truly treated with dignity, what you have is a great photo opportunity, not real inclusion.

I spent many years being a square peg and trying to bash myself into a round hole.

Speak up in your unions. I’ve watched with pride these last few years as my mother has leveraged her privilege at her union to help make her workplace more inclusive.

[T]he dire need of millions of Americans to get a biweekly paycheck (and the need of having to shut one’s mouth to be paid) significantly contributes to destroying America’s potential for healthier and more inclusive workplaces, and indeed for a healthier society overall.

What exactly do people who aren’t white men have that could be more inclusive of white men? We do not have control of our local governments, our national governments, our school boards, our universities, our police forces, our militaries, our workplaces. All we have is our struggle. And yet we are told that our struggle for inclusion and equity—and our celebration of even symbolic steps toward them—is divisive and threatening to those who have far greater access to everything else than we can dream of. If white men are finding that the overwhelmingly white-male-controlled system isn’t meeting their needs, how did we end up being the problem?

INFJs believe overly competitive environments are harmful to the creative process. They have a visceral, instinctual aversion to workplace dynamics that set one employee against the other, and they abhor backstabbing and office politics almost as much as they despise social injustice and wasted human potential—probably because they see such behavior as a contributing factor to our society’s dysfunction.

While we are all forced to participate in the games of office politics; it is very defeatist position for a Black woman. Many would argue that White men in America write the rules, mange the courses, and call all the plays. They are trusted to lead organizations and are in key positions to make positive change. I believe that at this moment in time, the onus shouldn't be places on the underdogs to pull themselves up. The onus is on White men in power to create work environments that are both inclusive and sustainable for marginalized people.

Place- and community-based education has much in common with other contemporary efforts to link schools more firmly to their communities—efforts such as civic education, contextual education, service learning, environmental education, and workplace education. We have chosen to hang our hats on place- and community-based education because it is the only term that allows for the inclusion of both the human and the more-than-human, something we believe is essential if educators are to help students grapple with the messy and cross-disciplinary nature of humankind’s current dilemmas.

In brief, if we do not seriously problematize diversity as practiced currently in our society, we all lose. The diverse people should take this more seriously than anyone else, because putting them at the forefront of the battlefield with low-paid jobs while making them look like they are 'stealing' someone else’s job opportunities is not worth the paychecks they are getting in the long run. It is no secret that this hoax of diversity has turned countless poor and marginalized White Americans into the biggest enemies of diversity in America. This negatively affects all diverse people who truly love and make important contributions to the American society.

My fortune within corporate America has always been held hostage by white solidarity.

The purpose-oriented among us are the first to jump ship.

My call to action goes well beyond asking you to pressure your recruiting team to hire a couple of token employees. That's easy and you've been doing that for years. My call to action is that you dig deeper and place focus on making the work environment sustainable for the minorities you introduce to your team. I'm challenging you to refrain from the habitual practice of listening only to the jaded opinions of people that you are more familiar with. Consider that, although you may be under the impression that your employees have strong ethics, morals and values, there is a possibility that they mat not be telling you the entire truth when speaking about the performance or demeanor of minorities. Furthermore, I challenge you to accept that racism, ageism, ableism, classism, sizeism, homophobia, etc., are real and shaping the semblance of your organization. Accepting that fact does not mean that people you work with and trust are bad people. It simply means that many of them are naïve, fearful, and more comfortable with pointing fingers at the innocent than they are with facing and addressing their own unconscious and damaging biases.

It is not until you consciously decide to prioritize the elimination of stagnant, exclusive culture that your company will be in a position to make the systemic changes needed to both address and eventually abolish disparities.

To build a more inclusive world, we must move toward building more accommodations into our modern workplaces for all types of families, and more acceptance into our social fabric for neighbors and colleagues who live in family structures different than our own.

Those with the least social capital and power shouldn’t be asked to instigate the most change.

Discrimination is hate, and there is no place for it in the workplace. Strive to be a person or organization who promotes diversity and commits to sustaining an inclusive culture.

Leaders are no longer expected to just enhance the bottom line; many are now being given the sacred duty of spiritually awakening, emotionally healing, and courageously leading from a platform of inclusion, wholeness, and connection.

Talking about diversity and inclusion in the workplace is one of the most important conversations you will ever have with your employees.

If you want to be an effective and memorable leader, get comfortable fostering a culture of inclusion, collaboration and creativity.

The Next Generation of Women Leaders: What You Need to Lead but Won’t Learn in Business School and Pushback: How Smart Women Ask—and Stand Up—for What They Want. As the same time, Rezvani created Women’s Roadmap, which engages in women’s leadership development and helps companies to create inclusive workplaces.

If you are able to disengage and not think about these issues, recognize you have privilege. If you’re able to write off these issues as ‘political’ rather than personal, recognize you have privilege. Many people who are directly or indirectly impacted do not have the option to “turn off” nor call it “too political” to be discussed or felt in the workplace.7

The rise of remote work is a golden opportunity for HR to champion diversity and inclusion by sourcing talent without geographical boundaries.

Swearing and insults—even ones that can sound quite vicious to the uninitiated—are all part of the banter in many workplaces. It’s good for group bonding, and inclusivity makes for a productive workforce. As Dr. Barbara Plester wrote in her 2007 paper, “Taking the Piss: Functions of Banter in the IT Industry”: “Banter occurs when people are in good humor; when people are playful, they are at their most creative.

I have lost track of the number of times when I chatted with DEI professionals or even diversity hires of different races and backgrounds who painfully told me that they are put in a position that makes them incapable of making any meaningful changes in their workplace. That their job is primarily to be tokenized and make the institution look and feel good, but in reality they – and any diverse person in their workplace – feel totally paralyzed in environments that look good, but are in fact extremely controlled by the few privileged at the top. [From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]

Exclusion

It is always controversial when it comes to women with strong character at the workplace!

To lead inclusively, you will embrace discomfort and recognize your own and others’ imperfections as part of what it means to be human.

You show up as an inclusive leader every day, not just when it’s convenient.

We can’t underestimate the need for people to be heard, seen, and respected, which is what inclusion is all about.

Being a human leader means inviting other perspectives and letting go of the need to be right.

We have no idea what anyone else is dealing with until we get to know them, listen to them, and try to understand what they are experiencing.

When we don’t have the hard conversations, the issues we are avoiding talking about go underground, fester, and become more destructive.

Meetings embody and reveal your team culture. They expose who has the power, who gets listened to, and who feels comfortable speaking up.

Every meeting is an opportunity for people to feel seen, heard, and respected.

It is only when you retreat from discomfort that the learning stops.

Inclusive leadership requires us to hear information and viewpoints that often will make us uncomfortable.

As a boldly inclusive leader, you will need to counteract the natural human tendency to hear only the voices you most easily connect with.

Being a human leader means showing up as an imperfect person, with all your strengths and all your flaws.

It takes so little effort to make people feel seen and cared about.

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern workplaces, bias continues to cast an insidious shadow, subtly influencing interactions, decisions, and experiences. While conversations on workplace bias often center around overt discriminatory practices, it is equally essential to shed light on more subtle, nuanced forms of bias.

Why should we be arguing for our own rights(LGBTQ) in the first place?

If the BBC says I'm Gay, it must be True! I always knew I was gay. Just as straight people always know they are straight.

But first, for the straight people reading this book, in case you are worried, reading about LGBTQ issues and trying to make your organization diverse will not make you LGBTQ. It doesn't happen that way, darlings. If you are straight, you will remain straight. Chill!

If you want to be an effective leader, get comfortable fostering Fostered a culture of innovation, inclusion, collaboration and creativity.

Our survey measure rated three behavioral attributes of leadership inclusiveness: one, leaders were approachable and accessible; two, leaders acknowledged their fallibility; and three, leaders proactively invited input from other staff, physicians, and nurses. The concept of leadership inclusiveness thus captures situational humility coupled with proactive inquiry (discussed in the next section).

I’ve learned that there’s a lot of good intention out there when we say “diversity and inclusion,” but our societies and workplaces often operate on the principle that if we mean well, then even the worst of behaviors can be excused. It’s why most well-meaning people get so defensive when you call them discriminatory. There are few phrases that would get someone more angry than if you called their behavior racist or misogynist. Many people will retort with some version of, “But I don’t see color” or “I didn’t say that because you’re a woman.

As communicators, we are complicit in the harm caused by performative communications, microaggressions, reinforcing stereotypes in our content, and contributing to damaging our brand’s reputation…. As conscious communicators, with an awareness of others’ experiences and a commitment to centering them, we are uniquely positioned to help build a truly people-centered workplace.

In my experience, triggers are the prime reason that men and women end up retreating to gender silos, narrowing their experience and depriving themselves of useful connections. That’s what happened when Jen enlisted Chantal to commiserate with her after the meeting in which Mark received credit for her idea. Sharing her resentment with a female colleague may have temporarily relieved the emotional distress Jen felt at being disregarded. But venting her feelings only reinforced the story she was telling herself to explain what had happened: “Men just can’t listen to women!” This increased the likelihood of her remaining stuck in a negative groove. It’s the stories we tell ourselves when we feel triggered that keep us dug in and limit our ability to frame an effective response. Here’s how the process works: First, the trigger kicks off an emotional reaction that blindsides us. We feel a rush of adrenaline, a sinking in the pit of our stomach, a recoil, a blinding rage, or a snide “of course.” Or we may simply feel confusion. Our immediate impulse may be to lash out. But if we’re in a work situation, we fear what this could cost us, so we try to suppress our feelings and move on. When this doesn’t succeed, we may grab the first opportunity to complain to a sympathetic colleague, which is why so much time at work gets consumed in gripe sessions and unproductive gossip. In this way, our response to triggers plays a role in shaping toxic cultures that set us against one another, justify sniping, and waste everybody’s time. But whether we suffer in silence or indulge the urge to vent, the one thing we almost always do when triggered is try to put what happened in some kind of context. This is where storytelling enters the picture. We craft a narrative based on past experience or perceptions in a way that assigns blame, exonerates us, and magnifies impact. Because these stories make us feel better, we may not stop to question whether they are either accurate or useful. Yet the truth is that our go-to stories rarely serve us well. They are especially damaging when they operate across divides: gender, of course (“Men can’t, women just refuse”), but also race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age (“They always, they seem incapable of…”). Because these default stories rely on generalizations and stereotypes, they reinforce any biases we may have. This makes it difficult for us to see others in their particularity; instead, they appear to us as members of a group. In addition, because our go-to stories usually emphasize our own innocence (“I had no idea!” “I never guessed he would…”), they often reinforce our feelings of being aggrieved or victimized—an increasing hazard for men as well as women. Since we can’t control other people, our best path is to acknowledge the emotional and mental impact a trigger has on us. This necessary first step can then enable us to choose a response that enhances our dignity and serves our interests.

Catalyst also provides a handy, free-of-charge quiz that managers could benefit from taking. The quiz can help leaders understand whether their organizations are inclusive and what areas need to be improved.

It is high time for American citizens and policymakers to recognize the American male’s postwar flight from work for what it is: a grave social ill. It is imperative for the future health of our nation that we make a determined and sustained commitment to bringing these detached men back—back into the workplace, back into their families, back into our civil society. I do not propose here to offer a comprehensive program to accomplish this great goal. This is not a “how to” book. America’s “men without work” problem is immense and complex and has been gathering fully for two generations. Reversing it will surely require action on many different fronts—and certainly not just governmental action. It will also require suggestions and strategies from voices across the political spectrum; only a broad and inclusive approach will develop and sustain the consensus needed to turn this tide. In

Having studied workplace leadership styles since the 1970s, Kets de Vries confirmed that language is a critical clue when determining if a company has become too cultish for comfort. Red flags should rise when there are too many pep talks, slogans, singsongs, code words, and too much meaningless corporate jargon, he said. Most of us have encountered some dialect of hollow workplace gibberish. Corporate BS generators are easy to find on the web (and fun to play with), churning out phrases like “rapidiously orchestrating market-driven deliverables” and “progressively cloudifying world-class human capital.” At my old fashion magazine job, employees were always throwing around woo-woo metaphors like “synergy” (the state of being on the same page), “move the needle” (make noticeable progress), and “mindshare” (something having to do with a brand’s popularity? I’m still not sure). My old boss especially loved when everyone needlessly transformed nouns into transitive verbs and vice versa—“whiteboard” to “whiteboarding,” “sunset” to “sunsetting,” the verb “ask” to the noun “ask.” People did it even when it was obvious they didn’t know quite what they were saying or why. Naturally, I was always creeped out by this conformism and enjoyed parodying it in my free time. In her memoir Uncanny Valley, tech reporter Anna Wiener christened all forms of corporate vernacular “garbage language.” Garbage language has been around since long before Silicon Valley, though its themes have changed with the times. In the 1980s, it reeked of the stock exchange: “buy-in,” “leverage,” “volatility.” The ’90s brought computer imagery: “bandwidth,” “ping me,” “let’s take this offline.” In the twenty-first century, with start-up culture and the dissolution of work-life separation (the Google ball pits and in-office massage therapists) in combination with movements toward “transparency” and “inclusion,” we got mystical, politically correct, self-empowerment language: “holistic,” “actualize,” “alignment.

NeuroDiversity is the next frontier in Diversity & Inclusion. If your D&I program doesn't take all NeuroDivergent people into account, it's already obsolete.