DeepSummary
The transcript begins with Jennifer Brown introducing a new offering to work with her one-on-one and amplify diverse voices. She then discusses the importance of making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work more factual and pragmatic, rather than overly emotional, to reach resistant audiences. Rhodes Perry's perspective on tailoring DEI messaging to different audiences is shared.
Clips from previous guests Lily Zhang and Dr. Elijah Nicholas highlight making DEI work less charged, and the importance of naming identities and being an ally, respectively. Jennifer reflects on Elon Musk's resistance to the term 'cisgender' and the fears many have around allyship.
The final clip features Eric Day sharing how Dell provided him a safe space to be authentic after coming out. Jennifer discusses the importance of leadership actively communicating belonging to empower LGBTQ+ employees.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Make DEI work more pragmatic and factual to reach resistant audiences, rather than overly emotional.
- Tailor DEI messaging to different audiences based on where they are in their understanding.
- Naming and normalizing discussions around identities like 'cisgender' is important for allyship.
- Leadership needs to actively and authentically communicate that belonging matters to empower underrepresented groups.
- Creating belonging at work can be transformative for LGBTQ+ employees on their journeys.
- Fears and hesitations around allyship need to be addressed and allies empowered to take action.
- Different messengers and approaches may be needed to initiate DEI efforts in an organization.
- DEI practitioners should draw from change management principles to drive lasting culture shift.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Something to maybe think about just now, Jim, when you mentioned Elon Musk and the word cisgender and him identifying it or saying that it's a slur now, right? Can you imagine, from an organizational perspective, from a leadership perspective, from a company and employee perspective, can you imagine working for his organization or any of his organizations and being a person who is not necessarily trans or non binary, but a cisgender who cisgender individual who is comfortable identifying as cisgender and comfortable being an ally to the LGBTQIA community?“ by Dr. Elijah Nicholas
- “My entire story from coming out in 1997 to today and all that I've seen and all that I've been through and all the mistakes that I've made and all of the challenges that I faced and picking myself off the floor and trying to think about it, the funny thing is, and I've spoken this about before, those that have heard me keynote, but I talk about the struggle that I had when I came out and how work became my. Somewhat of the safe space of this place that I could really dedicate myself to pull myself somewhat out of the darkness that I went through in coming out and getting through a really difficult time in my life and making some really bad mistakes.“ by Eric Day
- “They have the, you know, I don't know the language. I don't know if it's my place. They also said, like, we don't know if it's our job or our remit to actually build something like this because we're only allies. I was like, oh, no, no. Actually, that's how it starts.“ by Jennifer Brown
Entities
Person
Company
Author
Book
Podcast
Episode Information
The Will To Change: Uncovering True Stories of Diversity & Inclusion
Jennifer Brown
6/7/24
In this special Pride Month roll-up episode of The Will to Change, Jennifer and Doug revisit powerful conversations with past guests who share insights on navigating DEI work in today's challenging climate. They discuss highlights from episodes featuring Lily on making DEI work "boring" to reach more people; Dr. Elijah on the importance of naming identities and allyship; Rhodes on knowing your audience when communicating about DEI; and Erik, Senior Vice President of Global Small Business at Dell Technologies, on how belonging at work can be life-changing for LGBTQ+ employees. Throughout the episode, Jennifer reflects on key lessons and offers advice for DEI practitioners and leaders committed to advancing inclusion in complex times.