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2020 has seen the fight against discrimination reach a new and severely impactful level. People are no longer sitting back, letting things slide and looking the other way. In many ways, discrimination has been brought into the light and has made itself impossible to ignore.
But what if some forms of discrimination are so culture-specific, that they could happen before our very eyes and we’d never know? I was listening to Rough Translation’s podcast episode about caste systems in Silicon Valley and as an HR professional working in a start-up environment, it felt like a call-to-action. In an effort to challenge my own blindspots, I’ve decided to build this multi-part series to take a look at “codified discrimination” and the impact it can have specifically on HR departments as we forge ahead in building relevant Diversity and Inclusion policies for our teams.
The first question that might already be popping into your head is “what is codified discrimination”? In the context of this article it refers to unwritten rules that govern social interactions within a given culture. These rules are so deeply engrained in communities and social groups that often when we use them, we are completely unaware of their discriminatory properties. Other times, however, they do carry intentionality and through this exploratory series, I’m hoping to uncover some of the signalling that occurs when these forms of discrimination happen so I can support my team and others in course-correcting.
Personally, I feel that one of the biggest struggles Human Resource professionals face is encouraging true diversity and inclusion. We can build policies up the wazoo but policies mean nothing if we aren’t actively seeking to understand the underlying issues or building an awareness of the less common forms of exclusion or bias our employees face.
If you’re in a similar boat and, like me, don’t know what you don’t know, then I’d invite you to come along for the ride. Let’s create a space where we can discuss this topic openly, unpack some of the nuances, challenge our own beliefs and thinking biases and develop an awareness that can support us in supporting our teams.
As I embark on this eye-opening journey, I’m choosing to dive into my own social circle and seek out the perspectives and experiences of people near and dear to me who have insights that will, no doubt, be new to me. I also want to be careful in this discussion to not speak for people and cultures who experience this type of internal discrimination and would rather use this series to give other’s a chance to share their stories.
Whether you’re in HR, an executive at your company, managing a team or an individual contributor looking to learn, my goal is to make my learnings accessible to you and broken down into bite-sized chunks so you have clear steps for building and maintaining a truly inclusive workplace.
Looking for some tools to share with your team or friends? Head on over to the webinar section of this site for some free webinars on this topic and many others!
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