Inclusion Infusions: Inclusion in Times of Stress

Posted on Friday, April 17th, 2020

No one needs me to explain that we living in difficult and stressful times. I would like to highlight that this means we need to be even more mindful of behaving inclusively. Here are some recent examples demonstrating the reality of bias, discrimination and exclusion:

Our brain is hardwired to make split second decisions to perceive anyone different from us as a threat. This is unconscious bias – the immediate, reflexive, defensive reaction to the “other”. You should be concerned that it can cause your critical thinking to be less reliable. According to Manie Bosman, CEO at the Strategic Leadership Institute “when the amygdala is activated, the cognitive tendency is to generalize more, which increases the likelihood of accidental connections. This means that our ability to understand, make decisions, remember, memorize, plan, inhibit impulses, solve problems and communicate is impaired. (source: Korn Ferry). The last thing we need in stressful and uncertain times is to make generalized and reactive decisions, rather than those based on evidence and thoughtfulness.

Equity & Intercultural Competence and Managing for Diversity are two major elements in AC’s 2019-2022 Inclusion & Diversity Blueprint. Just like our muscles, we need to exercise these skills to become strong, and then in times of stress our ‘muscle memory’ will help guide us through. Now is the time we need to be drawing on our value of respect, slowing down our thing and combatting bias in our decisions. I encourage you to take a moment to ensure you have all the evidence before making a decision with your gut, and bring in new evidence by learning about others. Here are a couple upcoming learning opportunities you can access virtually to keep your inclusion muscles toned:

· April 23 – CCDI Webinar: Leveraging cultural difference at work

· April 29 – Pride at Work Canada Webinar: Woke Marketing, Rainbow Edition

· May 7 – CCDI Webinar: The history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada


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