Diversity feels pretty recent. Yet here we are now looking to go all inclusive. Not the “all you can eat” holidays abroad, but the chance to be part of something and yet be individuals? Article by Mike Conlan
I’m sure you’ve realised by now, yep, we’re all different and can all contribute, be innovative and be part of something good. We can be respected and we can be innovative too. A cliché I know – but Inclusion is about the greater good. Inclusion is the next step for corporations – using the power of everyone to do something really great! So will Inclusion help large organisations provide more growth, greater diversity of thought, innovation and different perspectives? For me, it’s a no-brainer
It’s an extreme example – but if everyone in the boardroom is masculine in a grey striped suit with similar educational backgrounds, then they’ll generally come up with the same well-used ideas? Let’s not forget that huge amounts of consumer products are purchased by women, ethnic minorities, and people with disability. And yet – how many of these incredibly important consumers are actually running these large organisations? And on top of this, recent events in football are a reminder that racism is still around and in fact we could be living in worrying times. It’s quite possible that a small number of supporters with racist and sexist views have good jobs in respected organisations. Let’s hope that we don’t revert back to the 1970’s and 1980’s when racism was a small part of the overall fabric of football and in some cases, work.
I think women are concerned about using the web, Twitter, Facebook? I’m sure the excessive porn on the web, some direct abuse on Twitter and at times a general lack of respect for women doesn’t help. Technology is brilliant, but we should run it and not let it run us. There are good communities and bad created within the web – let’s increase the good – both as individuals and as corporations. So what is the ultimate inclusion? I guess that’s when we don’t need to highlight being a woman, being gay, being black or being disabled needs some sort of quota system or specific recognition to get on in life or business. However, I suspect that cliques will always exist and it broke my heart when I read about a 15 year old girl committing suicide after being consistently bullied. I was constantly bullied when I was at school and it’s held a lasting impression on me – both good and bad. Bullying could conceivably look like a weird sort of inclusion – as bullies inevitably gang up together against one person. And I’m pleased to say it’s not something I’ve seen in BT in 39 years.
And did the Paralympics help us to become more inclusive? It was a fantastic world event and we got the chance to go to great venues and see incredible people. But I don’t think it’s changed things in day to day life. As an aside, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great – possibly the most masculine leaders of their time – were probably bi-sexual. And yet 2000+ years’ later people can still discriminate against gay people. What’s that all about? There’s an ongoing debate about quotas, targets for corporations to help women and ethnic minorities break through the glass ceiling. It’s a personal view but I think change comes from the heart. It’s really important to have fair policies and procedures, but in the end you’ve got to get the culture right. Inclusion will happen when people put their bias aside and see the person, not the gender, the colour or disability. Be good to just see the person. Inclusion is not easy and corporations will have to do a load of different stuff to move the dial. It’ll be a number of small changes over a period of time that’ll make a difference. My own job is to help BT continue to embrace inclusion and we’re a global company, so inclusion has different challenges in every country. It’s a journey and realistically we’ll never achieve total inclusion. But I’m going to keep trying, what about you?
