Blog Post: Overcoming unspoken challenges in your Diversity Training.

Diversity is a hot topic in the business world.  In this age of globalism and immigration debates, we find ourselves hard pressed to ensure that the workforce we work in embraces an environment that acknowledges everyone as equals rather than accepts that some people are different from others.  When racial injustice is symbolically carried out even in the most prestigious of learning communities, one wonders how to address the subject of honoring the diversity of an organization in a way that raises awareness throughout the company.

Enter Jane Elliott, a former third grade teacher in an all-white, all-Christian community, who struggled to help her students understand racism and discrimination.  To accomplish this, she developed an exercise titled: “Blue Eyed/Brown Eyed.”  While her focus was on schoolchildren, the exercise finds application in today’s business world.  It can be used to expose how diversity-related issues impacts the bottom line through employee turnover or inability to reach certain markets.  And while that can be said about many diversity training programs, Jane’s approach raises the bar of diversity training by appealing to peoples’ empathy and sense of morality.

“Fort Wayne Community Schools reports that more than 80 languages and dialects are spoken in the district. Unfortunately, this level of diversity eludes the business community. Fort Wayne Urban League’s publication, “State of African-American Fort Wayne 2003,” reported studies that found Fort Wayne was the second-most segregated city in Indiana and the 24th-most segregated city in the U.S.”  “Workplace Diversity Can Help Business,” from Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Oct 22. 2007.

The challenge with Diversity Training is not just overcoming a lack of tolerance, but also overcoming the apathy that arises from not recognizing that the topic applies to the participants.  Diversity training falls apart if the trainees spend the time thinking: “I didn’t tell that insensitive story,” or “I treat everyone the same.”  This process of rationalizing away the problem stymies the very solution the training is trying to promote.  Overcome this, and you will be able to facilitate an intellectual discussion about promoting diversity in your workplace.

Seeing the World Through Others' Eyes, ASTD Orange County's November Learning Event, addresses this important topic.  If your company needs to address Diversity training, and you want to make sure that it's impactful (rather than just compliant), then join Rich Wong and Kammy Haynes as they discuss the Jane Elliott exercise: “Blue Eyed/Brown Eyed,” and how applying that tool in the business place can open up powerful discussions about the assumptions we make which can abase diversity.

Event date: November 14
Event time: 5:00 pm through 8:00 pm
Full event details:  Click here