Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

This is how you create a courageous workplace

Multiethnic group of workings bumping fists

"As the nation works to address systemic barriers, bringing more people with more differences together in a meaningful, productive way requires access, equity and belonging," writes Johnson.

Urbanscape/Getty Images

Johnson is a national equity specialist, healing practitioner, speaker and facilitator in the art, culture, business, and social justice sectors. She is also a public voices fellow with The OpEd Project.

The United States celebrated Independence Day a few weeks ago, honoring the courage of the drafters and signers of the Declaration of Independence. As many employees return to a normal workweek after the holiday and summer vacations, company leaders can ensure everyone continues to experience their unalienable rights in the workplace by centering a courageous and compassionate work culture.


As an equity specialist, I often work with organizations aiming to create a work environment that successfully navigates the various identities, needs and experiences of the staff. This goes beyond reward programs and requires that organizations operate through a culture that is committed to having difficult conversations and investing in collective solutions. A Blue Cross Blue Shield report noted that work culture has a direct impact on job satisfaction and extended impact on employee health. Work culture matters, and everyone has a right to a work environment that honors their human dignity, including their identity.

Employees have a wide range of needs, from communication styles and accessibility accommodations, to time management tools and cultural celebrations. Because no two individuals are the same, conflict is bound to happen as everyone brings a different identity, experience, perspective, belief or value. This is the inherent diversity of humanity. Conflict is as inevitable as the difference between two people. As the nation works to address systemic barriers, bringing more people with more differences together in a meaningful, productive way requires access, equity and belonging.

It is difficult to feel dignified when your identity is dismissed, targeted or a poorly engaged topic of exploration for the sake of diversity. Clients often share that “the work itself is not the issue. It’s the people. It’s exhausting trying to get others to understand why this matters let alone have the conversation in a way that doesn’t lead to more emotional labor.”

There are many fields that have historically excluded women and people of color. We are experiencing the nuanced impact of discrimination — something we must first learn about and discuss before identifying solutions. While DEI practices provide education and awareness about the issue, creating a regular practice of courageous and compassionate conversations supports everyone in using this knowledge for company growth. Conversations about identity and impact are difficult but companies can benefit from having difficult conversations and engaging with emotional intelligence at work.

Equity and belonging practices are not a “good guy/bad guy” analysis. At their core, these practices aim to acknowledge differences and create opportunities for everyone to work with dignity. In her book “ Peace in the Workplace,” Robyn Short writes that “Peace in the workplace is not a lofty goal; it is a human right.” Everyone benefits from freedom and peace.

Achieving greater equity is a journey. I encourage companies to make progress along the journey by doing the following:

Have conversations that center truth-telling and connection. We are all impacted by historical and current discriminatory practices that block access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And this impact can be different for different people. Center the courage and compassion to care about the dignity of every person in the company while working toward an achievable goal.

Know that more than one thing can be true at a time. Perspective matters as it is shaped by prior experiences and impacts how we understand our experiences. Notice when company decisions default to a particular perspective and be intentional about creating a sense of belonging in which all perspectives are considered a valuable part of the solution. Courageous and compassionate conversations will support employers and employees in navigating this truth with a shared goal.

Commit to learning and understanding systemic impact without judgment. We have inherited systems, assumptions and values from generations before us. Everyone is impacted by this in some way, though the direct impact is disproportionate. For example, we have inherited our nation’s founders’ desire for independence along with their legacy of enslavement and land theft. Such legacies are complex and can be unpacked with courage, effort and compassion. Learn how employees are impacted and continuously invest in solutions that center human dignity.

We are disrupting and correcting systems that did not consider all identities as we create new systems together. Company leaders must be courageous in managing the conflict resulting from employee needs and compassionate in ensuring the workplace is one that supports everyone in achieving company goals.

In her wisdom, Maya Angelou stated, “History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” With courage and compassion, we can continue to celebrate the bold goals of peace and independence by ensuring we honor our collective dignity in the workplace.

Read More

A Promise in the Making: Thirty-Five Years of the ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act ADA and glasses.

Getty Images

A Promise in the Making: Thirty-Five Years of the ADA

One July morning in 1990, a crowd gathered on the White House lawn, some in wheelchairs, others holding signs, many with tears in their eyes. President George H.W. Bush lifted his pen and signed his name to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—the most sweeping civil rights law for people with disabilities in the nation's history. It was a moment three decades in the making: a rare convergence of activism, outrage, and legislative will. The ADA's promise was simple—no longer would disability mean exclusion from public life—but its implications were anything but.

Thirty-five years later, the ADA remains a landmark, a legal bulwark against discrimination, and a symbol of hard-won visibility for a community that has been too often relegated to the margins. Yet, like every civil rights law, the ADA's story is more complex than a single signature or a morning in Washington. Its passage and its legacy have always been about more than ramps and regulations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Illinois Camp Gives Underrepresented Kids an Opportunity To Explore New Pathways

Kuumba Family Festival at Evanston Township High School

Illinois Camp Gives Underrepresented Kids an Opportunity To Explore New Pathways

Summer camps in Evanston, Illinois — a quiet suburb just north of Chicago — usually consist of an array of different sports, educational programs, and even learning how to sail. But one thing is obviously apparent throughout the city’s camps: they’re almost all white.

Despite Black or African American families making up nearly 16% of Evanston’s population, Black kids are massively underrepresented throughout the city's summer camps.

Keep ReadingShow less
Students in a classroom.​

Today, Hispanic-Serving Institutions enroll 64 percent of all Latino college students.

Getty Images, andresr

Tennessee’s Attack on Federal Support for Hispanic-Serving Colleges Hurts Us All

The Tennessee Attorney General has partnered with a conservative legal nonprofit to sue the U.S. Department of Education over programming that supports Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), colleges, and universities where at least 25% of the undergraduate full-time equivalent student enrollment is Hispanic. On its face, this action claims to oppose “discriminatory” federal funding. In reality, it is part of a broader and deeply troubling trend: a coordinated effort to dismantle educational opportunity for communities of color under the guise of anti-DEI rhetoric.

As a scholar of educational policy and leadership in higher education, I believe we must confront policies that narrow access and undermine equity in education for those who have been historically underserved. What is happening in Tennessee is not just a misguided action—it’s a self-inflicted wound that will harm the state's economic future and deepen historical inequality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Inclusion Is Not a Slogan. It’s the Ground We Walk On.

A miniature globe between a row of blue human figures

Getty Images//Stock Photo

Inclusion Is Not a Slogan. It’s the Ground We Walk On.

After political pressure and a federal investigation, Harvard University recently renamed and restructured its Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. MIT announced the closure of its DEI office, stating that it would no longer support centralized diversity initiatives. Meanwhile, Purdue University shut down its Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and removed cultural center programs that once served as safe spaces for marginalized students. I am aware of the costs of not engaging with ideas surrounding diversity and difference, and I have witnessed the consequences of the current administration's actions— and the pace at which universities are responding. It’s nowhere good.

I was forced to move to the United States from Russia, a country where the words inclusion, diversity, and equality are either misunderstood, mocked, or treated as dangerous ideology. In this country, a woman over fifty is considered “unfit” for the job market. Disability is not viewed as a condition that warrants accommodation, but rather as a reason to deny employment. LGBTQ+ individuals are treated not as equal citizens but as people who, ideally, shouldn’t exist, where the image of a rainbow on a toy or an ice cream wrapper can result in legal prosecution.

Keep ReadingShow less