This is a curriculum of learning materials for strategies and behaviors for leadership, collaboration, and fostering a work culture of belonging, especially in information technology, focused on values and concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
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What DEI is and why it matters
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| Diversity and Inclusion Efforts that Really Work (PDF) This article focuses on potential solutions instead of challenges to DEI efforts in organizations. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the article offers five evidence-based suggestions for actionable places to start in planning DEI work. (May 2020, HBR) |
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| Fostering a Culture of Inclusion for Employees (Video + captions) This video provides a summary of techniques for individuals to foster a culture of inclusion at work with their colleagues and managers, including self-directed thought exercises and questions that can be used in discussion with others. (August 2020, MediaCentral) |
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| We Are Not a Melting Pot (Video) This TED covers concepts of unconscious bias and the ways in which they influence harmful behavior. It includes reflections on ways to interrupt bias and discrimination in ourselves and others. (November 2018, ted.com) |
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| How Black Women Describe Navigating Race and Gender in the Workplace (PDF) The article focuses on a set of 10 interviews with black women in the corporate world and shares their experiences working there. It describes a pattern of low support, code switching, covering, and unfair criticism. (March 2018, HBR) |
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| Tackling Systemic and Structural Inequities in Higher Ed IT: A Primer on Beginnings (PDF) This article from EDUCAUSE provides definitions of general DEI topics, explains why being aware of these concepts is important, and provides a list of actions individuals can take to challenge systemic and structural inequality issues. (April 2023, EDUCAUSE) |
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| Belonging Series 2: WHAT MAJORITY MEN REALLY THINK ABOUT D&I And How to Engage Them in It (PDF) This report (part 2 of a 4-part series) reflects on the concept of "majority" populations in the workplace (in this case, men), and how to encourage engagement in DEI efforts from persons in the "majority" role at work. It includes exercises, personal reflections, and learning takeaways for the reader about the value of dedicated DEI work, and ways to encourage others to participate. (August 2020, Center for Talent Innovation) |
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Glossary
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General Concepts
Unconscious Bias
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| The Standards We Choose (Video) This podcast episode describes the concept of casuistry (unsound but perceived as “clever” reasoning to get what you want), especially around hiring and professional promotion. It gives hypothetical and specific examples of this in practice, wherein people decide who they want (or certain biased standards) first, then backfill the qualifications to justify the decision. (June 2018, Youtube.com) |
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| Verna Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them (Video) The way to combat harmful biases is not to ignore them or pretend they don’t exist. Rather, the speaker suggests that we should acknowledge our biases, seek to understand them in ourselves, and lean into behaviors that will combat them. This specifically includes moving toward and getting to know people against whom we are biased, if we do so authentically and from a genuine place of wanting to be a positive force in others’ lives. (December 2014, Youtube.com) |
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| The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap (PDF) The earnings difference between men and women is a well-known and documented fact in the US. This article by the Pew Research Center links data from research studies in order to describe and explain why women earn a lower wage than men in the same categories - focusing on education levels and parenthood - but also considering race, types of occupations, and trends in the labor market. It details historical changes from 1982 through 2022 and shows a slow-down in progress for the last 20 years. (March 2023, Pew Research Center) |
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| This article shares the results and process of a study which found that professors who believed intelligence was a static property in a student resulted in significantly lower grades for minority students than those who believed students could “grow” their intelligence. Many of the professors have tenure and weren’t choosing to give lower grades. (February 2019, Science) |
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Systemic Racism
Systemic Sexism
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| Authenticity: Who You Are is Non-Negotiable (Video) Description from YouTube: "Target's Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer & Vice President of Human Resources Caroline Wanga explains why authenticity is critical for success. She shares her keys to being exactly who you are, while advancing toward senior leadership." (April 2020, YouTube.com) |
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| Kenji Yoshino: Diversity Does Not Mean Having to Choose Between Identity and Inclusion (Video + Transcript) Yoshino argues that Diversity and Inclusion in organizations often means Diversity OR Inclusion, as people find themselves “covering” or adjusting their true identities to conform to mainstream behaviors in order to be included. A study found that 45% of straight white men reported “covering” some part of their identity at work, which puts them inside rather than outside of the inclusion paradigm. This kind of paradigm shift allows for diversity and inclusion work to move forward in organizations. |
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