UNBIAS

CHAPTER 9Inclusion Is Intentional

We've all done it. We've asked a woman when her baby is due because she was a little heavier than when we last saw her, but she wasn't actually pregnant. We have asked how their son is doing because the child's hair is short, but that child is actually female. We view the world through our own perspectives without regard for how someone else may be experiencing things. We're taught to follow the golden rule of treating others how we would want to be treated. However, in the workplace as in life, we begin to learn that we should have been taught the platinum rule: treat others how they would like to be treated, rather than how we assume they want to be treated.

Accenture discovered that not everyone at their company felt included when they started the “Inclusion Starts with I” campaign. Ellyn Shook, Accenture's chief leadership and human resources officer, wanted to answer the question “Did our people really feel like they belong?” They decided to create an internal video that profoundly explored the question of inclusiveness. In the video, Accenture employees hold up signs with an experience of bias and as the video continues, employees hold up new messages that explain how each individual has the power to make others feel included.

Inclusion most definitely starts with “I” because it is very difficult to be inclusive when you are not open: open to new people, open to new ideas, open to different perspectives and new possibilities.

Being ...