On Monday 28 June AmCham's D&I Committee hosted an interactive workshop with Laura Liswood – advisor and global leader on diversity, Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders and author of several books, including The Loudest Duck.
During the session, Ms. Liswood focused on why organizations need to move beyond diversity and beyond unconscious bias. Organizations only get so far because of all the unconscious beliefs we have about others. Awareness is important, but everyone - from the leaders, to managers and individuals in an organization - needs tools to ensure a level and inclusive playing field for all and to get the true value of what a diverse workplace can achieve.
Using research, tools and a unique vocabulary, this two-hour session with Ms. Liswood covered the question why we aspire diversity, where we get our unconscious beliefs and archetypes about others from and how operating unconsciously in a diverse workforce creates an un-level playing field. Specific examples of differences that diversity and unconscious beliefs may create were presented, such as differing communication styles, approaches to feedback, access to mentoring, and how promotions are determined. Also the importance of looking at the data and the Meritocracy Stress Test as a tool to find out the truth about diversity within an organization were addressed.
AmCham cordially thanks Ms. Liswood for the powerful insights and the thought-provoking and inspiring conversation.
