Open Collections

Finding Joy

Sargeant, Ky

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is hard work. Harder than most give it credit for. Though the mandate for EDI has grown across both public and private institutions, the gap between what is asked and the resources provided regularly places the burden of change upon those most affected by its absence. In the wake of the tech crash of 2023, we saw how EDI budgets were often among the first to be cut. A 2023 report by Revelio Labs found that EDI-focused roles “experienced a nearly 40% churn rate at companies engaged in layoffs, as compared to about 24% for non-DEI roles”, with hiring for Chief Diversity Officers now declining after the rapid uptake in 2020. However, the need for EDI remains ever-present, as many initiatives continue to be led from the ground up by passionate individuals and Employee Resource Groups, often doing so in addition to their typical responsibilities. The question for those passionate about EDI and practitioners in the field is how do we maintain the sustainability of our efforts in spite of these setbacks? And, How do we begin to inspire those around us to take the small steps needed to build our collective capacity to make inclusive change? This workshop will draw on frameworks from a range of general management and social psychology literature to explore the challenging nature of work that puts your passion on the line and how we take care of ourselves to find the capacity to keep doing it. Topics that this session covers: What is “our job” when it comes to EDI work and where do we draw the line The importance of building personal and professional support networks Finding joy and staying optimistic amidst challenging circumstances

Text

2024-03-21

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87611

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/