Safe Spaces - Thoughts After the Election

Last week, I posted about the Presidential election in the United States, and the need for people to allow for individual differences and work toward healing, so that we can move forward together as a nation.  And I meant it.  But, to be frank, those were easier words to write when I believed, in my heart of hearts, that the candidate I voted for would win the presidency.

I’ve taken a few days to write this, and it won’t be one of my longer posts.  But there are some things that I need to say, because I’ve been thinking a lot about how our work in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) looks different in the time of President-elect Donald J. Trump.  The fact is that, in many ways, nothing changes.

The work of D&I practitioners has been going on for decades, and will continue for decades to come.  In previous years, the people who’ve done this before me, and who’ve shared their experience and wisdom with me, have done so without the benefit of having an advocate in the White House.  Working for equity and opportunity for everyone is work that has been going on for a long time, and it will continue.

In my workplace, our strategy still holds, because beyond my personal views about the justness of inclusion, we have a business case that says that developing a diverse workforce and including differing points of view makes us a stronger company.  That didn’t change at 3:00AM on November 9, when Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential race to Donald Trump.

We’ll keep working to implement our strategy and create an inclusive workplace because it supports our long-term business strategy, because it has the opportunity to engage all of our employees around the world, and because it’s aligned to our company’s values.  It’s who we are, and it’s how we do business.

So none of that changes as we move into a new chapter in American politics.

But it would be hopelessly naïve to think that things won’t be different.  They will be, and those differences will demand an urgency and resolve to action that, in truth, has not been asked of me up until this point in my D&I work.  Already, there has been an increase in hate speech and hate crimes directed toward people of color – Muslims, Hispanics, African-Americans, Native Americans, and so many others.  Friends in the LGBTQ+ community are deeply concerned about the possibility that hard-fought rights may be stripped away.  And for some women, there are fears of how the next four years could adversely impact their access to needed healthcare.

There are many who are quick to point to a toxic environment, where people who believe that some deserve less respect than others feel emboldened to act on their fear and hatred.  During times like this, those of us who value diversity and inclusion of everyone need to stand up as allies for those who are under siege.  That can take a lot of different forms.  For me, in the workplace, it means communicating our values and our strategy.  I’m confident in our leadership, and confident that no disrespectful actions taken in the workplace toward any group will be tolerated.  But for those who feel threatened or undermined because of who they are, or what they believe, I will make certain that I’m known to be a safe person, and an ally.

In my personal life, it means that the work I do with my church, the contributions that I make to advocacy groups, and the way I present myself in public need to be more aligned than ever.  I need to be abundantly clear that I can be a “safe space” for others in a frightening time.

I’m still working on exactly what all of this looks like on a day-to-day basis, and I know it will be an ongoing journey (just like everything else when it comes to D&I).

But I take heart knowing that it’s not a journey that I (or any of us) will undertake alone.  There are so many who are engaged in this work.  There are more of my coworkers each week who express a willingness to participate in these efforts, and add their perspectives and experiences and creativity.  The election’s over in the United States, but I will continue to believe that we are stronger together – as a workplace, as a country, and as a global community.