The Power of Stories For Diversity and Inclusion

Conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion are actually just conversations about people. And storytelling, one of the most universal human experiences, gives us a chance to look through new lenses and gain new perspectives from co-workers who may have had different life experiences. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, inclusion consultants Selena Rezvani and Stacey A. Gordon offer steps to implement a story-based approach to DEI.
 
In this approach, employees are encouraged to tell and own their stories, and consider how they impact their experiences at work. For those who are unsure how to unearth their own diversity stories, the authors offer some possible prompts:

• Has your privilege afforded you different treatment than someone else?
• Did someone ever advocate for you? (Did someone with privilege help you?)
• Did you ever struggle to find your own sense of belonging?
• Did you discover a bias/privilege you had, and how did you overcome it?
• Have you ever felt pressure to conform or fit in?
• Did you ever witness an unconscious bias play out in the workplace?

“The best way to create a cascading inclusion effect in an organization is to offer safe spaces where stories can be heard without judgment,” say Rezvani and Gordon. To this end, they suggest round-robin questions in meetings, listening sessions, discussion-heavy book clubs, storytelling town halls, social forums and meet-ups, and social media campaigns that feature stories. Stories can also be included as a component of onboading.

As the authors say: “In our attempts to create more awake and aware environments, we’re forgetting that numbers typically don’t inspire us to change our behavior — people and stories do.”
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How might storytelling based on DEI benefit your organization? Do you have a story you would care to share?  To join the conversation, click "comments" above this article, just under the photo. 

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