Dannie Lynn Fountain: Ending Checkbox Diversity

The Empathy Edge

Is your organization guilty of checkbox diversity? You know, "Let's hire one person from a marginalized group and call it a day on our DEIB efforts?" Today's show explores how to avoid checkbox diversity and leaving out important groups in DEIB strategy to create a meaningful inclusive culture that transforms mindsets, boosts business performance, and allows people to do their best work for you.

Dannie Lynn Fountain and I talk about how to avoid checkbox diversity, the importance of considering the intersectionality nuances in your DEIB efforts, why you need to strategically invest in your Employee Resource Groups if you want to make the right DEIB moves, and how remote-first companies with asynchronous communication are leading the way for inclusive cultures. You'll also hear the scary wake-up call that COVID is the largest mass disabling event of our time and that potentially one in two people will have some sort of disability that companies must accommodate if they want to attract and more importantly retain the best talent out there.

To access the episode transcript, please click on the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com

Key Takeaways:

• For every person that is speaking up, there are dozens that are not. As organizations, we need to be more aware of what our employees need, even when they are unsure if they can speak out.
• So much of disability is invisible. Remote-first allows for accommodating not only working style but also how much of a person they show you, which can help to reduce bias.
• Before COVID, 1 in 4 adults had some disability. That number has drastically increased due to the long-term effects of COVID or other directly correlated comorbidities to up to 1 in 2, based on some estimates.
• So much of what we think as accommodation, we think of as needing to be this rigorous process full of bureaucracy that requires form submissions, and doctor-supporting evidence, when really, it's actually quite simple.

"If you say the current working environment accommodates the extroverted, outgoing, or high-functioning individual, that really puts the word ‘accommodate’ into perspective. Because that's the reality." — Dannie Lynn Fountain

Episode References:

• Book: A Woman Makes a Plan by Maye Musk
• Empathy Edge Podcast - Cynthia Owyoung: Diversity and Inclusion Deliver Real Results. But Have We Made Progress?

About Dannie Lynn Fountain, Staffer at Google: #IamRemarkable Global Inclusion Lead, Author, Keynote Speaker

Dannie Lynn Fountain is a passionate storyteller who helps companies focus on people. By day, she’s a staffer at Google hiring the world’s most talented software engineers and by night she supports clients and brands with HR-focused diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. She’s also a multi-passionate human - beyond working in HR, Dannie Lynn is a five-time author, licensed IRS Enrolled Agent, and founder of the #sidehustlegal movement. She has been interviewed or quoted in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Bustle, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, Digiday, The Everygirl, Girlboss, and more. Dannie Lynn’s most recent book is Ending Checkbox Diversity, published October 2022.

Connect with Dannie Lynn Fountain:

Website: https://www.danniefountain.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannielynnfount

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannielynnfountain/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/

Substack: www.livros.substack.com: bookish content / books Dannie’s read / etc

Book: Ending Checkbox Diversity www.checkboxdiversity.com

HBR Article: https://hbr.org/2023/01/should-you-disclose-an-invisible-marginalized-identity-at-work

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