Towards a Culture of Inclusion – Resources

Know Thyself, Know Others: Discover the Power of Deep Connections to Create Engaging Work Environments
May 18 and May 20, 2021

Below are the slides used by our presenters, Dr. Abdesalam Soudi of the University of Pittsburgh’s Linquistics Department and Dr. Jeannette South-Paul, retired head of the Department of Family Medicine in the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School. The last slide is a list of references to materials used in the course of Dr. Soudi’s and Dr. South-Paul’s presentation.
View the Presentation Slides

More on Milton J. Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)
Learn More About DMIS

This article by Dr. Soudi talks about his use of the culture box exercise in the classroom and what’s in his own culture box:
First Person: What’s in Your Culture Box?

The ABA’s Section on Real Property, Trusts and Estates offers this article particularly for trusts and estates lawyers, but with applicability well beyond that group of lawyers, as its title — Cultural Competence in the Practice of Law in the 21st Century — suggests. It is particularly good for a practitioner who is perhaps just beginning to think about the steps they must take to become more culturally competent for their clients.
Read the Article

Culture is often described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief and a body of behavior. Culture not only refers to a person’s superficial features, such as their appearance, but also to a person’s identity, language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions that are often specific to ethnic, racial, religious, geographic, or social groups.
Cultural Competency in the Practice of Law

---

Covering: Including – and Retaining – the Diversity You Hire
April 6, 2021

Uncovering talent; a new model of inclusion

Diversity and inclusion aren’t what matter. Belonging is what counts.

Yoshino collaborator, Christie Smith, gives a powerful TedX Talk that takes us inside the stories of four individuals covering at work, including her own heart-stopping story, and challenges leaders to create the culture that allows employees to stop spending so much energy — working what is, in essence, a second full-time job, according to Smith — hiding who they are.

Help Your Employees Be Themselves at Work

Identity covering at work—a majority phenomenon

The words diversity, inclusion and belonging are nowhere to be found in this highly entertaining, 12-minute TedTalk by happiness scholar Shawn Achor. However, what he is saying directly relates to the topic of inclusion and belonging, which directly relates to the topic of engagement, which directly relates to the topic of success, on both individual and organization levels.

---

Lightning Training #2
Microaggressions: Small Acts, Big Consequences
March 19, 2021

---

Lightning Training #1
The Words We Use in the D&I Conversation
February 24, 2021

Key Terms Used in the D&I Conversation and What They Mean

---

Second Conversation on Race: Race in the Legal Community
January 19, 2021

The 3 Elements of a Constructive Conversation – bhasin consulting inc.

The 10 R’s of Talking About Race: How to Have Meaningful Conversations

New research published by Catalyst documents the “Emotional Tax”paid by women and men of color in the workplace and offers strategies for reducing and eliminating it.
New Research on Workplace Emotional Tax and Four Strategies for Change

Conversations about race are necessary if our workplaces are going to be truly inclusive but are often avoided because we are afraid of saying the wrong thing. Here’s a list of the six “greatest hits”of things not to say in such conversations and some suggestions for how to keep your conversations on track.
Phrases to Avoid Using in Conversations About Race

If you want to continue the conversation in your firm or law department, this article by the National Day of Racial Healing suggests the way to set the stage for a constructive exchange.
Talking about Racism, Racial Equity and Racial Healing with Friends, Family, Colleagues and Neighbors

New York Times bestseller: So you want to talk about race, by Ijeoma Oluo. Order it from and support a Black-owned local business.

ABA published: What If I Say the Wrong Thing; 25 Habits for Culturally Effective Peopleby VernāA. Myers. Buy the book or e-book from the ABA.

---

Bias-Interruption Training by Dr. Will Cox
November 17 and 19, 2020

Will Cox BIas Training Handout: Empowering People to Break the Bias Habit – Evidence-Based Approaches to Reducing Bias and Creating Inclusion

Do you have uncommon biases? The most widely used measure of implicit bias along a variety of dimensions is the Implicit Association Test (IAT), developed by social psychologists Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji in the 1990s. Take it here.

Videos:
Dynamic speaker and UCLA Law Professor and Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Jerry Kang discusses implicit bias

Consultant Verna Myers (also a dynamic speaker), on How to Overcome Our Biases: Walk Boldly Toward Them

Starbucks used this short video to train its hundreds of thousands of employees about racial bias.

PwC has a series of terrific videos on what they call “Blind Spots.”
Challenge Assumptions
Overcome Stereotypes
Enhance Objectivity
Broaden Perspectives

Studies/Reports:
According to this study by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhill Mullainathan, “[identical] applicants with white-sounding names are 50 percent more likely to get called for an initial interview than applicants with African-American-sounding names.” Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination, 94 American Economic Rev. 991 (Sept. 2004).

In this study by Dr. Arin Reeves, who spoke to the Coalition in 2019 about behavioral interviewing, identical memos written by hypothetical African-American and white individuals had substantially different feedback resulting from bias associated with race. Written in Black & White: Exploring Confirmation Bias in Racialized Perceptions of Writing Skills

This study, “You Can’t Change What You Can’t See: Interrupting Gender and Racial Bias,” a report by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) and the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession, includes these (and other) findings:

---

First Conversation on Race: Race in Our Community
October 14, 2020

Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race, a report of the City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission (Howell, Goodkind, Jacobs, Branson, Miller)

City of Pittsburgh Gender Equity Commission: Building an Equitable New Normal: Responding to the Crises of Racist Violence and COVID-19

Yes, Pittsburgh: it’s racism, by Junia Howell, lead author of Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race; Public Source, September 23, 2019

Pittsburgh Is the Worst City in America for Black People. Here’s How It Can Get Better, by Damon Young, Pittsburgher, author, and editor-in-chief of Very Smart Brothas

For Black Girls, School Discipline Doesn’t Always Look Like Justice, by Erica L. Green, Mark Walker and Eliza Shapiro, The New York Times, October 2, 2020
Discipline disparities between Black and White boys have driven reform efforts. But Black girls are arguably the most at-risk student groups.

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, 2014

There are a number of popular books that touch on subjects raised in this session. Here’s a sample:

The Color of Law (Liveright, May 2017) by Richard Rothstein
In this book, Rothstein argues that segregation in America—the incessant kind that continues to dog our major cities and has contributed to so much recent social strife—is the byproduct of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal levels.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Desmond, a MacArthur “genius award” recipient, follows eight families in Milwaukee, a city not unlike Pittsburgh, as they navigate housing in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods during the 2007-08 recession. 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner.

Tip Sheets:
4 Ways to Provide Meaningful Allyship in the Workplace
5 Things You Can Do to Interrupt Racial Bias in the Wake of COVID-19

Bias Worksheets:
Identify Your Biases
Understand How Bias Affects You
Shield Against Bias Coming Your Way

e-Guide:
Cultivating Inclusion During Crisis, Including Working Remotely

Videos:
The Three Things That Happen With Bias — And What to Do About Them
What is White Supremacy?

Blog Post:
5 Things You Can Do to Be a Better Ally

Books:
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
The Authenticity Principle by Ritu Bhasin

Workbook:
Dismantling Racism Works Web Workbook

Report:
Sponsor Effect: Canada Executive Summary

Meditation:
“See Through Unconscious Bias” with Sebene Selassie

---

PLDIC Lawyers of Color Webinar — The Internalization of Racial Bias: What Happens in the Workplace
Ritu Bhasin
September 15, 2020

Bias Worksheets:
Identify Your Biases
Understand How Bias Affects You
Shield Against Bias Coming Your Way

Videos:
Change Your Life Through the Power of Scripting
Videos on Being an Advocate for Equity

Self-Care Worksheets:
Commit to a Self-Care Practice
Create Your Own Affirmations

Blog Post:
6 Simple Mindfulness Techniques You Can Do Anywhere

Books:
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
The Authenticity Principle by Ritu Bhasin

---

Robin DiAngelo
In conversation with Valerie Kinloch, Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Co-presented by City Theatre and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
September 10, 2020
Watch the Conversation