What is Diversity & Inclusion Training?
Diversity and inclusion training uses the unique experiences of real people to explore key concepts such as identity, power, privilege, and communication. By gaining a better appreciation for our shared experiences of difference, our shared expectations of respect, and our shared need to belong and feel appreciated.
Why It’s Important
Research shows that organizations that unleash the potential of diverse talent innovate faster and see better business results. It starts by attracting proven talent with diverse perspectives, experiences, and contributions—then building and nurturing an environment where everyone can do their best work. We operate with a capacity-building mindset, based on the premise that all employees have the ability to grow, learn, and develop.Reducing bias and barriers to development significantly expands any employee’s productivity and level of contribution. Clearly, diversity and inclusion should be embedded within all of an organization’s policies, practices, and training.
Diversity training can be divided into two categories:
Awareness-based training:
This type of training deals with making employees aware of the importance of diversity in business. It also makes employees aware of their prejudices and cultural assumptions about others. The training uses case studies and experiential exercises as the method of training implementation.
Skill Based Training
This deals with developing employees’ proficiency in handling diversity in the workplace environment . Various tools are used to take the groups from the awareness to the proficiency stage. The tools used help in improving interpretation of cross-cultural differences, communication with people from different cultures, and adaptability.
Diversity training may be conducted as lectures , slideshows, or role plays. All these methods have their own benefits. But, each method contributes to the awareness in its own way.
The Goal of Diversity Training
The goal of diversity training is to build bridges of understanding in our society. To understand that even if there are differences amongst the team members that they are working with, a little adjustment in one’s attitude will make for an extraordinary team. To make them not only tolerant of the differences that they see around them, but to value those differences as a part of successful teams.
Diversity and Inclusion Experts
Denise has a passion for celebrating the diversity of our multicultural community. This passion led to her co-founding the Collin County Diversity Council (CCDC) where she serves as President. CCDC is one of the only non-profit organizations whose sole purpose is to teach cultural competence, with a mission to Champion the Positive Power of Diversity Across Collin County. CCDC develops programs, platforms, workshops, and systems which build bridges of understanding across cultures, genders, ethnicity, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, and socio-economic classes. www.ccDiversityCouncil.org
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In 2014 when the City of Plano was attacked for adopting an Equal Rights Ordinance (ERO) which extended protections from discrimination by the City to Veterans and to Gay, Bisexual & Lesbian citizens. She spearheaded the successful defense of the City and its ERO, pulling together activists and City supporters from around the community and across the State of Texas. Denise’s effort was featured in the Dallas Morning News, and her stand against discrimination earned her recognition in Texas Wins. Her work is ongoing as evidenced by the popular Facebook page, People In Support of Equal Rights.
https://www.facebook.com/PlanoMCOR/
Denise, received the Cultural Diversity award from NPower International Ministries and the Civic Award from the charitable organization Plano Community Forum.
Book Denise Hamilton, and Shahmeen Khan www.ShahmeenKhan.com for your next event!
