Joe Gerstandt | keynote speaker, freedom fighter, freak-flag flier

Joe,

My addsitions: power imbalance, preconceived judgments, not noticing or listening to others.

Joe, I would add:

5) Pressure to perform (On a truly level playing field, the privileged few might not live up to their press. Right now, the lighter-skinned, male, more masculine, able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian, middle-to-upper-class, taller – yes, taller – people are generally thought to be wiser, more capable, and better able to lead. So they benefit from privilege, but there’s also an underlying pressure to actually BE the best, and if inclusion were a reality, people might find out that many individuals from target groups are just as good, and in many cases better, than their privileged peers. In order to keep this from happening, it benefits those on top to keep the playing field in its current, unfair state.)

6) Internalized biases(Those with privilege aren’t the only ones who are affected by stereotypes about target groups. Those actually inside the target groups also hear the stereotypes – over and over and over again – and while they are more likely to cognitively recognize half-truths and untruths for what they are, there’s a layer of understanding just underneath consciousness that still absorbing the lies and – at some level – believing them. How can they not, when they’re so pervasive? Also, sometimes it’s just easier to be what others expect you to be. As a gay man, this is part of the reason why – I believe, gay men were so dangerously promiscuous and unsafe, sexually, even during the height of the AIDS crisis. There was a sense of "if this is the stereotype I have to live with, I might as well enjoy it" and "gay men really are more sexually charged than other people – I’ve heard it from so many people, it must be true.")

7) Being the first stinks (In order to take a non-inclusive environment and make it truly diverse and inclusive, some brave souls have to be first – the first woman in engineering, the first person of color in the C-Suite, the first mom to take advantage of the telecommuting option. And being first, quite frankly, sucks. What the "first" is doing is blazing a trail for others to enjoy in the future, but blazing the trail is a lot harder and more stressful than simply walking a trail that someone else has blazed. It takes a special kind of courage to be the first. A mistake made by the "first" never goes unnoticed, and is immediately attributed to the person’s race, gender, parental status, class, religion, what have you – never to the fact that y’know, sometimes people make mistakes.)

… and that’s all I can think of for now. Can’t wait to see what others say.

I would add:
1. habit. we all know old habits die hard.
2. institutionalized processes and procedures
3. unconscious disconnect between good intentions and actions (espoused theory vs. theory in action)
4. disconnect between intentions and actions that is not so unconscious. Acting in sync with values is not often easy.
5. those in power wanting to keep their power — a variation on the power imbalance , and a subcategory of fear

I would add…It’s "hard work" and you need allies who are as passionate about driving change for an inclusive culture. There’s a lot of heavy lifting and influencing without authority that goes into Diversity & Inclusion initiatives and having those in "power" who believe in the mission can be a valuable resource to deliver the message, because if it’s important to them, then it will be important to those who report to them.

Not listening
Lack of empathy
Ethnocentric – Culture-centric
Ego
"That’s the way we’ve always done it."
Not seeing the "big picture" or the "long run"
Laziness
Policies that are outdated

Lack of understanding of country culture which includes communication, habits, space, time to name a few amongst many others and of course most importantly stereo type notions and perceptions about others which does not allow an inclusive work culture where people feel valued and belonged.

With more and more "community" happening online, one of the biggest barriers to inclusion I see is tech access and/or tech fear. So many people have so much to add to the discussions but they lack High Speed Connectivity or they have the connection but are afraid or unsure how to use it. Even if a group or organization exists completely offline, technology plays an increasingly vital role in operations, planning and execution of communal efforts.

Think about the town where we met up the other day. Do you think those folks could add value to any number of online communities? Lack of a tech culture will keep their voice silent until their culture and infrastructure joins the urban centers.

Hi Joe –

Thanks for initating the dialogue. I agree with everyone’s commitments thus far. Here are a few additional examples that I have observed as behaviors that can prohibit inclusion:

* lack of personal and leadership accountability
* lack of understanding self, social and cultural awareness
* unconscious bias and constanst use of microinequities
* too much focus on differences and not enough on commonalities as well as individualized strengths
* limited or lack of comprehensive listening to understand vs. rushing to quick resolution
* different values on "real" collaboration vs. competition amongst communities of people at work, home, or in government

Hi Joe –

Thanks for initiating the dialogue. I agree with everyone’s commitments thus far. Here are a few additional examples that I have observed as behaviors that can prohibit inclusion:

* lack of personal and leadership accountability
* lack of understanding self, social and cultural awareness
* unconscious bias and constanst use of microinequities
* too much focus on differences and not enough on commonalities as well as individualized strengths
* limited or lack of comprehensive listening to understand vs. rushing to quick resolution
* different values on "real" collaboration vs. competition amongst communities of people at work, home, or in government