Though I am a proud content analyst for CMP Digital, it took a few trials and errors with other industries to get here.
A week after I graduated college, I moved from Connecticut to California to be a high school English teacher in the Bay Area. I was so excited to be getting started on my career in a new place. For the first time in my life, it really felt like anything was possible.
However, when I stepped foot on site at my new job, a high school in a small San Francisco neighborhood, for our initial orientation, I couldn’t help but notice: I was not only one of the few women in the room, but the youngest one there by a decade.
There were no other first-year teachers, fresh out of college, completely naïve about what it took to “take on the world.” Everyone else in the room that morning was a veteran teacher with little faith in the newbie and little desire to help.
Those first few months were close to disastrous. I had no idea what I was doing, no curriculum to follow, and no one at my school to support me. Thankfully, through a great deal of effort, lots of research, and more than a few failures to learn from, my students and I all landed on our feet when graduation day arrived in June.
This was an incredible experience, one that built life lasting relationships with my students who never gave up on me (even when I was giving up on myself) and the family and friends who helped me along the way. Still, I am constantly burdened with the thought:
It didn’t have to be like that.
I could have had a mentor at the school who guided me through her curriculum, another that offered emotional support and stories of their first year of teaching, and a larger community of first year teachers who could empathize with my struggles.
Instead, I felt like I was alone on a deserted island—one big storm and I’d be taken out.
Whether it is because of your age, race, gender identity, sexuality, ability, or any other number of things, many of us have felt marginalized in the workplace. Fortunately, we can change that experience for others.
Here are three things you can do when the DEI initiatives at your workplace just aren’t cutting it.
1. Advocate for yourself—and others
After a particularly brutal day teaching, the visiting librarian (I only saw him a couple of times a month) sent me an email. Along with some other words of wisdom and quips about our school community, it read: “Don’t be intimidated. You’re smart, and there is a reason you were hired. You belong here.”
You belong here.
Three words that made my eyes tear up. They were so comforting to read.. I felt so different from my peers, so lonely, so unsuccessful. Yet someone felt like I belonged there and had the courage to let me know.
Though this advocacy was far from public and was one of the only times I interacted with the librarian, I never forgot the way he noticed me struggling and reached out to help.
At a time when exclusionary behaviors are one of the top indicators of a toxic workplace, including all peers is invaluable. Advocacy comes in many forms. Some are large and public, involving protests and fundraisers. Others are short emails sent after a hard day that make a peer feel seen. Both are important to make sure the gaps in your DEI initiatives are filled.
2. Don’t assume, ask questions.
You may think that DEI is great at your company, and it very well might be. But to get a proper read on it, employees and employers need to look at the behavior and attitudes of their coworkers, along with trends in management.
Ask yourself:
- Is there an employee that never shows up to office lunches?
- Another that prefers to keep their camera off on zoom calls?
- Some that shy away from asking questions?
- When budgets need to be cut, is DEI the first thing to go?
These could all be signs that employees are uncomfortable and feel excluded in the workplace—and that your company isn’t valuing inclusion as much as you may hope.
To improve the initiatives, have honest one-on-one conversations with peers and send out anonymous surveys to figure out just how everyone is feeling—you might be surprised about the feedback that is shared to help your company improve.
Additionally, reconsider slashing the DEI budget. However tempting it may be to cut the cost, this sends a negative message to employees about where company values lie. Thus, reducing (or eliminating) these programs can contribute to unpleasant work environments and high employee turnover.
3. Accept different cultural practices
Each month, week, and day of the year has a different heritage it celebrates. Taking advantage of these days to commemorate the culture of some of your employees is nice, but your efforts should not end there.
Ask your employees what they would like to celebrate at the office holiday party, what flags or art they would like to see represented on the walls, what foods they would like to bring or try for group lunches. If they say they need to take time off work for a holiday, ask them how you can support them and share in the celebration.
These conversations are vital because, often, when employers think they are helping, they unintentionally further marginalize their employees. Take annual performance reviews, for example.
Though it is an opportunity for employees to learn about their progress and receive high quality feedback, Gallup reports that “only 14% of employees strongly agree their performance reviews inspire them to improve.” That means nearly 9 out of 10 of your employees are not reacting positively to this attempt to help them improve.
Don’t turn celebrations into another performance review situation.
On heritage days, don’t ask the employees of the identity you’re celebrating to stand up in front of everyone, or point them out specifically. Try to avoid having a special corner at the office party for one person or culture’s food, but incorporate it into the whole celebration. Most of us don’t want to stand out, we just want to be a part of our community.
After the party, ask team members what they would prefer you do the same or differently the following year. More than including them in the festivities, this makes the team a part of the decision-making, too.
There are, of course, many other ways to support DEI initiatives when your company seems to be falling short. These three points, however, are a great way to start.
Joining a new company doesn’t have to feel like my first year of teaching did—strenuous, impossible, and isolating. These challenges can feel warm and achievable with the right people and tools to help you advocate for inclusion and respect.
Questions? Like what you see? Contact ccwomen@cmpteam.com.
