Answers to Common Questions
Navigating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be challenging. Helping ourselves and others to understand DEI topics can be even more challenging. That’s why we’ve created a Q&A section to help! Many of our answers include short and succinct illustrative animation videos. Let us know what you think, how you use these resources and submit any questions you’d like answered.
What is your question?
What’s better than the Golden Rule? The Platinum Rule!
Most of us learned the Golden Rule in kindergarten, and our teachers suggested using it as a plumb line for all types of human interactions. But what are the limitations of the Golden Rule, and is it still a practical guideline? In this post, we evaluate the Golden Rule and offer the Platinum Rule as a new benchmark.
What is a root cause, and why do we need to find it?
For issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must find the root causes for our specific populations before diving in with well-intentioned interventions that may miss the mark and leave us no better than before we started. In this 3.5-minute illustrative video, we challenge you to act like a child and don’t stop asking why until you get to the bottom of things.
How to Design a Workshop (with Equity and Inclusion in Mind)
Watch a 40m recorded webinar, and download a companion worksheet to guide you step-by-step to design an engaging and effective workshop with equity and inclusion in mind.
What is positionality?
The way we see and understand the world influences how we interact with others, make decisions, and interpret others’ actions. To be equitable and inclusive leaders, educators, or humans, we must understand how our identities bias our perceptions. In this post, we provide a free downloadable 26-page PDF with definitions and explanations of several social identities (race, gender, socioeconomic status, ability status, and sexuality) and a scaffolded exercise to help you examine your positionality.
What are SMARTIE goals?
Change doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen without planning and effort. Goals are critical to success! To improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must be intentional in our efforts. Use this worksheet to craft SMARTIE goals!
What is round-robin brainstorming?
Round-robin brainstorming ensures everyone is involved; all ideas are shared, fostering greater creativity, innovation, and inclusion.
What is constructivist listening?
Constructivist listening is a facilitation strategy designed to foster a safe space for people to speak authentically about their feelings and beliefs.
Why say #BlackLivesMatter?
We say #BlackLivesMatter to draw attention to the fact that the deeply rooted white supremacy of our systems and culture continues to affect black people every day. And we must do something about it. The highlighting of #BlackLivesMatter is equity in practice.
What is the best type of feedback?
Feedback and support from others is a source of our self-efficacy — the belief we have in ourselves to accomplish a task. Using a simple formula, we can adjust our feedback to be a super-booster for self-efficacy in others, through what I call, “Sticky Feedback.” Check out this video to learn how you can better encourage others to reach their goals.
What is implicit bias?
Finding the egg would have won me a $1000 prize. Not finding the egg won me an egg once worth $1000, and a good anecdote for explaining schemas and implicit bias.
What is the difference between equality and equity?
Equality is when everyone gets the same, but equality isn’t reality. Equity compensates for systemic inequalities. It is an explicit effort to level the playing field with the goal of reaching equality. Watch this illustrative explanation video to learn more.
What vocabulary do I need to know related to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Language changes. It is important to keep learning key terms and evolving our vocabulary so that we can contribute to a more kind and inclusive world.
What is the difference between diversity and inclusion?
In theory, diversity is the inclusion of different types of people in a group or organization. However simply inviting people in, isn’t inclusion. Watch this illustrative explanation video to learn the difference.
Why do people share their personal pronouns?
The simple answer is because it normalizes the sharing of pronouns for more inclusive spaces. In this post, I include important definitions framing your understanding of why pronouns matter.
