Disrupting Ourselves: Inclusion Work Needs You

The use of #blacklivesmatter was common on our social feeds, be it LinkedIn or Facebook. It took me two weeks to respond to every text, email, and voicemail I received.

Over the weekend, Rayshard Brooks was murdered in Atlanta, GA. Cautiously, I returned to my work inbox that Monday bracing myself against the flood of messages I was sure were there, thinking about how I would get work done and offer perspective for allies. There was nothing. Not one email or voicemail was carrying the same sentiment of support, care, and concern, or shared outrage. What happened?

The world moved on without Rayshard and George in it, and without Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and several others whose names and stories may have crossed your newsfeed. I wish my experience was uncommon; it resonated deeply with my friends who identify as racially diverse.

As HR technologists, I must implore you to stop and think about what this means. How can we profess to be so profoundly moved, some of us to tears, in one moment and unblinkingly look our colleagues of color across a Zoom or Skype interface in the next, completely oblivious (or willfully ignorant) to yet another tragedy?

Every workplace has its values with standards that include supporting each other as human beings, examining the root causes of problems, and fixing them. We do this for every business imperative: new systems deployments, mergers, and acquisitions, launching a new call center, or rolling out a new strategy.

This field sits at the intersection of every organization, fueling both the people who make the organization run and the systems they use to do it. Few are better positioned in their scope of responsibility and breadth of perspective to tackle the deeper, systemic changes that will propel our organizations forward.

Take an honest took at your virtual table. Who’s there and who’s not? Go find people to join the conversation and be their champion.

Consider reasonably, radical approaches. What we’ve been doing is not working. Let’s embrace ideas that once were viewed as radical.

Courageously disrupt, with care. Inclusion starts with you. It’s your responsibility, too.

Let’s make the world and our workplaces better.