organizational change

Does anyone care about bias? Four Things Holding Organizations Back from Inclusive Change

Over the past few months, I’ve been asking myself this question:

Does anyone care about bias?

I needed to answer my question—does anyone care about bias? Am I getting it wrong? Is everyone out there learning, doing the work, making the shifts, making a difference? 

In talking to several people across industries, roles, and interest in this work, I identified four themes on what is holding organizations back from meaningful, inclusive change. Of course, all four of these are deeply intertwined and have cause and effect on one another, but perhaps one stands out more to you than others when it comes to your organization.

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Before Convincing Employees that Women’s Initiatives are Worth Their Time, Convince Their Leaders

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Busy. Overwhelmed. Buried under work. Treading water. Barely surviving.

These are phrases that we hear our friends (and ourselves) use on a regular basis when we discuss our jobs. When we combine the stress we feel at work with our personal responsibilities outside of the office, it can often feel like too much to juggle. More organizations than ever are trying to serve their female employees through women’s initiatives, many of which aim to help tackle the constant state of “overwhelmed” that many women are stuck in. These initiatives have the best intentions, and even call in outside resources to plan amazing programming for their female workforce. However, organizers still tell us that one of their biggest challenges in getting women engaged is convincing them that women’s initiatives are worth their time– time that, as we know, is a precious and limited resource.