Inclusion in Progress (Kay Fabella)

#007 - Kay shares her honest thoughts about the term "POC" or "people of color" as a Filipina American expat living in Spain, and offers a nuanced take on the idea of labels in diversity and inclusion.

She talks about how she often shied away from wading into discussions about diversity and inclusion as recently as a year before she started the Inclusion in Progress podcast, and why she often felt like she couldn't lend her voice to conversations about D&I.

Finally, Kay offers her honest reflections on umbrella terms like POC or BAME and the "simplicity" they provide. But she also asks us to consider that when it comes to conversations around diversity and inclusion in our workplaces, we can't erase specificity for the sake of ease of the conversations we need to build a more inclusive world.

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

#077 - In this episode, Kay Fabella talks about how to redefine productivity for remote teams.

Kay discusses the shift in employee expectations as more companies navigate leading remote teams in a post-pandemic world, against the backdrop of the Great Resignation and the entrance of Gen Z into the workforce.

Finally, Kay shares how these changes can be an opportunity for organizations to restructure for different work styles and cultural lenses, to empower middle managers, to create more agile teams, and to redefine productivity for optimal performance in our next normal.

#058 - In this episode,  Kay Fabella shares why retaining female talent during the pandemic is crucial for the future of work.

Kay talks about how COVID-19 is threatening to undo all the progress we’ve made on gender equity at work — and why leaders can’t afford to have women leave due to pandemic-related pressures at work and at home.

Finally, Kay shares three actionable ways that organizations can ensure their female talent remains through changing their systems, behaviors and company culture.

Hybrid or fully distributed teams need to work even harder to find a rhythm together than teams who share an office or coworking space. Remote teams still have to meet their objectives, , find ways to collaborate as a group, and innovate in partnership with one another. In this episode, Inclusion in Progress is going to be diving into the number one thing that remote teams need to work effectively and  feel included at work. As a fully remote team that is comfortable gathering data across cultures and borders, and knows the challenges and benefits of supporting teams working virtually — we share not only our experiences, but the experiences of other organizations we’re supporting to find success with their remote teams. 

In This Episode:

• [1:45] A brief recap after our month away
• [5:05] Team IIP’s thoughts on the remote vs. in-person debate and how we define Work From Anywhere .
• [7:30] We share case studies of how flexible work can support increased representation of diverse groups and perspectives within an organization
• [11:30] What role does trust play in making remote team members feel welcome and included at work?
• [14:40] Which two forms of interpersonal trust do we measure when we assess how effective virtual teams are?
• [18:35] Why is institutional trust integral to the success of remote teams?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here. 

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

We’ve spent 2024 navigating some of the most pressing challenges facing our organizations today:

• Communication breakdowns between teams due to socioeconomic or geopolitical events

• The tug-of-war between return-to-office and remote work

• The politicization of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) itself

…all of which directly affects the teams that leaders claim they’re supporting. 

While organizations are feeling pressure to cut budgets or scale back their efforts — at Inclusion in Progress, we believe that this shift actually presents an opportunity. An opportunity to align inclusion, distributed work, and people-focused strategies more directly with an organization's objectives in 2025 and beyond — and continue to build freer, fairer workplaces that work for us all.

As we wrap up the year, we’re sharing the lessons we’ve learned from 2024, the challenges and opportunities for 2025, and what’s next for us at Inclusion in Progress. 

Finally, we’ll continue to share our resources, insights, and conversations with you here on this podcast as a resource for globally-minded leaders like you. It’s our hope that we can continue to shine a light on the benefits of flexible work — and enable you to continue to lead conversations about how to create your own inclusive distributed workplace. 

Grab your copy of our Distributed Work Models playbook launching in January 2025.

Or email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to learn how we’re continuing to support organizations with our Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework in the new year.

#inclusionatwork #hybridworkplace #futureofwork #inclusioninprogresspodcast

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our Distributed Work Models playbook to learn how to find the distributed work model that enables your teams to perform at their best.

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Listen to how the return-to-office debate has been politicized in our previous episode, IIP128: Why In-Office Mandates Hinder Innovation & Inclusion

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Subscribe to the Inclusion in Progress Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get notified when new episodes come out!

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Work culture used to be defined by shared physical spaces. Now it’s about the people, the ideas, shared values and the behaviors you model. Almost three years after the pandemic started, work culture continues to evolve and shift. With so much going on in the world, your team has become your constant as a proxy for the organization you work for. Which means the line between personal and professional has become increasingly blurred for a distributed workforce. 

For those from historically marginalized or excluded backgrounds, it’s even more important to feel supported by your work community, both personally and professionally. So in a time when distributed teams are becoming the norm, how can we build a healthy, connected work culture that meets all of these different needs? 

In today's episode of Inclusion in Progress, we'll be:

• Sharing examples of good practice we’ve observed in the tech industry around building a healthy, connected work culture for distributed teams
• Discuss how to account for newly emerging biases in the current workforce
• Creating an environment in which people feel comfortable to show up
• Examples of how to create an environment that encourages sharing ideas and equal involvement

[1:17] How does  redefining spaces impact your organizational values and behaviors in a world of distributed workforces and blurring work-life lines?

[4:28] What does it mean to model psychological safety with asynchronous communication channels that establish trust and connection for distributed teams?

[7:07] How do we  dismantle the misconceptions that persist around flexible workforces and highlight opportunities for companies to implement DEI strategies?

[9:07] How Spotify and Dropbox invested in career advancement and retention without compromising their employee expectations.

[12:01] What types of unforeseen biases may surface in a distributed workforce that would not apply in a  shared office environment?

[17:18] What does a healthy connected work culture look like for distributed teams in 2023?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023

Listen to Team IIP reflect on Our Top 3 Episodes of 2022 & What's Next for the Podcast 

Check out more of our distributed work case study discussions with  Dropbox, Quora & Spotify: 3 Hybrid Workplace Models that Are Working 

Check out our previous episode on The 3 Hidden Biases of Hybrid Work & How to Avoid Them 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

Today's episode is timely, because it's all about hidden biases that we might see in a fully remote work or hybrid work environment. We’re going over the things that get in the way of building positive working relationships with one another. Now this is a conversation the Inclusion in Progress team has often because we, too, have to check our own biases regularly when it comes to working with one another across EMEA, APAC and the Americas. We also know, from working with our client partners, that we're not alone in experiencing this. 

So on today's episode, we're going to look at a few of the hidden biases that we've witnessed in hybrid or remote work that you may or may not be aware of, and discuss some ways to avoid them. If you’re a forward-thinking leader who is interested in learning about and tackling your potential hidden biases for the betterment of your team? This is definitely an episode for you.

In This Episode

[4:09] What are some examples of hidden biases that may be found within hybrid or remote work environments?

[5:38] What are some of the challenges created by location bias, and what impact could it have on an organization?

[10:08] What is virtual performance bias, how does it show up within teams, and how does it affect psychological safety and trust?

[17:06] How does cultural bias show up specifically within a remote or hybrid workplacel?

[18:45] How to begin acknowledging, working on and moving beyond the hidden biases within your organization as it navigates the future of work.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Check out our previous episode to learn more about the different types of trust that make remote teams work effectively: What Remote Teams REALLY Need to Feel Included at Work

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#049 - In this episode, Kay Fabella answers the question, “Is DEI different in the US vs. Europe?” as a Filipina-American DEI practitioner based in Spain since 2010.

Kay shares why companies that are looking to apply diversity, equity and inclusion strategies to global teams need to understand cultural context and nuance, and not rely on one cultural lens to lead DEI.

Finally, she shares three broad differences she’s noticed between how DEI is approached in Europe vs. the US, and opportunities for cross-cultural inclusion among distributed teams.

#068 - In this episode, Kay Fabella welcomes Dawn Osbourne, the chair of Adobe’s UK Black Employee Network (BEN) to discuss the benefits of employee networks for non-US teams.

Dawn shares why and how she was motivated to start a Black employee resource group (ERG) in the UK with the support of Adobe, and outlines the importance of cultivating belonging for an employee network-based outside of the US. Dawn shares how she was able to quickly scale BEN’s business impact around a mission that gave members and partners purpose and direction.

Finally, Dawn reflects on how the diversity and inclusion conversation has developed over the last 20+ years since she started working in tech, and the critical role of non-US employee networks in the conversation.

Often when we discuss supporting women in the workplace, the conversation immediately turns to maternity leave and motherhood. But more millennials and Gen Zers are choosing to be child-free by choice. This poses a challenge for employers to be more creative about how they approach supporting women’s ability to achieve and advance in the workplace — beyond simply offering maternity leave and family planning.

Rather than associating women with the gender role of childbirth, we need to be more intentional in creating workplace strategies to support all women — regardless of their background, abilities, age, race, ethnicity, country of origin, native language, economic, marital or parental status.

Gender equity is something organizations should care about beyond International Women’s Month. So in this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we take a look at how employers can support women at work who are either childless or child-free, especially as these circumstances and choices become more common for professionals from younger generations who are already stepping into our workplaces. 

In This Episode:

[2:33] Why is it hard for women to discuss being child-free by choice?

[6:58] Why are more younger Gen Z and millennial professionals choosing to opt out of having children, and how will that affect gender equity initiatives at work?

[11:14] What is the major difference between child-free by choice and childless?

[16:02] How well-educated, single, non-parent women are evaluated differently at work than both women who have children and their male peers.

[21:30] How to make your work environment psychologically safe for child-free and childless women and why that matters for employers designing gender-inclusive workplaces.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Read more of Pew Research Center’s 2021 study on US childless adults. 

Listen to our podcast guests speak on Miscarriage, Menopause & More: Uncovering Real Experiences of Women at Work.

Read more about the current state of millennial debt in the Wall Street Journal article.

To learn more about Jennifer Merluzzi’s research, check out how single US women say they face workplace penalties.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we will be discussing psychological safety and what it means for you and your team in the workplace. Kay will take a deep dive into the definition of psychological safety, its significance highlighted by the pandemic, and how it helps to make your workplace a more inclusive and welcoming space for all. 

Psychological safety can be hugely beneficial for teams and leaders everywhere to foster in order to make your workplace more accommodating for everyone, especially in a remote or hybrid workplace. Psychological safety means that we as contributing members of a team or organization should feel comfortable sharing ideas and asking for help without fear of being punished or humiliated for speaking up, and teams that foster this positive environment ultimately get more buy-in from each individual, and experience more success.

Kay gives us the information as well as some of the tools and insights we as leaders need to consider and utilize when establishing and maintaining a psychologically safe environment for our teams. She also does a great job in setting expectations, and helping us to understand that it won’t happen all at once, and that creating a psychologically safe environment will not only require time, consistent effort, and attention, but also that each member of the team is on board and is understanding of one another.

In This Episode:

[5:09] What does psychological safety mean and why is it important?

[7:21] What does the research say about psychological safety on teams, and how do we create an environment that supports it? 

[13:46] Transparency, communication and boundaries all play a key role in establishing psychological safety, but  how do they fit together?

[22:50] How clearly articulating boundaries surrounding communication, scheduling, response times and personal requirements can completely change your team’s experience.

[27:19] It’s not an easy task, but it’s worth it. If you need support or information on creating psychologically safe environments for yourself and your team, these resources will help!

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#002 - Kay has decided to start the show with a topic that she's been passionate about her entire life: the power of stories to lead change. The core of the work she's done with business leaders and entrepreneurs across 17+ industries is centered around storytelling, and she's witnessed how individual stories lead to more connection and more visibility for underrepresented groups.

She starts off by explaining a bit of her story growing up as a daughter of Filipino immigrants in Los Angeles, California, all the way through to her cultural encounters as an immigrant herself in Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Kay also shares her encounters with discrimination, and how she's learned to share those stories in uncomfortable conversations with others to bring about change.

Finally, she walks you through how you can share your encounters with discrimination in the workplace without diminishing your truth, and step up as a minority leader to encourage advocacy, allyship, and a step towards systemic inclusion.

Check out Kay's post on LinkedIn where she talks about why she's championing other WOC and POC online here: http://bit.ly/kay-LIpost-WOC

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

Is company culture really dying? Here at Inclusion in Progress, we believe that company culture is shifting, changing and evolving into something it has never been before post-pandemic – and will continue to do so for years to come. With remote and hybrid work environments becoming more common for organizations, it can seem like organizations are struggling to establish buy-in and retain talent due to the challenges of not having everyone in the same physical environment. 

Thought leaders like Malcolm Gladwell would argue that the shift to fully remote or hybrid work has brought more challenges to connectivity, collaboration and communication for team members – and is actually killing company culture. But has the move to distributed work environments really made it harder for us to work effectively together with a shared sense of purpose? . Listen to the episode to find out our thoughts on whether company culture is really dying in a post-Covid world!  

In This Episode

[4:46] The Malcom Gladwell quote that put company culture under the microscope (and set our LinkedIn feeds on fire).

[7:48] As the dynamics of organizations are changing in response to Covid-19, what are the benefits and challenges that distributed teams face in staying connected?? 

[11:12] How to adapt your company culture to effectively handle the possibility of remote teams

[17:07] The  mindset that you need to evolve your company culture to meet the challenges of distributed work 

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Check out our definition of Company Culture in What Does Company Culture Mean Today?

Check out our previous episode to hear our reflections on Dropbox, Quora & Spotify: 3 Hybrid Workplace Models that Are Working

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#041 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is pleased to welcome Torin Ellis, diversity and human capital strategist focused on the art of recruiting diverse talent. 

Torin shares why diversity and inclusion solutions, especially in recruiting, is far from one-size-fits-all, and challenges companies to rethink where DEI falls on their priority list. 

He also gives plenty of actionable ideas for ways all of us — Black, brown, white, minority, non-minority, young or seasoned — to lean into our creative capital to lead DEI conversations at work.

IIP128 Why In-Office Mandates Hinder Innovation & Inclusion Show Notes

The company on everyone’s mind in the ongoing return-to-office debates is none other than Amazon. The global company’s decision to roll back hybrid work models and reinstate in-office mandates in January 2025 has raised eyebrows — and not in a good way.

While Amazon (and companies like them) may view this in-office mandate as a way to "restore" collaboration, will it instead stifle the very innovation it wants to improve?

In this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we talk about:

• Why in-office mandates hinder flexibility, which is a non-negotiable for employees today;

• The ways that innovation and creativity can thrive outside a shared physical workspace; 

• How forward-thinking leaders like you can move beyond return-to-office or RTO mandates to embrace a version of distributed work that helps your teams thrive.

At Inclusion in Progress, we have utilized our three-step Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework to support companies with aligning their people-focused initiates with business critical objectives, to deepen their capacity to understand and address specific issues facing their globally distributed teams.

If you’d like to collaborate with us to implement our framework in your organization, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to book your free consultation call.

#returntooffice  #leadership #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Read the full Amazon Message from CEO Andy Jassy: Strengthening our culture and teams.

Learn more about  WFH Research’s findings on hybrid and remote work models. 

Review the University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business’ study on Return-to-Office Mandates.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#040 - In this episode, Kay Fabella stresses why the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy must go beyond HR & Talent to succeed at a company.

Kay shares her cautious optimism about seeing more DEI roles being hired and in demand than ever — and why their work depends on aligning strategy, support and sustainability.

Finally, she walks you through three actionable ideas you can implement today as a leader to lay the groundwork for a more inclusive culture at your organization.

In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we will be exploring all the ways that we can make our workplaces truly family friendly, more accommodating and inclusive spaces for ALL caregivers. 

Today we will be delving into the subject of family, how the very definition of family is changing in today’s rapidly evolving world, and how that affects whether or not our employees fall under the caregiver category. We will delve deeply into why EAPs or Employee Assistance Plans need to be updated to include benefits for caregivers, paid leave for different family and caregiving situations, and considering situations such as bereavement, pregnancy and infertility. 

One of the questions we tackle often with client partners at Inclusion in Progress is how each of our definitions of family can change depending on our cultural background, upbringing, location or personal values. And it’s our hope that employers and leaders can begin to make space for family and caregiving that go beyond heteronormative roles. Tune into the episode to find out how to make your workplaces truy family friendly for all! 

In This Episode:

[5:00] What is the position of traditional and non-traditional families in the workplace today?

[10:00] How is the definition of family changing in the world at large, and how are these changes impacting our teams professionally and personally?

[15:00] What challenges do immigrant or cross-cultural workers face in the workplace?

[19:08] We address the increasingly occurring issues surrounding caregiver burnout, particularly against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Great Resignation

[20:10] We discuss solutions for companies to stay ahead of the curve and evolve their policies to reflect the different definitions of family that employees bring to the table..

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#057 - In this episode, Kay Fabella gives you a three-part 2021 inclusion resolution to keep DEI going at your company.

Kay shares why the work of diversity, equity and inclusion must deepen to build upon the lessons we learned about remote work, managing differences in diverse teams, and the global antiracism movement in 2020.

Finally, Kay offers her three-part inclusion resolution for listeners to stay committed to creating more inclusive workplaces, and how she’ll be supporting companies with DEI this year.

#004 - Kay shares her thoughts on former President Barack Obama's comments on wokeness and cancel culture, and whether or not they are positively contributing to our work with diversity and inclusion.

She shares her recent conversations with potential non-minority allies and advocates, and how she struggled to find a place to discuss issues around her identity before starting her podcast.

Finally, she walks you through the key difference to help create truly inclusive spaces which also bring non-minority advocates and allies to the table.

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

#052 - Kay Fabella welcomes Cindu Thomas-George, Founder of Shakti Diversity and Equity Training, and award-winning professor of Communication Studies on Intercultural Communication to discuss the role of allyship for non-Black POC (people of color). 

As a fellow second-generation American practitioner of Asian descent, Cindu shares how her approach to DEI promotes equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and intercultural competence.

Finally, Cindu talks about how non-Black practitioners, allies and advocates can take on a more active role in leading inclusion in the workplace.

In honor of International Women’s Day, Kay Fabella will be hosting a variety of subject matter experts to uncover real experiences of women at work on the Inclusion in Progress podcast. Each guest will cover different topics of concern for women in the workplace: from bias towards trans women, gender equity and cultural identity, the gender pay gap, as well as miscarriage, fertility loss and menopause. This episode covers a wide range of things that women are facing every day at work, and how organizations that are committed to gender equity can support women from across the spectrum of experiences! 

Many people think that the conversation about gender equity at work revolves around maternity policies and caregiving. But the reality is that companies that want to truly support women’s advancement in the workplace must consider the real, often “hidden” experiences that many struggle to disclose to their employers.

We all have a part to play in making the workplace a more inclusive, diverse and psychologically safe place for everyone, and the advice from our guest experts will broaden your perspective and offer a wealth of actionable ideas to support and sustain female representation and gender-inclusive workplaces. . 

In This Episode:

[2:56] What’s happening in the world today with gender equity at work?

[5:47] How can organizations support women of color at work? - Ashanti Bentil-Dhue and Yai Vargas

[16:30] How companies can support allyship for trans and non-binary women and intersectional identities in your company. - Celia Sandhya Daniels

[7:53] The impact of menopause in the workplace. - Julie Dennis

[28:32] Supporting women with pregnancy and miscarriage in the workplace. - Rachel Parrott

[43:03] What is the importance of visibility for women and their career progression? - Gemma Stow

[45:53] How do we close the gender pay gap? - Michelle Gyimah

Links

To download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper, click here.

Ready to partner with us on a tailored DEI solution for your company? Get in touch today for a complimentary call.

Read our Forbes features here, here, and here.

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Kay Fabella disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#042 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares what you really need to create an inclusive company culture in your organization.

Kay shares her take on the “social media landscape” of DEI — and why the real work for inclusion goes beyond a polarizing post on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Finally, she walks you through three foundational cornerstones you can’t skip if you want to create a more inclusive culture at your company.

#080 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares her 2021 review, her personal reflections working in DEI, and what’s next for Inclusion in Progress in 2022.

Kay dives into her experiences as an immigrant and woman of color living outside of the US, how she and the team have grown in their DEI work, what she has had to leave behind, and where she is excited to be going next.

Finally, Kay gives you a sneak peek on where the Inclusion in Progress podcast will be going in the new year.

Our Latest Whitepaper is Now Available

The Future of Work Culture 2021: 
Evolving DEI to Engage a More Global Workforce

Almost two years since the pandemic forced tech companies to leave their physical offices, more than a year since the resurgence of the antiracism movement, how has work culture shifted for multicultural, global teams? 

In our latest whitepaper you’ll discover:

• The legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic on employee expectations — and how it will affect the tech industry’s ability to hire future talent.
• How demographic shifts, multicultural identities, and social justice movements will impact company culture — and how tech companies can evolve their DEI and talent retention strategies in 2022.
• The role of technology in collaboration and connectivity for global teams — and how tech organizations can create greater opportunities for global talent while embracing distributed work.

>> Click here to download the whitepaper <<

Links

Ready to partner with us on a tailored DEI solution for your company? Get in touch today for a complimentary call.

Read our Forbes features here, here, and here.

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Do hybrid working models actually support equity and inclusion? Have companies been more successful as a result of moving to hybrid working models? Is the push to get workers back into the office warranted? There are a lot of questions coming to the surface about what organizations should be doing in regards to their work culture and shifting employee expectations. 

As companies examine whether or not to go more remote, or get their people face to face again, Spotify, Dropbox and Quora are examples of hybrid work models that are meeting their DEI goals, adapting to employee expectations for flexible work, while increasing cost savings and bottom lines. Listen to this episode for case studies on hybrid workplaces that are working well, resulting in a huge benefit to organizations and to their teams, who thrive when they have the flexibility they need to do their best work.

In This Episode

[5:57] With offices opening back up and employees being encouraged to come back to work, what are some of the trends Inclusion in Progress has  been seeing within organizations?

[8:08] The Dropbox approach: What have they done to accommodate their employees, support company culture, and increase opportunities? 

[10:21] What changes have Quora implemented that have resulted in huge growth, expansion and diversification of their business?

[12:22] Spotify’s “work from anywhere” policy has provided a number of benefits while expanding their teams: what are some of the perks of letting their workforce work remotely?

[15:00] Flexible working is here to stay – are you making it work for your organization? 

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Check out our previous episode to learn more about the different types of trust that make remote teams work effectively: What Remote Teams REALLY Need to Feel Included at Work

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

In a 2023 Deloitte study, 92% of women believed their employers were NOT doing enough to honor their commitment to gender equity?

During the pandemic, women all over the world left the workforce and never came back. 

Today, women leaders are now leaving their organizations at the highest rate ever. 

Inclusion in Progress is committed to empowering organizations to prevent this backslide in gender parity —  particularly during International Women’s Month.

Which is why on this episode of the podcast you will hear our take on:

• Why it is a business-critical issue that women leaders are leaving the workplace;

• What holds women back from becoming leaders in the first place;

• How employers can invest in women beyond International Women’s Day;

• What companies are doing today to successfully retain and advance women at work.

We are also very excited to announce the release of our 2024 whitepaper, where you will gain further insight on how we can accelerate progress and invest in women beyond IWD.

The whitepaper is a result of our January 2024 roundtable with cybersecurity leaders at Broadcom, Cisco, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks are doing to promote and advance women in their organizations, and enable more women’s advancement into leadership.

To download our latest whitepaper, head to https://inclusioninprogress.com/learn. 

TIMESTAMPS:

[0:02] Accelerating women's retention and advancement in the workplace.

[4:27] Women's leadership exodus post-pandemic.

[8:26} Navigating gender bias, burnout, and lack of recognition in the workplace.

[15:57] Retaining women leaders in tech companies.

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Listen to Sonia’s recommended episode on if gender equity plans help all women.

Learn more about the headwinds and other barriers that women of color face to promotion at work.

Check out our episode discussing miscarriage, menopause and more experiences of women at work.

Download our 2024 Executive Roundtable Findings: “DEI is Not Dead: How Cybersecurity Leaders are Closing the Gender Gap”

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#022 - In this episode, Kay talks about five ways not to communicate in a crisis with your team, and what to do instead to foster inclusion and belonging. 

She also shares a deeply personal experience with grief — and what it can teach you about practicing empathy and inclusive leadership for others during hard times.

Finally, Kay walks you through the five specific ways not to talk to someone when they are experiencing trauma or pain to encourage the vulnerability needed for inclusive conversations.

#053 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares her top predictions for DEI in 2021 based on her work with client partners like Red Hat, the IMF, Philips, and more.

Kay acknowledges how 2020, with the coronavirus and the global antiracism movement, has forever changed how companies think about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Finally, she shares what we can expect for DEI in 2021, and how your teams and organization can deepen your strategies to continue building inclusion at work.

#055 - In this episode, Kay Fabella takes a break from her normal episodes and shares her top DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) lessons from 2020.

Speaking from her personal experience as a second-generation American woman of color and immigrant in Spain, Kay shares some of her key reflections and moments of reckoning with the antiracism movement, cancel culture, and allyship.

Finally, Kay talks about how we keep the conversation moving on DEI after 2020, and the lessons she hopes we all take with us to keep the momentum going.

#071 - In this episode, Kay Fabella is pleased to welcome Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, DEI Director at Headspace and the Founder of Brave Trainings, LLC,  to discuss why employee mental health matters in DEI.

Cornell dives into the often elusive topic of mental health at the workplace, and the cultural connection between employee mental health and DEI. He also reiterates the importance of embedding diversity and inclusion across organizational functions in design, and shares the work he is leading at Headspace and in his ongoing research.

Finally, Cornell and Kay discuss ways through which organizational leaders can move away from reactionary actions to giving consistent attention to psychological safety, especially for historically marginalized populations at work.

It’s hard to ignore the pandemic's impact on the increase of distributed workplaces, whether companies chose to institute hybrid or fully-remote work. But while remote-first workplaces have offered many benefits for both employers and employees, they've also brought challenges to teams’ connectivity, collaboration, and psychological safety.

As we head into 2023, organizations now face a new challenge: with an uncertain economy and labor market, they have to set up  a standard for flexible work in a way that balances business outcomes with employee expectations. In today’s episode, we’re going to look at some of the ways DEI can support psychological safety for employees in 2023 and beyond.

Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s episode: 

• Key post-pandemic work trends (and what this means for DEI) 
• The key challenges for psychological safety within distributed teams 
• Supporting psychological safety for DEI practitioners (and why it matters) 
• Examples of good practice to build psychological safety in distributed workforces

In This Episode

[1:16] Which major themes around work culture, DEI and talent retention did we observe in our 2023 whitepaper?

[10:54] What challenges have presented themselves with the rise of remote work in 2022?

[13:03] Why does the tech industry have the capacity to shape all future workplaces?

[17:48] The benefits of doubling down on creating a psychologically safe environment for distributed teams and what that looks like in practice

[25:23] Why lone DEI practitioners cannot be the only solution for all marginalized experiences in the workplace

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#073 - In this episode, Kay Fabella is pleased to welcome Kristy Wallace, the CEO of Ellevate, to discuss the power of women’s networks for gender equity at work.

Kristy shares her lessons from her leadership role at Ellevate, a global network dedicated to the advancement of women in the workplace. She also explains why women’s networks are best placed to help companies ensure gender equity in their workforce and provide critical support to women across intersecting identities.

Finally, Kristy and Kay discuss why employers need to understand the shifting needs and expectations of their female employees since the pandemic, and why it’s in companies’ interest to support women at work.

#061 - In this episode, Kay Fabella challenges companies and DEI leads to ensure your gender equity plan helps ALL women.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Kay takes a different approach for this episode to show you why your gender equity plan must be intersectional, to help you uncover the blind spots in your DEI plan. 

She illustrates three hypothetical cases with women across different identities who could be left out or marginalized by gender equity initiatives in companies. 

Finally, Kay asks companies and DEI leads to remember that “all women” actually means ALL women — and what you can do to build a truly inclusive culture that effectively retains female talent.

This month, we’re hosting a mini-series on “Hybrid Work & Company Culture'' where we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned from speaking to tech companies like HP and HubSpot on whether or not hybrid work is killing company culture. 

In this second episode of the series, we will be discussing the importance of equity in a hybrid workplace, how to equip leaders for remote-first or hybrid teams, and how flexible working and company culture strategies go hand-in-hand with DEI, plus actionable ideas we’ve been sharing with our client partners to support employees in a remote or hybrid work environment

If you want to follow along with the Hybrid Work & Company Culture mini-series on the podcast this month — and get access to inclusive insights from our team in your inbox — head to the link in the show notes or go to https://inclusioninprogress.com/podcast-miniseries-2023 to sign up.

In This Episode:

[1:19] Introduction to hybrid work and company culture.

[8:09] The definition of DEI and psychological safety.

[11:44] The importance of company culture and buy-in of tech leaders.

[13:57] The essence of a company culture that supports psychological safety.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Sign up for our July 2023 podcast mini-series: “Hybrid Work & Company Culture”.

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Learn more from Harvard Business Review’s Survey: What Attracts Top Tech Talent?

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

In this episode, Kay Fabella welcomes Nancy Kasvosve, founder of Philips Women Lead (PWL) and passionate advocate for equity and inclusion, to discuss her lessons from driving and growing the organization’s largest employee resource group to influence Philips’ global DEI strategy.

Nancy highlights the importance of employee-led “bottom-up” movements, detailing how she created and scaled PWL at Philips with the support of colleagues, mentors and sponsors — alongside her day job and entrepreneurial ventures. She also outlines how ERGs can continue to scale to support global teams and drive business strategy.

Finally, Nancy and Kay discuss how women’s ERGs can ensure DEI strategies meet the needs of women across all identities and intersections — and drive gender equity in the workplace.

On our last few episodes of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we’ve been sharing examples of the types of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work we’ve done with client partners. 

In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Paul Barber, Vice President of Human Resources at Listrak. He oversaw the transition of the organization from a primarily office-based culture to a remote-first company and partnered with Team IIP to help address the needs of their distributed teams in a rapidly changing work environment. 

We also supported Listrak with establishing DEI baselines for the organization, as well as gathered anonymous data and insights that were key to delivering equitable talent strategies for their employees.

In our conversation, we discuss: 

• How Paul first got into DEI work and how he has witnessed the changes in how leaders and employees engage with the conversation in the workplace over the last three decades

• Why he recommends that HR and People leaders partner with an external consultant and how our data provided the foundation for his organizational priorities at Listrak

• His thoughts on why DEI work is a journey that will only grow in importance over the next few years — and why leaders must continue to implement it in a way that fits their organizational journey

If you want to partner with IIP to create more equitable, effective teams in your hybrid workplace — email info@inclusioninprogress.com to book a free no-pressure consultation with our team. 

In This Episode:

[7:13] How external validation from contractors helped reinforce the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in an organization, particularly in securing support from senior management and the finance department.

[9:00] How DEI efforts help organizations keep their people and implement data backed recommendations, resulting in hiring internationally and keeping teams intact.

[14:00] The importance of leadership buy-in and external partnerships for successful DEI work.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Learn more about Paul Barber.

Sign up for our July 2023 podcast mini-series: “Hybrid Work & Company Culture”.

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#005 - Kay shares the data and statistics you need to make the business case for inclusion in your organization, to help you understand and advocate effectively for the need for D&I.

She talks about what her corporate clients struggle with when trying to convince key stakeholders to turn D&I from buzzword to business reality.

Finally, Kay shares the 3 questions she uses with her own clients to help them see the need for a meaningful D&I initiatives in their companies, as well as the different solutions she offers to help create systemic inclusion across their organizations.

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

#079 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares more of her findings from her team’s 2021 whitepaper on DEI and the future of work for multicultural teams, which is now available for download. 

Kay discusses how Generation Z is challenging company leadership to be more intentional with how to respond to the different identities, cultures, lived experiences and locations of their employees.

Finally, Kay talks about why understanding Gen Z employees’ expectations will help companies retain and recruit the best people for organizations in 2022 and beyond.

Our Latest Whitepaper is Now Available

The Future of Work Culture 2021: 
Evolving DEI to Engage a More Global Workforce

Almost two years since the pandemic forced tech companies to leave their physical offices, more than a year since the resurgence of the antiracism movement, how has work culture shifted for multicultural, global teams? 

In our latest whitepaper you’ll discover:

• The legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic on employee expectations — and how it will affect the tech industry’s ability to hire future talent.
• How demographic shifts, multicultural identities, and social justice movements will impact company culture — and how tech companies can evolve their DEI and talent retention strategies in 2022.
• The role of technology in collaboration and connectivity for global teams — and how tech organizations can create greater opportunities for global talent while embracing distributed work.

We’ll also share insights, trends, and specific ways we’ve worked with tech companies to lay the foundation for a new work culture that benefits business and global teams — and, in the process, pave the way for a future of work that supports all of us.

>> Click here to download the whitepaper <<

In our post-pandemic world, many more companies have distributed workforces. 

Which means many of the HR, Talent and People leaders that we engage with are having to rethink and redefine how to close the gender gap in leadership — when many no longer share the same physical office space or cultural context. 

With that said, research shows that sponsorship remains one of the most effective ways to close the gender gap in leadership.

So how do you know when a sponsorship program is right for you? And how do you apply and launch a sponsorship program for a distributed work environment?

On this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we look at three ways sponsorship can address the gender gap in leadership — and how you can apply our findings to your own distributed workforce.

At Inclusion in Progress, LLC, we’re passionate about Inclusive Distributed Work™ because we have been afforded the opportunities to advance and advise others in 35+ countries, across generational and cultural differences, while supporting our teams’ experiences with autism, depression, anxiety and ADHD.

We know that Inclusive Distributed Work™ works. So if you’d like to work with us this year to implement our signature framework in your organization, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to book your free consultation call with us.

#sponsorship #leadership #genderequity #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork

TIMESTAMPS:

[2:59] Sponsorship can address gender gap in leadership through structured opportunities.

[7:23] How sponsorship increases visibility and accessibility for women to enhance their careers and promote them into positions of leadership.

[9:45] Sponsorship benefits both sponsors and protegees, creating a structured allyship opportunity.

[12:27] Kay shares how remote work helped her find creative solutions to mental health and professional obstacles.

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Listen to our previous episode where we discuss Do Your Teams Need Mentorship or Sponsorship? How to Understand the Difference.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#063 - In this episode, Kay Fabella talks about why our longstanding notions of professionalism and culture fit undermine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in organizations.

Kay starts the episode by discussing the intersectional violence against historically excluded communities in her birth country, the US, and why feeling pressured to stay “professional” as someone working in DEI can be challenging in the face of social inequity and injustice.

Finally, Kay breaks down the history of the workplace, how professionalism standards and ideas of culture fit came to be, and shows you what you can do instead to attract and maintain a diverse and inclusive talent pool.

#028 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is discussing male allyship with Brian Ballantyne, Senior Program Manager at Amazon Luxeumbourg, and owner of Amazon’s global D&I strategy. He is also the author of the book, Confessions of a Working Father, where he shares how men can step up in the caregiving duties at home.

Brian talks about how his multicultural, intersectional upbringing helped shape his worldviews early on and strengthened his commitment to D&I long before he started working. 

He also shares his ongoing allyship journey as a white British man based in Luxembourg, and talks about ways he’s committed time, effort and energy to creating inclusive work environments.

#013 - Kay focuses this episode for anyone who is learning and willing to become a better ally for minority professionals, sharing daily actions you can take to build a more inclusive world.

She also discusses why allyship must be intersectional — not just for white male and female cisgender allies, but for those of us who fall into minority groups ourselves.

Finally, Kay talks about why micro-steps and individual choices from allies and minorities alike help lead to more inclusion in progress.

Meta. Netflix. Amazon. Spotify. Google. We’ve been watching as some of the biggest names in tech have implemented mass layoffs for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. And while it’s easy to look at the headlines in numbers, there is a very human cost that our teams face. Both for those who are laid off and those who are left behind. 

In the wake of these layoffs, how do organizations maintain employee morale for those left behind? Especially when everyone’s now working in a distributed environment?

In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we’ll be discussing what workplace survival syndrome is, how it affects employee morale post-layoffs, and what you and your company can do to support remaining team members after they watch their colleagues leave.

Here’s what we will explore:

• What is workplace survivor syndrome?

• Who is affected when companies engage in layoffs?

• How workplace survivor syndrome impacts psychological safety

• How employers can best support their teams after a downsizing

In This Episode:

[5:58] What is workplace survivor syndrome and why does it matter to employers?

[7:58] What are the consequences of workplace downsizing or restructuring on those left behind?

[11:47]  How embracing empathy and modeling vulnerability impacts psychological safety, productivity and engagement for workplace survivors

[20:15] The benefits of opening a dialogue with your employees and listening to their feedback after a reorg or similar organizational change

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

For today's episode, we're diving into what we've seen as the number one barrier to remote teams being truly effective: That’s risk. More specifically, risk tolerance. We've seen this on our team, and we've seen it for the client partners that we've consulted with from all over the world. With all of the challenges that companies are facing right now. It's critical that teams continue to have space to share their best ideas with one another. 

For a team to innovate, you need to be able to solve problems. To solve problems, especially ones that your team has never seen before, you need to take risks. If the people on your team don't know how to tolerate risk, or are unwilling to explore options together when they're faced with uncertainty, how can a team come up with new ideas? 

Without risk tolerance, and the ability for your team to work through challenges together, it becomes a huge barrier to virtual teams. Risk tolerance is really just another way of saying resilience in the face of uncertainty. It's important for the psychological safety of a remote team especially to be able to lean on one another and navigate that uncertainty together. Ensuring your team is more resilient in the face of risk, instead of being risk averse, could make a huge difference in how your remote team comes to work every day.

In This Episode

[6:03] What is risk tolerance and why is it so important to a remote team?

[8:55] Why do team members feel pressure to be nice, even though they may not agree with the direction the team is moving?

[10:10] How to encourage teams to move beyond groupthink and bring their ideas forward to benefit the team.

[12:12] What is a placeholder solution and why is it an effective tool for teams to utilize in order to feel seen, heard and psychologically safe to contribute?

[16:42] What is the 10/10/10 rule and how can it be used to calculate risk?

[20:52] Why are remote employees “Quiet Quitting” and what can leaders do about it?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Check out our previous episode to learn more about the different types of trust that make remote teams work effectively: What Remote Teams REALLY Need to Feel Included at Work

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#001 - Welcome to the first episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast! Kay Fabella is an author and award-winning visibility coach who is dedicated to helping underrepresented professionals step up as authors, speakers, and influencers — and redefine the face of leadership.

Kay is a Filipina-American expat in Spain who's helped startups and Fortune 500s to multiply their audiences through story-driven strategies. Inclusion in Progress is a bi-weekly show that focuses on tips, tricks, and techniques to spread your message + communicate with impact. Kay will share her knowledge about visibility, her own diversity and inclusion stories, and highlight experts who've stepped up as leaders even when they're the "only" one in the room.

To grab Kay's free guide, Top 10 Visibility Activities to grow your audience organically as a minority thought leader, just head to: https://kayfabella.com/start-here

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

#033 - In this episode, Kay Fabella discusses how allies can keep their antiracism efforts and education going, at home and at work, even after the headlines fade.

Kay also shares the critical difference between racist and antiracist — and why it’s important for the Black community to lead the conversation.

Finally, she gives three ways you can sustainably incorporate antiracism into your personal and professional life — and why being antiracist needs to be a more critical component of company’s DEI efforts.

#083 - In this episode, Kay Fabella asks: are we all suffering from ADHD in a remote world? She shares her thoughts about our current mental states due to the blurred lines between life and work since the pandemic began.

Kay discusses the harmful stigma around ADHD and how it is important to design remote workplaces to support both neurotypical and neurodivergent folks to contribute their best work.

Finally, Kay gives ways you can support your remote teams who are struggling with neurodivergence or ADHD-like symptoms, to increase the likelihood that they’ll stay.

Links

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to partner with us on a tailored DEI solution for your company? Get in touch today for a complimentary call.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Read more of Dr. Edward Hallowell’s Driven to Distraction and Delivered From Distraction.

Driven to Distraction and Delivered From Distraction by Dr. Edward Hallowell

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Kay Fabella disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#056 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares what’s next for Inclusion in Progress in 2021 and beyond.

Kay shares a bit about how the podcast has evolved since the show first launched in November 2019, and how her current work with organizations, allies, advocates and minorities alike has shaped the new direction.

Finally, Kay unveils a new intro and updated mission for the show — reminding us that we ALL have a role in creating more inclusive, equitable workplaces.

From leadership gaps to communication barriers to unclear expectations — companies are missing opportunities to find a distributed work model that works best for their teams.

On this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we discuss what is standing in the way of making distributed work models effective, why the debate should move beyond remote vs. RTO (return-to-office), and what leaders like you can do to unlock the true potential of distributed work in 2025 and beyond.

To discover more actionable insights on building effective distributed work models that address key challenges and support both business outcomes and employee well-being, supplement your listening by downloading our Distributed Work Model E-Book. It’s packed with actionable insights to help:

• Build clear, intentional work models that improve productivity.

• Reduce inefficiencies and turnover, boosting your bottom line.

• Position your company as a leader in inclusive, globally distributed teams.

And if you want to learn more, we’re partnering with clients using our Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework this year — all you have to do is reach out to us at info@inclusioninprogress.com.

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our Distributed Work Models E-Book to learn how to find the distributed work model that enables your teams to perform at their best.

Review our previous discussion on IIP096: The Hidden Biases of Hybrid Work.

Learn more about Global Workplace Analytics' study on the Costs of Distributed Work.

Check out Mark Ma and his team's full paper discussing the Return to Office Mandates and Brain Drain.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Subscribe to the Inclusion in Progress Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get notified when new episodes come out!

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#031 - In this episode, Kay Fabella discusses why it’s so hard to talk about race at work, and ways you can lead courageous conversations about antiracism at your organization.

Kay also gives more historical context for how and why racism was codified — and why dismantling systemic oppression that’s centuries-old takes courage and consistency.

Finally, she shares the three main reasons talking about race in a corporate setting is challenging — and how you can focus on creating psychologically safe spaces at work to keep conversations about race going.

In this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we share more about our signature Inclusive Distributed Work™ — which we’ve used with tech companies worldwide to support their distributed teams.

At Inclusion in Progress, we define distributed work as physical distribution (remote, hybrid and in-office) and geographical distribution (global and multicultural). Which means that even before March 2020, our teams were already distributed.

Today, the success of your distributed teams depends on enabling collaboration across difference, geography, culture and time zone — so you can avoid costly attrition due to misunderstandings and inefficiencies; attract and retain top talent; improve communication and collaboration; and increase your global reach and market share.

Utilizing our three-step framework, we’ve supported companies with aligning their people-focused initiatives with business critical objectives, and deepening their capacity to understand and address specific issues facing their globally distributed teams.

If you’d like to collaborate with us this year to implement our framework in your organization, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to book your free consultation call.

#psychologicalsafety #leadership #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork

TIMESTAMPS:

[5:55] Empowering distributed teams with a shared culture beyond office walls.

[8:10] Distributed work is a natural evolution of work, enabling collaboration across differences for success.

[13:02] The benefits of enabling inclusive behaviors, mitigating bias, and strengthening communication protocols.

[16:11] Strategies for fostering psychological safety in distributed teams.

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Listen to our previous episode where we discuss how Inclusion in Progress got started and 3 Ways Sponsorship Can Address the Gender Gap in Leadership

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

With a recessive period upon us, we’ve witnessed a growing trend of corporate leaders (particularly in the tech industry) embracing “bossism”: a leadership style that emphasizes a top-down approach to management.

Sadly, that means the first programs on the chopping block are viewed as the nice-to-haves, including the DEI initiatives that many pledged to uphold following George Floyd’s murder. It also means that the people these programs were aimed at supporting are also at risk, at a time when employees and employers need inclusion-focused programs the most.

While those who practice bossism would claim to favor the bottom line, they do so at the expense of the people who are responsible for creating the bottom line in the first place. 

In today’s episode, we’ll share the reasons why we can’t undo progress on DEI with the likes of bossism in Big Tech, including:

• Why investing in DEI supports teams during times of change and uncertainty

• Why an inclusive workplace supports post-layoff survivors’ productivity and morale

• Why ongoing DEI initiatives can support today’s and tomorrow’s teams

In This Episode:

[1:15] Is the recessive period creating a trend in which leaders are resorting to bossism?

[4:43] How is the rise of bossism affecting DEI initiatives?

[8:23] Why investing in DEI supports diverse teams during times of uncertainty

[12:34] The impact of bossism in Big Tech on psychological safety and how it affects morale and productivity (even beyond the tech industry)

[14:31] How investing in DEI initiatives can support today’s and tomorrow’s teams

[15:59] Why cutting back on DEI initiatives today will ultimately lead to difficulty retaining and hiring talent in the long run

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#082 - In this episode, Kay Fabella discusses the impact of “work from anywhere” on teams’ mental health, and what organizations should consider when fostering inclusion.

Kay discusses the potential mental health considerations for employees who choose to work from anywhere in the world, as she reflects on the past eight years as a remote business owner. She offers anecdotes that highlight the challenges of isolation and relocation burnout on remote workers. 

Finally, Kay shares strategies companies can use to support remote teams’ mental health, no matter where they decide to live and work.

Links

To download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper, click here.

Ready to partner with us on a tailored DEI solution for your company? Get in touch today for a complimentary call.

Read our Forbes features here, here, and here.

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Kay Fabella disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#009 - Kay discusses three ways to meaningfully measure inclusion to help you successfully execute your data-driven D&I strategy in your organization.

She also shares why data and insights are key to helping you increase buy-in from your leadership team, and to inform the next steps for your diversity and inclusion initiative.

Finally, Kay shares why the messaging you use in your surveys is critical to encourage as much participation as possible from underrepresented groups, and build a more inclusive company culture where everyone can thrive.

#069 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares three DEI lessons she and her team have learned from working with non-US clients.

After working with global teams from both within her birth country, the US, and outside of it as an expat in Spain, Kay talks openly about what’s challenged and shifted her team’s approach to DEI, and helping client partners redesign their workplaces for greater equity and inclusion.

Finally, Kay offers some ideas for how you can expand your equity and inclusion initiatives in a culturally agile, mindful way that benefits your organization as a whole.

Although gender equality has been a core focus of the inclusive workplace conversation, it still continues to be a concern — especially when we see a lack of women in leadership positions in many of the tech companies we partner with. 

As a woman-owned business, Inclusion in Progress is all too familiar with the lack of growth opportunities in our past work environments. Which is why our mission to continue to empower organizations to walk their talk when it comes to inclusion is not only a professional commitment, but a deeply personal one. And it’s why we’ll be focusing today’s episode on why women are still underrepresented in tech, despite being a core target demographic for many talent pipelines.

On this episode of the podcast, we explore:

• The effects of women underrepresentation in tech on the larger industry

• What women need to feel supported to stay long enough to step up to leadership positions

• How the lack of women leadership can affect your company’s productivity and reputation

You will also hear our insights on the profound impact that gender equity has on workplace culture and a company’s ability to meet business objectives. 

To learn more about how we’re partnering with organizations to support gender equity at work, reach out to our team for a consultation at info@inclusioninprogress.com.

[0:01] Gender equity stagnation in tech industry despite rapid evolution.

[4:51] Women's underrepresentation in tech and its impact on innovation and profitability.

[10:47] Lack of women in tech leadership impacts company reputation and growth.

Links

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#034 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is speaking to Nadia Z. Ismail, DEI Consultant and Senior Manager of People Growth & Inclusion at DoorDash. 

Nadia talks about her lived experiences as a Muslim and Arab woman — and how it shaped her activism and advocacy to champion the voices of underrepresented groups.

She also discusses her intersection between DEI and Learning & Development, and maps out the learning journey in allyship, antiracism, or any type of systemic solution for inclusion at work.

#012 - Kay discusses how NOT to celebrate Black History Month in your organization, and why it’s critical to foster black representation and inclusion for your business in 2020 and beyond.

She also talks about specific case studies of where brands have gone wrong in celebrating Black History Month, and what your company can do instead to acknowledge your black professionals without tokenizing or trivializing.

Finally, Kay shares why awareness months are still critical for creating systemic inclusion in our companies — and how showing you care for minority employees is good for business, too.

#048 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is pleased to welcome Dr. David Jones, the Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Talent Management at William Paterson University and diversity consultant.

David shares the importance of DEI in companies starting before recruitment and the need to intentionally source talent from colleges and universities, especially when recruiting students from historically excluded groups.

He also talks about why he is passionate about mentorship because of the role it played in his life, and his words of wisdom for aspiring young professionals during the pandemic.

On our Inclusion in Progress podcast, we often talk about how we help our client partners from around the world design psychological safety for their virtual teams. 

But what does building psychological safety look like on our own fully remote team at Team IIP? And how do we apply those same lessons to our company as we evolve?

That’s exactly what we’ll look at in this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast.

Here’s what we’ll explore: 

• What we’ve learned about the importance of psychological safety, well-being, and work-life balance for DEI practitioners

• Why Team IIP believes that rest is even more necessary in a fast-changing world and ever-evolving work environment

• How we’re applying what we share with our client partners to our own company culture of psychological safety on our virtual team

You’ll also hear examples of how we model psychological safety in our day-to-day interactions as a fully distributed team - as well as why we will continue to create time off for our mental health and well-being moving forward.

If you want to read more about our latest whitepaper,  “Is hybrid work killing company culture?,” you can download a copy on our website at inclusioninprogress.com/learn or head to the link in the show notes to grab your copy.

In This Episode:

[9:30] How does company culture impact mental health?

[11:34] Why was Inclusion in Progress founded?

[18:37] Why "checking yourself at the door" is something we can no longer go back to.

[21:16] How taking a break has changed the way team Inclusion in Progress works.

[26:01] The power of showing up when you feel safe.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings on Hybrid Work & Company Culture.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Listen to our previous episodes on Psychological Safety for DEI Practitioners and Why “Professionalism” and “Culture Fit” Undermine DEI.

#035 - In this special birthday episode, Kay Fabella shares what she’s learned from eight months of podcasting in honor of the incredible listeners who’ve supported Inclusion in Progress.

Kay shouts out to a couple of her key mentors along the way, who’ve helped shape her approach to DEI, podcasting and storytelling.

Finally, Kay walks you through the four key lessons she’s learned from eight months of podcasting as IIP has grown, and how making this show has helped make her a better DEI practitioner, facilitator and consultant.

Hybrid work has been most commonly defined as a blend of in-office and remote work. This form seemed like the perfect solution as we transitioned  post-pandemic because it promised flexibility and a balanced approach to the workplace. 

However, many organizations have found themselves stuck in the middle ground where the emphasis is still on showing up at the office rather than focusing on productivity. And we have seen that this current iteration of hybrid has significant limitations and consequences for those organizations that are unwilling to adapt.

In this episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, discuss the following: 

• Why you have only heard of one model of “hybrid work” and how other models have performed against it;

• How employers monitoring the productivity of their employees in-office may actually be the bottleneck to productivity and profitability that they are trying to avoid;

• Why it is important to make decisions surrounding the workplace based on intentionally collected data.

At Inclusion in Progress, we have utilized our three-step Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework to support companies with aligning their people-focused initiates with business critical objectives, to deepen their capacity to understand and address specific issues facing their globally distributed teams.

If you’d like to collaborate with us this year to implement our framework in your organization, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to book your free consultation call.

#hybridwork  #leadership #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork

TIMESTAMPS:

[4:21] What are the five models of “hybrid work”? And how have companies made use of these models so far? 

[7:08] What are the arguments made by employers to justify going back to the pre-pandemic five-day-a-week in-office mandate? What should your company be focusing on instead?  

[13:22] How can you embrace Inclusive Distributed Work™ at your workplace? What is the best approach to use to achieve this?

[16:35] What are the questions you can ask that can help you identify the ideal distributed work model for your organization?

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Read the full report of Work From Home Research’s Global Survey of Working Arrangements.

Listen to our previous episode about how other companies are Building a Healthy, Connected Work Culture for Distributed Teams

Read more on the success of Atlassian’s Team Anywhere in their 1,000 Days of Distributed Work Report.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#026 - For minority leaders, ERGs (employee resource groups) provide a sense of community and belonging in an organization — which is why they’re critical to D&I initiatives.

And with more companies struggling to manage remote and distributed teams, ERGs have even more of a critical role to play in helping employees stay safe, connected and supported in uncertain times.

In this episode, Kay Fabella shares actionable ideas and strategies to help ERG leaders adapt their programming for a virtual environment.

Today’s episode addresses a very important question: What does diversity and inclusion look like when it intersects with the remote work conversation for companies? This conversation has a few different components to think about, as it leads to more questions such as: is it necessary to know who a person is outside of the work environment in order to create a psychologically safe workplace? What are some of the work preferences that members of your team have, and are you willing to be accommodating to them? How can we make remote workers feel like they are a valuable and appreciated part of the organization — even when they’re not coming into a physical work environment or in the same timezone or country?

 Well, as luck may have it, this is our sweet spot at Inclusion in Progress as a fully remote team that spans EMEA, APAC and the Americas. We’ve taken all of our years of experience and our latest insights from supporting our client partners since before the Covid-19 pandemic  to know how to measure equity and inclusion with our remote teams in mind. We’ve been able to help organizations create an equitable,  inclusive flexible working environment for their remote teams using the exact same criteria we outline in this episode!

In This Episode:

[7:03] What is the biggest obstacle to inclusion on distributed teams?

[7:55] Why it may be a good idea to share and communicate your story a little more openly as a member of a remote team.

[10:50] What can help your team achieve superior levels of participation, cooperation, and collaboration?

[11:55] Why is it important to understand the  identities present on your remote team and how does it help create an inclusive work environment?

[12:45] How do work preferences factor into the DEI equation when teams are working remotely?

[15:46] What do Superpowers and Kryptonite have to do with remote work— and how does Team IIP factor this into our measurement of diversity and inclusion?

[18:53] Does your team culture help members within the team feel supported  — whether they’re co-located or not?

[21:00] The benefits of having a shared or common language when your team is distributed .

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Check out our previous episode to learn more about the different types of trust that make remote teams work effectively: What Remote Teams REALLY Need to Feel Included at Work

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#003 - Kay reflects on an intriguing conversation she had with an HR Director at a prominent telecommunications firm in Spain, where she lives, and how it got her thinking about how we define inclusion within our companies.

She explains her definition of the 7 pillars of inclusion, and discusses how the context, culture and country can all affect what we prioritize in our organizations and when.

Finally, she walks you through how you can approach and have meaningful conversations about D&I as a minority, and what you can do as a non-minority to help be an advocate and accomplice for your minority counterparts.

Check out Kay's post on LinkedIn where she talks about key D&I stats here: http://bit.ly/kay-LIpost-DI

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

#015 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is speaking to Jennifer Brown, the best-selling author of How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive.

In this discussion, Jennifer shares how she found her voice on diversity and inclusion as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, how she built her 7-figure consulting business with a team of over 20 D&I experts, and her thoughts on building gender inclusion and intersectionality in organizations.

She also shares the challenges women still face at work, the importance of continuing to inform and educate yourself on the challenges of other underrepresented groups, and her predictions on D&I trends that will shape companies for this decade and beyond.

#075 - In this episode, Kay Fabella is honored to welcome Mita Mallick, the Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta, to talk about how to redesign workplaces for working mothers post-pandemic.

Mita candidly shares the psychological, emotional and professional challenges working mothers are facing while navigating their roles at work and at home. She lays the case for why our organizations have an opportunity to reimagine structures and support so that women continue to participate in the workforce.

Finally, Mita and Kay discuss ideas for companies to retain working mothers and caregivers, to build more inclusive workplaces in the next normal.

In This Episode

[1:00] Why we must redesign workplaces to accommodate working mothers post-pandemic.

[4:30] How Mita is navigating being at the center of so many intersections (as a woman, a mother, a woman of color, and a DEI professional).

[8:30] How Mita responds to people saying that she’s “super mom”.

[11:50] What workplaces can be doing more strategically and intentionally to create better support systems for women.

[18:00] How do cultural stereotypes work their way into the way women are treated in the workforce?

[20:30] What can organizations and leaders do to further support working women they know?

#046 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is excited to welcome Elizabeth Wright, Australian Paralympic medalist, activist, writer, and TEDx speaker to discuss disability and ableism.

Elizabeth shares why disability is often less visible within the DEI conversation and encourages non-disabled allies to expand how we think about disability in the workplace to build true inclusion.

She also shares why accessibility and flexible working help organizations tap into talent that’s often overlooked — and why companies should focus on intersectionality in their inclusion efforts.

Organizations that claimed to support diversity and inclusion in the wake of the pandemic are continuing to mandate Return-to-Office policies today. 

Leaders are clinging to the paradigm of in-office work as the gateway to productivity and performance — rather than using this moment as an opportunity to leverage the insight they've gained from their own flexible work experiences to innovate new ways of working.

But did you know that flexible work isn't just a nice-to-have but a non-negotiable for closing the gender gap in leadership? 

Which is why on this episode of the podcast we discuss:

• How strengthening and reiterating your existing distributed work models is advantageous to both men and women;

• Why the role of managers is important in increasing women’s representation in leadership;

• How strategizing for an inclusive and equitable distributed workplace enables teams with the highest potential and boosts their performance.

At Inclusion in Progress, LLC, we understand the profound impact that gender inclusion has on workplace culture and a company's ability to meet business objectives. Which is why we’re pleased to share the release of our 2024 whitepaper: “How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap”.

The whitepaper is a result of our January 2024 roundtable discussions with cybersecurity leaders at Broadcom, Cisco, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks are doing to promote and advance women in their organizations, and enable more women’s advancement into leadership.

To download our latest whitepaper, head to https://inclusioninprogress.com/learn. 

TIMESTAMPS:

[0:01] Return to office policies and their impact on diversity and inclusion

[2:24] Increasing women's representation in leadership through flexible work

[6:22] Gender inequality in the workplace and the importance of distributed work models

[9:40] Managers' role in promoting women's leadership in distributed workplaces

[12:41] The benefits of gender inclusion in the workplace

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Learn more about the three hidden biases of hybrid work and how to avoid them.

Listen to our discussion of how women of color face double barriers to promotion at work.

Download our 2024 Executive Roundtable Findings: “DEI is Not Dead: How Cybersecurity Leaders are Closing the Gender Gap”

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

On the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we’ve shared examples of the types of interventions and work we’ve done with client partners. But we’ve never featured any of them until now.

Many of our listeners have asked what it’s like to work in DEI, both as an external contractor and as part of an internal DEI team. So in today’s episode, we’re speaking with Anthony Papini, the Global DEI Lead of ActiveCampaign. Not only has he been a long-time podcast listener, he’s also partnered with #TeamIIP in his current and previous roles leading diversity, equity and inclusion.

In our conversation, we discuss:

• How Anthony first got into DEI work and how he’s watched the conversation evolve 

• The benefits of an in-house DEI team working with an external partner and how he partnered with Inclusion in Progress

• Why buy-in for DEI work is critical — even in a recessive period — and the advice he’d give to current and aspiring practitioners looking to lead equity and inclusion in the future of work

You’ll also hear examples from a seasoned practitioner (and one of our esteemed client partners!) — as well as why in-house and external practitioners can work together effectively to gain buy-in and support business-critical functions.

If you want to partner with IIP to create more equitable, effective teams in your hybrid workplace — email info@inclusioninprogress.com to book a free no-pressure consultation with our team. 

In This Episode:

[3:35] Diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace.

[15:57] The importance of external support for DEI practitioners.

[21:50] The challenges and benefits of being a DEI practitioner.

[27:30] Diversity, equity, and inclusion as a client partner.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Sign up for our July 2023 podcast mini-series: “Hybrid Work & Company Culture”.

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

March is officially the start of International Women’s Month. 

But as our latest episode goes live today — do women really have something to celebrate? 

Considering the uphill battle women face in their personal and professional lives?

And considering how gender equity in the workplace seems to be backsliding?

In fact, according to LeanIn.Org & McKinsey’s 2022 Women in the Workplace Report, for every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.

We don’t just lose ideas, perspectives and talent when women leaders leave — we also lose our best advocates for equity and inclusion.

With that in mind, Inclusion in Progress takes a look at The Great Breakup, the consequences of women leaving the workforce en masse, and how to keep progress on gender equity moving forward by working to retain women on your teams.

In This Episode:

[5:36] What is possible if more legislation were designed with women in mind?

[7:16] What are the consequences of women leaving the workforce?

[9:06] Why are women leaders demanding more from work?

[13:51] How can organization leaders navigate the issue of women leaders leaving the workplace? 

[16:30] What are some solutions to support women in leadership positions? 

[18:23] How can you keep women leaders on board within your organization?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Read the full Women in the Workplace report by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company.

Check out our discussion on The 3 Hidden Biases of Hybrid Work & How to Avoid Them.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay Fabella shares her reflections on DEI post-election in her birth country, the US, from her perspective as an American practitioner abroad.

Kay highlights why, for better or for worse, what happens in the US affects the world at large — and how it translates into DEI initiatives for organizations and teams.

Finally, she shares her observations and reflections on how the US elections will change how we discuss diversity, equity and inclusion in global companies.

In a time where we need innovation to discover solutions for our fast-changing world, is your company paying attention to the lived experiences of women (particularly at the intersection of race and gender)? How can you make sure there are more seats at the table for women — particularly women of color — to contribute the ideas we need to meet tomorrow’s challenges? 

For today’s episode of the Inclusion in Progress podcast, we discuss:

• How we can address gender inequality and why we can’t overlook the experience of women of color in the workplace

• How the intersection of gender and systemic racism can affect performance — and how employers can mitigate headwinds for women of color at work

• How centering women of color in your gender equity strategies at work will contribute to a more inclusive, innovative work culture that supports high performance for all of your team members

We also look into how promoting gender diversity with an intersectional lens can have a positive impact on your companies’ financial performance, employee engagement, retention and attraction of top talent.

If you want to learn more about how we’re partnering with tech and cybersecurity organizations to level the playing field for gender equity at work, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com.

[2:42] What is the state of gender equity and intersectionality in the workplace?

[7:28] The barriers faced by women of color in the workplace.

[10:05] How to address barriers, headwinds  and tailwinds for women of color in the workplace.

Links

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Learn more about Why Intersectionality Matters for Your DEI Strategy.

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#024 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay speaks with Felicia Jadczak, Co-CEO, Co-Founder & Head of Training at She+ Geeks Out: a platform for womxn and their allies to advocate for gender equity and inclusion in technology.

In this discussion, Felicia shares how being the “only” in many rooms inspired her to create She+ Geeks Out, and why she believes that gender equity in tech can help level the playing field for women in other industries, too. 

She also talks about how women in tech can advocate for inclusion without burning out, and the important role of male allyship in creating inclusive work environments.

This month, we’re hosting a mini-series on “Hybrid Work & Company Culture'' where we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned from speaking to tech companies like HP and HubSpot on whether or not hybrid work is killing company culture. 

 We have been discussing the importance of equity in a hybrid workplace, how to equip leaders for remote-first or hybrid teams, and how flexible working and company culture strategies go hand-in-hand with DEI, plus actionable ideas we’ve been sharing with our client partners to support employees in a remote or hybrid work environment. 

In this final episode of our series, we go over how our roundtable participants explained how they’ve come to rely on different platforms to maintain employee engagement and morale, foster a sense of community, and facilitate company culture initiatives. Our discussion highlighted the wide range of company-led and employee-led initiatives to support community-building among distributed team members.

If you want to read more about our Executive Roundtable findings, we’re pleased to announce the release of our latest whitepaper,  “Is hybrid work killing company culture?” You can download a copy on our website at inclusioninprogress.com/learn or  head to the link in the show notes to grab your copy.

In This Episode:

[3:11] The importance of tech platforms for culture.

[6:42] How hybrid work will affect equity and advancement.

[8:17] Company culture initiatives that support psychological safety.

[11:14] How to better manage psychological safety in a hybrid workplace?

[13:12] Flexible working and company culture strategies.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Sign up for our July 2023 podcast mini-series: “Hybrid Work & Company Culture”.

Download our 2023 Executive Roundtable Findings.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#029 - In this episode, Kay continues to share her key findings from her latest whitepaper on diversity and inclusion for big tech, and what it means for the future of work culture.

Kay also shares why she’s added the letter E to her role as a DEI Consultant, as a result of the conversation she had at the executive roundtable she hosted with big tech firms in April 2020 and what the small but symbolic change means.

Finally, she discusses why equity is critical to conversations around inclusion and why she remains hopeful as she watches individuals and companies commit to long-term change.

If 2021 was all about the Great Resignation, 2022 has been all about Quiet Quitting. While they may sound like polar opposites, they actually do have a lot in common: both movements are about expressing a desire for our workforce to be valued, heard and supported. With that in mind, what do companies need to focus on in 2023 to ensure that they continue to recruit and retain the best talent?

Team IIP is also excited to announce the release of our 2023 whitepaper on the Future of Work Culture for distributed teams — which is now available for download on our website.

Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s episode: 

• Why increased commitment to DEI should be a priority for companies in 2023 
• The lasting impact of the pandemic on distributed workforces
• How we can learn from how tech companies are making distributed workforces work 
• The Gen Z Effect: how DEI can help companies with succession planning for younger talent
• Examples of good practice in DEI for recruitment and retention of top talent 

In This Episode

[4:45] What are some of the challenges organizations are facing when retaining their top talent?

[9:46] What are the top tech companies doing to engage their employees on their distributed teams?

[13:00] How are distributed workplaces and other well-being initiatives driving the competition to retain top talent across a number of industries?

[13:45] How did having a diverse team positively impact the revenue of S&P 500 companies in 2020? / Why the business case for the implementation of DEI should no longer be ignored?

[21:00] Why is having a diverse workforce good for business in 2023?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#011 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is speaking to Minda Harts, entrepreneur, speaker and best-selling author of The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table. 

In this discussion, Minda shares how her book, billed as “Lean In” for WOC, came to be even when she was told there was no audience for it. 

She also shares the hurdles women of color still face at work, how to navigate organizations where they’re still not included, and how they can actively work to show up as their full selves in the workplace and build more inclusive work cultures for us all.

#023 - In honor of May’s Mental Health Awareness month, Kay shares practical advice and tips for fellow D&I practitioners to avoid burnout.

She also dives into her own lessons from experiencing burnout early in her career — and how she prioritizes her mental health to continue to serve her clients and colleagues.

Finally, Kay discusses why emotional boundaries are critical to our D&I work and how self-care and self-preservation help us show up as better allies and advocates.

#006 - In the first episode of 2020, Kay shares the diversity and inclusion industry trends to look for in this decade to keep your company ahead of the curve.

She talks about the 5 D&I trends to look out for if you want to build a meaningful, measurable diversity and inclusion initiative in your organization by walking you through industry best practices and key questions to consider when creating a more inclusive workplace.

Want to work with Kay on a Diversity & Inclusion solution for your organization? Check out her services here -or- book a free 20-minute discovery call here.

A principle at the core of our Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework is compassionate collision — bringing different perspectives to the table and creating psychological safety for everyone to contribute their ideas and views to an organization.

The goal of compassionate collision isn’t to “fix” or “solve” complex issues overnight, but to create an environment where people can express themselves without fear of retaliation.

Our CEO, Kay Fabella, has been having difficult conversations with leaders recently, and a common theme is emerging: How can we maintain unity within our teams when global events are so divisive? Especially as we the world realizes that geopolitical and socio-economic stressors of the past few years are here to stay? 

While it’s impossible to have one perfect solution, we at Inclusion in Progress have found that the following recommendations for creating safe spaces for difficult conversations is crucial:

• Foster spaces for respectful discussion that model compassion and encourage diverse perspectives.

•  Set communication norms, encourage constructive debates, and create space for emotional support.

• Offer training on inclusive leadership, provide mental health resources, and schedule 1:1 check-ins.

If you want to learn more about our Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework and how it’s enhancing performance and connectivity for distributed teams, book a call with us by emailing info@inclusioninprogress.com.

#psychologicalsafety #compassionatecollision #culturaladaptability #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork #inclusioninprogresspodcast

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Learn more from our previous episode about how to Create Psychological Safety on Remote Teams

Listen to how we covered Psychological Safety for DEI Practitioners: Top Tips from IIP

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#081 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares how to spot signs of burnout in a remote team before it happens, based on her experience as a remote worker and now running a fully remote team at Inclusion in Progress, LLC.

First, Kay defines burnout and some signs to be aware of when it comes to remote workers, as well as ideas for how to broach the conversation with your teams when you suspect they’re on the verge of burnout.

Finally, Kay discusses what your team culture needs to help prevent or mitigate burnout when it happens.

Links

To download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper, click here.

Ready to partner with us on a tailored DEI solution for your company? Get in touch today for a complimentary call.

Read our Forbes features here, here, and here.

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Kay Fabella disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#067 - In this episode, Kay Fabella shares reflections as a DEI practitioner on how the global antiracism movement looks like inside global companies, one year later.

Kay discusses how organizational priorities and corporate language shifted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, what commitments were made to investing in equity and racial justice, and what has and hasn’t changed in the past year.

Finally, Kay shares three ways organizations with global teams can continue building freer, fairer workplaces for all.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, activism and DEI work are actually extensions of one another.

For us at #TeamIIP, we know that historically excluded or marginalized groups simply *can’t* check their identities at the door when entering a professional workplace. To those we’ve spoken with and worked alongside, DEI is not just about fighting for equal opportunities in the workplace — it's about their lives and their livelihood. 

But that doesn’t mean that implementing DEI policies (such as inclusive language) at work isn’t without its complications.

One one side, we’ve witnessed facing pushback over the years from those who think that the use of inclusive language is tone policing.

On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve witnessed those who all too freely shame someone for their mistakes (sometimes fellow DEI practitioners) when the audience fails to meet an ever-evolving standard for inclusive language.

Inspired by our 2020 episode with Michelle MiJung Kim, we revisit the idea of inclusive language three years on and discuss:

• What inclusive language is, what it is not, and who it ultimately benefits

• How implementing inclusive language can be done with intentionality (without gate-keeping or shaming others in the process)

• Why it's less about saying the “right thing” and more about respecting the nuances of identity that language brings

• Our take on how to guide inclusive language in 2023 for more equitable workplaces

In This Episode:

[7:41] The origin and evolution of the word “woke”.

[12:42] What is inclusive language and why does it matter?

[15:36] How are people responding to inclusive language guidelines?

[31:49] How to be more inclusive in day-to-day communication.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2023 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about working with us in 2023.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

Shame is said to be one of the pillars of dehumanization. And yet it has been deployed in so many ways to control and move people to act, that the negative ramifications of it can be felt through generations — and also within organizations. As companies navigate multiple generations, cultures, identities and lived experiences in the workplace, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, respected, represented, and ultimately cared for. But the demand to see it through is at an all-time high. The cry for change is loud, but so is the shame surrounding the actions of leaders who are trying to make their work environments more equitable and inclusive.

On today’s episode of Inclusion in Progress, we break down the concerning trend around using shame as the primary tool of conversation within DEI., and hold space for an open conversation about whether or not there might be a better way forward. We break down the difference between shame vs. accountability, and why knowing the difference between both in ourselves first can help move the needle on equity and inclusion work. While we don’t have all the answers, we have a shared desire to see this industry inspire impact and sustainable change, not propagate the same types of exclusionary behavior we say we’re committed to dismantling. This is a big episode, and is likely to cause a moment or two of reflection and thought, so please press pause as many times as you need, and join us on today’s conversation.

In This Episode:

[3:48] Since DEI was pulled to the forefront of everyone’s mind 2 years ago, people are beginning to feel like change isn't happening fast enough — but who is really responsible for that?

[8:41] How some members of the DEI industry  are choosing to utilize shame in how they show up online, and why it might be hindering the progress we’re making to build inclusion in our workplaces.

[13:28] The “fly on the wall” conversations from client partners about feeling like they’re being shamed — and how the constant focus on what’s “missing” or what “isn’t going right” might actually be doing more harm than good in the would-be allies and leaders we need

[17:10] A brief primer on shame, its history as a centuries-old tool of oppression and dehumanization, and the unique response it causes in our bodies that prevent productive, solution-oriented, compassionate conversations from happening.

[22:57] The distinction between shame vs. accountability, why many of our workplaces are already rooted in shame, and how shaming can actually backfire in DEI work because it makes the work performative.

[31:00] The arguments for and against cancel culture, how it’s extended to our workplace, and how using it in DEI work actually compromises psychological safety and prevents sustainable action and accountability.

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com 

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Read more about black intersectional feminism in Audré Lorde’s book, “The Master’s Tools Won’t Dismantle the Masters’ House”

Read more of Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey’s conversation in their book, “What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing”

Listen to Brené Brown’s thoughts on Shame and Accountability on her podcast, Unlocking Us with Brené Brown.

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

Since 2022, employers have been working against a global talent shortage, particularly amongst knowledge workers. This has put immense pressure on teams, increasing the risk of burnout, and prompting some leaders to consider leaving their positions.

Doubling down on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) to increase the presence of underrepresented or excluded groups — whether from non-traditional backgrounds, cultures, or life trajectories — is not just a nice-to-have. It’s critical to help you widen, deepen, and strengthen your talent pool with ideas and perspectives.

At the same time, it’s important to remember that many of the traditionally excluded groups you’re targeting with your DEI initiatives are greatly in favor of distributed work.

Barriers to increasing diversity can be overcome if your organization embraces a true distributed work model.

At Inclusion in Progress, we have utilized our three-step Inclusive Distributed Work™ framework to support companies with aligning their people-focused initiates with business critical objectives, to deepen their capacity to understand and address specific issues facing their globally distributed teams.

If you’d like to collaborate with us this year to implement our framework in your organization, email us at info@inclusioninprogress.com to book your free consultation call.

#dei #leadership #inclusivedistributedwork #futureofwork

TIMESTAMPS:

[03:34]  What can you do to encourage employee interaction, engagement, and productivity in a distributed work setting?

[06:17] How do we define DEI? How does this definition differ when in the context of distributed work?

[09:23] What are the challenges you first have to address before activating your DEI initiatives

[14:11] What guidelines can Inclusion in Progress offer to help HR and People leaders on your DEI journey?

LINKS:

info@inclusioninprogress.com

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress 

Download our 2024 Whitepaper: "How Cybersecurity Companies Can Retain, Promote & Advance Women to Minimize the Gender Gap"

Read the full report of Work From Home Research’s Global Survey of Working Arrangements.

Learn more about Contending With Stereotype Threat at Work: A Model of Long-Term Responses

Listen to episode IIP125 where we explore What is Inclusive Distributed Work™? An Introduction to Our Framework.

Get started on mitigating bias at work with the help of episode IIP096: The 3 Hidden Biases of Hybrid Work & How to Avoid Them.

Want us to partner with you on building more inclusive distributed work? Get in touch to learn how we can tailor our services to your company’s DEI and remote work initiatives.

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Learn how to leave a review for the podcast.

#072 - In this episode, Kay Fabella discusses what company culture means today, and how it will need to evolve as our workforce continues to change post-pandemic.

Kay revisits the definition of “company culture” and how it has shifted since many of us have not been in a physical working environment for over a year. She also shared why companies with a strong culture have been more effective at retaining talent during the pandemic, and shares examples where organizations have succeeded in creating inclusion for distributed teams. 

Finally, Kay shares key questions leaders should consider about their culture in a remote or hybrid working environment, and why it's also critical to center the lived experiences of all global talent in the DEI conversation.

#037 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is speaking to Michelle Kim, CEO of Awaken, to talk about inclusive language at work.

Michelle shares her story as an Asian American immigrant and member of the LGBTQIA+ community — and how she connected her tireless passion for social justice to her DEI work for startups and Fortune 500 companies.

She also invites us to consider how to be more intentional and inclusive as language evolves, and highlights the need to consider our impact when leading diversity, equity and inclusion at work.

In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we take a moment to discuss one of the forgotten and often overlooked facets of diversity and inclusion: faith. Kay takes us through her thought process and into the realm of religion and spiritual beliefs as they are—and could be— within the workplace, and where it fits into this season’s theme of psychological safety at work.

Religion has been included in conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion in the past, and organizations have made many steps to ensure that religious and spiritual beliefs are recognized in terms of giving appropriate days off, or making dress code expectations more respectful of cultural and religious needs. But what could we be doing as leaders to make it a safer topic? How can we support each other’s beliefs in the day-to-day operation of our business? How could we be more supportive and even celebratory of one another’s beliefs? How would it impact our teams and talent retention if people came to work and felt good about sharing their religious and spiritual beliefs openly instead of putting them aside? It’s a deep question, and there is a lot to consider for organizations that we walk you through on the podcast based on our work with cross-cultural and remote teams.

On top of that, our post-pandemic world has left a lot of leaders with questions on how to handle religious or political exemptions surrounding vaccine mandates in the workplace: which is very top of mind and requires a lot of case by case attention. Regardless of where our teams stand on vaccine mandates due to their religious beliefs, we still need to nurture an environment where everyone feels psychologically safe to support one another through this challenging season. Ultimately, we hope this episode helps you consider how religious and spiritual beliefs should be factored into your DEI strategy, and into how you consider supporting inclusion for your teams navigating our rapidly changing workplace.

In This Episode:

[5:20] Kay shares some of her findings about religion and faith in the workplace: both from the Inclusion in Progress team, as well as statistics that tell a story even though your coworkers may not.

[8:12] Kay educates us on the US 1964 Equal Employment Opportunity Act, and shares some of the ways it has helped to shape the diversity and inclusion landscape today.

[9:33] Why it's important to include faith in our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives

[11:27] Your colleagues and coworkers may not be talking about their religious beliefs at work, but you can be sure they’re basing their decisions around them. How can we as leaders support that?

[19:02] As a leader, the psychological safety of your team where faith is concerned starts with you. How can you cultivate and nurture an environment where people feel safe to hold their beliefs?

[22:25] How can we hold psychological safety at the forefront of our minds against the backdrop of this post-pandemic working world, and navigate vaccine mandates in a way that honors everyone on your team?

Links:

To learn how to leave a review for the podcast, click here.

Religious Faith & Business Foundation

Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding

What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws

Connect with Us

info@inclusioninprogress.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Connect with Our Founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayfabella

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#043 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is honored to welcome Janelle Aaker, the former VP of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Lululemon, to talk about brave spaces.

Janelle talks about why the key to being inclusive in the workplace starts with mindfulness and creating brave spaces to have the conversations we need for inclusion.

She also shares specific ways everyone can create these brave spaces at work, based on her time at organizations like Lululemon and Nike.

#038 - In this episode, Kay Fabella highlights where DEI initiatives have often failed and how to avoid watching the same thing happen at your organization.

Kay also discusses the importance of looking back to move forward — and why it’s possible to learn from the mistakes of the past to truly move the needle on inclusion in our companies.

Finally, she walks you through the four key ways she’s seen DEI fail in companies before and what you can do instead to lead the work effectively as a practitioner, ally or advocate.

#060 - In this episode, Kay Fabella is pleased to welcome Albrey Brown, a DEI veteran currently working at Airtable, to discuss how to pivot your DEI strategy as it evolves — and share how he led diversity, equity and inclusion at his organization through the highs and lows of 2020.

Albrey generously shares his lessons learned from leading DEI at various companies in the technology industry. He also dives into how to leverage data analytics for more inclusive recruitment to help retain professionals from diverse backgrounds.

Finally, Kay and Albrey discuss why agility is key for your DEI strategy in 2021 and beyond.

#021 - In this episode, Kay dives into a few takeaways from one of her most popular virtual workshops for her corporate clients: how to be a better remote manager. 

She also shares some of the technology and techniques she’s helping managers implement to connect with one another virtually — and what to consider when creating a remote communication playbook for your team.

Finally, Kay makes the important distinction between being an effective and an inclusive remote manager, and how prioritizing inclusion for with your teams virtually translates to greater engagement and productivity.

#016 - Kay directs this episode of Inclusion in Progress on behalf of women of color like herself towards white women who’ve asked how they can be better intersectional allies for gender equality.

She also dives into the history of feminism and systemic racism, and how that influences the personal and professional advancement of women of color with respect to their non-minority counterparts.

Finally, Kay shares what concrete ways white women can help stand side-by-side with women of color to build a truly gender-inclusive world that benefits us all.

#017 - To conclude International Women’s Month, Kay talks about the gender pay gap in tech, and what she believes technology companies can do to create gender inclusion for their industry.

She also walks through the key reasons why tech companies have a responsibility to lead the conversation on the gender pay gap — and how they can set the tone for other industries on gender equity as well.

Finally, Kay shares three concrete strategies that tech companies can actually close the gender pay gap and build intersectional gender inclusion for their teams.

#050 - In this episode of Inclusion in Progress, Kay is pleased to welcome Leyla Okhai, CEO and Director of Diverse Minds UK, Ltd., to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion in the United Kingdom.

As a South Asian woman in the UK who’s lived in different countries around the world, Leyla discusses the context around the UK term BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) and how it pertains to the global antiracism conversation.

She also shares why having a cultural lens in DEI is critical to helping companies create truly global, inclusive strategies.

#025 - In honor of May’s Asian Pacific Islander Awareness (APIA) month, Kay walks through why we need to support Asian and Asian-American communities more than ever.

She also shares the history of how Anti-Asian xenophobia is nothing new — and why the conversation around racism isn’t just black and white.

Finally, Kay discusses concrete ways API employees, ERG and D&I leaders, allies and advocates can contribute to leading inclusive conversations at work even after Covid-19.

The Inclusion in Progress podcast started in 2019 as a way for DEI Consultant, Kay Fabella, to share her thoughts and insights with others — and now Inclusion in Progress is now a team that spans EMEA, APAC and the Americas! This Thanksgiving weekend, Team IIP is honoring the spirit of gratitude, reflecting on the past year on how far we have come as a company, and our growth as individuals and as a team. We also want to celebrate hitting 100 podcast episodes and three years of the podcast, which wouldn’t be possible without listeners (like you!) from over 35 countries worldwide. To mark this milestone, we take a look at three of our most downloaded episodes in 2022.

In this episode, our listeners will finally be able to hear the different voices of our team and have a look into how we strive to understand each other, no matter how different we all are. We have a conversation about the state of DEI, how our definition of psychological safety has expanded at work post-pandemic, how our team embraces and leans into our differences to grow, and how important self-care and community care are for well-being. We also reflect on how we have inspired others with the industry stories we’ve shared on this show — and our own experiences as a multicultural remote team.

In This Episode:

[01:17] Why Kay Fabella decided to launch the Inclusion in Progress podcast to share her insights as a DEI consultant.

[05:08] Who is Team IIP? Who makes up the multicultural team that has shaped our company?

[08:23] What our Pause to Progress company value means to us and why it motivated us to take a month-long break earlier this year.

[ ] Why is there no clear answer to how we can have conversations in DEI without shaming each other? 

[ ] How setting boundaries at work can help you avoid burnout and why burnout is more difficult to spot when working in a hybrid or remote environment?

Links:

info@inclusionandprogress.com  

www.inclusioninprogress.com/podcast

www.instagram.com/inclusioninprogress

www.twitter.com/inclusioninprog

www.linkedin.com/company/inclusion-in-progress

Download our 2021 Future of Work Culture whitepaper.

Ready to renew your commitment to greater equity and inclusion? Get in touch today to learn more about our Inclusive Virtual Work Survey. 

Read our Forbes features on Ways to Support Employee Mental Wellbeing, What Self Care Looks Like For Us, and How to Create Effective Online Diversity Training.

Hear more of our Top 3 Episodes of 2022: Psychological Safety for DEI Practitioners: Why We’re Taking Next Month Off, How Can We Have Conversations in DEI Without Shaming Each Other? and How to Spot Signs of Burnout in a Remote Team (Before it Happens). 

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Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Inclusion in Progress disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator.

#070 - In this episode in honor of her birthday, Kay Fabella shares true reflections as an international DEI consultant.

After receiving numerous questions from podcast listeners about what it’s like to work in diversity, equity and inclusion, Kay peels back the curtain to share the hard and heartwarming lessons, reflections and insights for others looking to get into this work.

Finally, Kay shares a birthday offering in the form of a song and mantra that has helped her to stay committed as her team’s international consultancy grows.

#065 - In this episode, Kay Fabella discusses why mental health and DEI go hand in hand.

Kay talks about the importance of mental health policies and protocols in corporate organizations, especially after the 2020 pandemic, the racial justice movement, and the compounding of personal challenges for employees. She also shares her personal mental health story, which she draws from to support other underrepresented professionals through her diversity and inclusion work.

Finally, Kay goes behind the scenes of how she and her team have been supporting client partners in their latest workshop on DEI and mental health, to ensure the sustained well-being of their inclusion advocates.