On Tuesday, April 27, Tiffany Pham, CEO of Mogul, a leading global diversity recruitment company, moderated an online “Showing Solidarity with the AAPI Community Panel.” Her panelists included Louisa Wong (CEO, Wavemaker and former COO at Carat), Ye Jin (Vice President of Digital & Customer Experience, illycaffe North America and former Head of Luxury Media at Airbnb), and Joanne Molinaro (Attorney, Chef, Blogger and Influencer “The Korean Vegan”).
The panelists were powerful women. Yet, their power did not come from the positions that they held. Rather, they have attained these positions because they are powerful leaders. In listening to what they said and watching how they presented themselves, it became apparent that their leadership stems from who they are and how they grew from their life experiences. Most importantly, one could see how they purposefully utilized those experiences and chose how to integrate them in their life stories to become who they want to be.
Tiffany and her panelists immediately imparted the lessons that people are more than their categories and that identity is not a box to check but rather a story to tell in how they introduced themselves. Instead of declaring themselves simply by what they looked like or the positions that they held, each speaker told the audience who there were. They each spoke of their families and how they grew up; they talked about moments in their lives that influenced their choice of values to adopt and goals to pursue. In telling their stories, they broke down barriers so their audience could see them as unique individuals and relate to their lives by realizing the commonalities we shared.
Ye Jin made the point explicit when she said, “Whoever we are, whatever your skin color, religion, gender, at the end of the day we have so much in common. But in everyday life we focus on the one percent that divides us and not the 99% that really unites us.” It is not that the one percent doesn’t matter. On the contrary, no one should ever have to sacrifice a part of his or her identity for the sake of conformism. But we are more than our one percent. Inclusivity happens when our differences are appreciated and our commonalities recognized. We cannot work together if we don’t see how we live together, not just next to each other.
While demonstrating how diversity, equity and inclusion is about seeing individuals for all that they are, the panelists established two major strategies for how to increase DEI success that applies everywhere from companies to communities. First, expressed by Joanne Molinaro, motivate people to communicate—not in a pedagogical way where one lectures others about culture or gender differences—but through very relatable stories and anecdotes. By utilizing commonalities, it is easier to breach the defensiveness that people may have when it comes to understanding what it means to be an immigrant or an Asian woman or any marginalized individual. The other strategy, articulated by Ye Jin, is to come with facts. By supporting one’s description of current practices through statistics and data, one can effectively show how instances that negatively affect company culture are not “one-offs” but rather common practices and habits.
Data brings to light the ubiquity of a phenomenon. Anecdotes put a face to whom that phenomenon hurts.
The most powerful statement of leadership articulated in the panel discussion was that even though it is uncomfortable to share experiences of prejudice with colleagues and how they make one feel, one should not say, “We are the victims…but we have to take on the burden of educating those who are racist against us?” Sometimes that is what leadership is about.
This mindset transforms a person from being a victim to being a change-maker. When you share your experiences in a way that seeks to help everyone move together and move forward, it is possible to make a difference. The speakers at Mogul’s online “Showing Solidarity with the AAPI Community Panel” are examples of how to do just that.
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April 30, 2021 at 05:55AM
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How To Lead In Making A DEI Difference - Forbes
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