The Diversity & Inclusion Workshop constructed and hosted by finance major Seerat Kaler was an eye-opening experience. The workshop aimed to educate finance students on their future careers, the harsh reality of discrimination in the workplace, and the fact that women and people of color often face many barriers and lack of access to higher positions as they move up the corporate pipeline. Higher level positions are predominantly held by white men with 67% of Senior Vice Presidents being white men and 68% for C-Suites (McKinsey & Company, “Women in the Workplace 2018”). The primary goals and objectives of the workshop were to educate students around historical inequality and privilege in financial services, explain the fundamentals of micro-aggressions and how to spot them in the workplace, and how to help combat these problems moving forward.
Kaler also shared some of her personal story on how she and her family have faced aggressions in different forms and in different settings within the workplace and school settings over the years. In second grade, she recalls a specific instance when a girl kicked her off the risers and made racist remarks. The most heartbreaking part was that no one in the school did anything about it. The principal wouldn’t even call it a hate crime. Her father has also experienced aggression. After September 11th, people would avoid cab rides from him saying he “looked like Osama bin Laden.”
Other participants in the workshop discussed their experiences dealing with discrimination in their walks of life. Kaler brought to the table questions ranging from
What assumptions or labels do you get mistaken for?” to “What does change look like to you?
She created a safe space for students to discuss issues without judgment. Participants were actively engaged throughout the workshop by participating in group discussions, breakout rooms, educational videos, a game, and even reading a webcomic. Each activity was used as a way to further educate participants and enforce the goals and objectives of the workshop while always maintaining an atmosphere of understanding, sensitivity, and respect.
Two videos were screened for the participants of the workshop, each serving a specific purpose. The first video titled My Name is Jennifer aimed to highlight what it can be like to work with someone who has transitioned to becoming a woman. The video also portrays it from the perspective of someone who is ignorant of the situation and has co-workers correcting him and explaining what he is doing wrong that would make Jennifer feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. The second video titled Interview Bias shows a scenario where two interviewers interview three candidates: one white male, one black male, and one Asian female. Despite the female being more qualified for the position, the two interviews are more inclined to go with the white male.
While both these videos are scripted, they are meant to show the reality of what happens in the workplace. The videos not only depict these realities and scenarios but also show examples of how to deal with them. People in both videos push back against those individuals lacking cultural awareness and directly address the offensive nature of their words and actions and why it is wrong. Watching these two videos provided perspective to the participants of the workshop, as well as an understanding of how these micro-aggressions may present themselves in the workplace and how to deal with them in a professional manner.
At the heart of this workshop is trust. Kaler concluded the workshop with a discussion about trust and how it is a major factor in why exclusion occurs. Data has shown that people like to hire those that are most similar to them and that is due to the trust factor. While the group of students was diverse, Kaler created trust from the beginning by showing them that they aren’t very different. If they hadn’t experienced a micro-aggression before, they have at the very least witnessed one.
In the end, there was great promise for change. The workshop did a thorough job of educating young people around these issues and making them aware that they do indeed exist. In one of the breakout groups, students discussed how they were grossly unaware of the imbalance in the workplace. Kaler uses her voice to help educate young people in the past so they can change the future. These up-and-coming finance professionals will shape the future of their workplace and this diversity and inclusion workshop will hopefully help to prepare our future leaders.
By Calvin Bemis