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ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF INCLUSION AND BELONGING
6 . ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF INCLUSION AND BELONGING
Making sure people understand that what they bring to the table matters . People need to feel like their experience and background is an asset to the department . Communicating this can help people feel more comfortable and stable in their work . – Public Works employee
See the potential for success in me , don ’ t see the failure . I was never given an opportunity to mess up . You assumed I ’ d mess up . See me as a potential . – Public Works employee
DEPARTMENT GOAL
Adopt actively anti-racist practices in order to create an inclusive workplace where all staff , particularly BIPOC , may thrive and feel valued .
From the San Francisco Office of Racial Equity :
Growing a Diverse Workforce Is Just the First Step : Employees must feel welcomed and included at every stage of their employment . Racial homogeneity is not only found in hiring and recruiting , it permeates throughout organizational culture , policies and procedures . It also can take form as coded , traditional standards , such as “ professionalism ,” that ultimately centers whiteness . 1 This factor takes an immense mental health toll on underrepresented employees who do not feel like they belong . Departments must actively work to create a culture of inclusion and commit to ongoing assessment to uncover gaps in policies and procedures that create a culture of othering . Changes in organizational
1 – Aysa Gray , The Bias of ‘ Professionalism ’ Standards , Stanford Social Innovation Review ( Jun . 4 , 2019 )
www . ssir . org / articles / entry / the _ bias _ of _ professionalism _ standards culture starts and continues with the needs of the employee . These needs are discovered by fostering intentional relationships with underrepresented employees , specifically women , trans employees , Black employees , indigenous employees , employees of color and employees living with disabilities .
INTRODUCTION
BIPOC staff have shared the difficulties of dealing with racism at work . “ It ’ s consuming my energy ,” said one employee . In feedback gathered throughout this process , Black staff report suffering from physical and mental health issues because of racist micro- and / or macro-aggressions . Some might ask , “ Does this really have to do with race , or is it really about performance or fit ?” That question is not unreasonable , and yet may also show a lack of understanding of how racism works . It is almost always impossible to know and prove that any one decision is based on explicit or implicit racism , but it ’ s important to remember that we are “ swimming ” in a culture with longtime racist policies and cultural norms . Advancing racial equity
126 San Francisco Public Works