Inclusive Conversations

Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences

Mary-Frances Winters

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781523088829
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Art Techniques
• Index: Business

"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but that she also gives specific strategies and competencies to turn her theory into practice.
-Dr. Sheila Robinson, publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media Effective dialogue across different dimensions of diversity, such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion, which in turn leads to greater productivity, performance, and innovation. Whether in the workplace, faith communities, or educational settings, our differences can tear us apart rather than bring us together if we do not know how to communicate. Recognizing our collective responsibility to earnestly address our differences and increase understanding and empathy will not only enhance organizational goals but will also lead to a healthier, kinder, and more compassionate world. Award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant Mary-Frances Winters has been leading workshops on what she calls Bold, Inclusive Conversations for years. In this book she offers specific dialogue strategies to foster greater understanding on the following topics:
Recognizing the importance of creating equity and sharing power
Dealing with the "fragility" of dominant groups--their discomfort in engaging with historically subordinated groups
Addressing the exhaustion historically marginalized groups feel from constantly explaining their different lived experience
Exploring how to build trust and create psychologically safe spaces for dialogue
This guide is comprehensive for anyone who wants to break down the barriers that separate us and facilitate discussions on potentially polarizing topics.

INDEX

• ABIDE (advancing belonging, inclusion, diversity, equity), 109, 148
• Accessibility, 148
• #Actsofinclusion, 151
• Affirmative action, 72, 148
• African American athletes, 106
• African American women, hairstyles of, 117, 137–138, 140, 143, 144
• African American workers, discrimination against, 50, 107
• African Americans, 91–93, 134. See also Whitesplaining
  • code-shifting and, 49
  • collectivism and, 28
  • and conversations shutting down when race is brought up, 104–105
  • demonstrating empathy for, 103–104
  • fear and anxiety, 70–71
  • fragility and, 78–80
  • “living while Black,” 70
  • microaggression against, 138, 143–144
  • and the N-word, 93, 94
  • power differences and interactions with whites in workplace, 60–62
  • and the racial binary, 125
  • racial identity, race consciousness, and, 37–38, 70–71, 124, 125, 128, 133
  • religion and, 119, 126
  • slavery, indentured servitude, and, 126–127
  • “teaching,” 144
  • violence against, 13, 73, 74, 90, 103, 127
• Agency, 60, 129
• “Aggressiveness” and gender, 50–51
• Aguilar, Leslie, 95
• Albrecht, Karl, 71, 72
• Allies, 15, 53
• Allyship, 92, 146
  • defined, 53
• Anxiety. See Fear(s)
• Apartheid, 63, 89, 90
• Autonomy, fear of loss of, 71

• Baby boomers, 110
• Barr, Rosanne, 84, 127
• Bell, W. Kamau, 130, 134
• Belonging, 6, 109
  • definitions, meanings, and nature of, 109, 110, 111t, 148
  • diversity-inclusion scenario and, 111t
  • drivers of, 110, 112f
  • fostering, 111t, 112–122, 112f
  • gender pronouns and, 150
  • inclusion and, 23, 112, 115, 117, 148
  • race and, 125
  • small comments that create a sense of, 138
  • uniqueness (value of) and, 115, 115f, 11...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction: I Don’t Know What to Say
• One: What Are Inclusive Conversations and Why Are They Important?
• Two: Conditions for Inclusive Conversations
• Three: First Learn How to Talk to Yourself
• Four: Creating Brave, Psychologically Safe Spaces
• Five: Seek Equity and Decenter Power
• Six: Face Fear and Fragility
• Seven: Extend Grace and Forgiveness
• Eight: Facilitate Trust and Empathy
• Nine: Foster Belonging and Inclusion
• Ten: Acknowledge and Own Whiteness
• Eleven: Mind Your Words
• Conclusion: From Conversation to Action
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• About The Winters Group, Inc.