Diversity in Action
Diversity has been a priority of mine since I was a teenager, at the time when the North Carolina public
schools I attended were desegregated. One of the most satisfying parts of
my work in Washington (1971-81) was the opportunity to make some changes
in the workplace which reflected that value. As Federal Women's Program
Manager at the Environmental Protection Agency, I recruited an outstanding
woman for the major purpose of bringing together support groups of women
of color, and ensuring that the Program was responsive to their priorities
and concerns. I've trained many others to incorporate the full range of
issues in their planning, not just after the fact.
Valuing differences is the
key to improving a team's ability to function in many of the organizations
where I've consulted over the years. I've learned that differences are always
significant, and always bear attention from me and others (whether they
are about race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or hierarchy
itself) . One of my proudest accomplishments as a consultant was my role
in recruiting, selecting, training and supporting the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's Mentoring Steering Committee, which has been described
as the most diverse group ever assembled at that agency. It was also one
of the hardest working and most productive groups I've ever been associated
with.
A diverse consulting team is my ideal. It always
brings about the best results with any group, but particularly a mixed group.
we provide a successful model of diversity in action. In the preparation
phase, we are much more likely to elicit real information from the participants
who can identify with us. A woman is more likely to tell me about an incident
where she wasn't taken seriously; a person with a mobility impairment is
more likely to be open with another person with a disability about the barriers
they face. Each consultant has a different kind of credibility from the
other, and the whole is more than the sum of the parts.
My collaborators have included Reena Bhavnani,
an English woman of Indian origin; John Butler, an African-American man;
Dr. Rubye Nell Johnson, an African American woman; BarbaraNeely [sic], an
African American woman; and Thy Tran, a Vietnamese American. I look forward
to working with a new colleague, Pedro Ramos. Each of these individuals
has taught me a great deal, and I always seek opportunities for us to work
together again.
I bring diversity issues with me in any number
of ways, even when I work alone:
- ensuring that the full range of people affected by a process is represented, regardless of their level,
- raising issues which are of concern to all employees, not just those who are "at the table" automatically,
- considering the impact a particular course of action will have on different populations,
- bringing together groups which are truly representative, and making space as a facilitator or trainer for all voices to be heard, and
- incorporating diversity issues into the content of what I do.
I have substantive experience in dealing with issues of gender, race, age, disability, and sexual orientation.
© 1996 - 1998 Mary Dingee Fillmore, Changing
Work <mfillmore@usa.net>.
All rights reserved.