359 — Is it still safe to talk about EDI?

The Mind Tools L&D Podcast

Many organisations are accused of not doing enough to support marginalised groups. But even those who do try to make a difference often end up accused of hypocrisy.

Is it safer to stay quiet than to talk about equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) at work?

In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Nahdia are joined by Heeral Gudka, founder of Convergent, to discuss:

· the evolution of ED&I

· the risks both of speaking up and staying quiet

· the need for alignment between external messaging and internal reality.

During the discussion, Ross and Nahdia both referenced our episodes with Margaret Greenberg and Gina Greenlee, authors of The Business of Race. See:

· 279 — Why work is the ideal place to talk about race

· 298 — How can L&D promote an anti-racist workplace?

Ross also mentioned the book Creativity, Inc, by Ed Catmull.

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross and Heeral discussed Zoom’s decision to mandate a return to the office.

The article from The Economist that Nahdia referenced was ‘The working-from-home illusion fades’.

For more from Heeral, visit https://convergentconsulting.org/. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconvergentconsulting.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Crgarner%40mindtools.com%7Cc9a89201a1094b01447308db9cd5c5fa%7C5b676a7cfb55459ea055957950801843%7C0%7C0%7C638276214187390797%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=j9ai0YXw3AefgLHo6gdW%2B%2FHAi%2FgXIl3pOypS8P%2BgBhk%3D&reserved=0" rel="noopener"> Convergent. There you’ll find out more about her journey from the insurance sector to where she is now: curating 6 to 18 month learning journeys and providing pragmatic consultancy and support to senior leadership teams, People teams and HR directors.

You can also find her on https://www.linkedin.com/in/heeralgudka/. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fheeralgudka%2F&data=05%7C01%7Crgarner%40mindtools.com%7Cc9a89201a1094b01447308db9cd5c5fa%7C5b676a7cfb55459ea055957950801843%7C0%7C0%7C638276214187390797%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FYx9Dk4D33byPnD%2FQPKEmQjfxf0K%2FT7GmoaGyeg95cw%3D&reserved=0" rel="noopener"> Linkedin, where she discusses a pragmatic and commercial approach

And for the Mindtools listeners, Heeral has a special gift. Fill in this form to be sent Convergent's guide on Inclusive HR Policies and Practices (usually £4.99, but free to the first 20 people who use the link).

For more from Mind Tools, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. 

You can also contact [e-mail].

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers:

· Ross Garner

· Nahdia Khan

· Heeral Gudka