Growing up with dyslexia and in a multicultural household, Nancy has navigated the challenges of being the 'other', and not fitting into societal norms. Now as an Ottawa-based DEI and employee wellness consultant who empowers marginalized and inferior voices, Nancy Cairns aims to create safe and healthy environments where everyone feels valued in corporate. If you've been the 'black sheep' of the herd, then you'll want to listen to this episode as Nancy Cairns addresses the DEI dilemma in corporate !
Stay in Touch with Nancy:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/nancy-cairns-cwhp-p-8b1503296
Find out more on Nancy and her work:
https://holisticworkwellbeing.ca/
Script:
Never considered myself racist, of course, but our systems are racist.
This is not a one size fits all process.
Neurotypicals versus neurodivergence, right?
Because really, DEI, ultimately what we're doing is we're asking people to be self-aware.
I'm seeing a lot of folks either like burning out or becoming jaded.
Do the best that you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
Welcome to Weirdos in the Workplace, the podcast that celebrates authenticity, transparency, passion, and purpose in our world of work. And I am here with the fabulous Nancy Cairns. Welcome to the show. Hi, thank you so much. It's so good to be here. Absolutely. Glad you're here. So for those of you who don't know Nancy yet, glad you're here. So for those of you who don't know Nancy yet, Nancy is an Ottawa-based DEI and employee wellness consultant, a passionate advocate, innovative thinker, and champion for positive change, seeking to empower and amplify marginalized voices. Welcome to the show, Nancy.
Thank you so much.
Awesome. So this is Weirdos in the Workplace, right? And it wouldn't be a Weirdos in the Workplace episode if we didn't talk just a little bit about what makes you a little bit different or unique, or why were you drawn to this podcast?
Well, I have always felt like a misfit among misfits. You know, growing up, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, which I didn't know until I was well into my 30s, that that actually meant that I was neurodivergent. And that was such a validating experience for me to find out, oh, I'm neurodivergent. I'm not neurotypical. That's why my brain actually does work differently than other people. So I've always felt like I never quite fit in because I viewed things a little bit differently. I also grew up in like a small town, which is a lovely town, love my small town. But I grew up, my mother is Mexican. So that was very, even though I'm, I'm like, I'm clearly white.
I grew up kind of being othered a little bit because of growing up with a different culture, being exposed to a different culture. So I've always, I've always felt like I didn't quite fit in. And then, you know, when you, when you feel that sense of, of not fitting in, you kind of like, what's, what's going on with me? What, what am I doing? So you get into all the, like, I did the Myers-Briggs test and turns out I'm an INFJ, which is like only 2% of the population or something like that is an INFJ. So like all of these validating things that tell me that I am just, I, I, I walk to a different beat than, than a lot of the world. And I've learned that that's actually a beautiful gift and to embrace it. But, uh, you know, it took a long time to get here.
Yeah. Well, you definitely are in the right place. You know, we are definitely trying to reclaim the word weirdo because I think that the folks who listen to this podcast for sure. And a lot of the folks who are guests on the podcast definitely feel or have felt othered, felt like outsiders, have kind of a chip on our shoulder a little bit, like a little bit rebellious because of that. So welcome. And you're definitely, you definitely belong here with us.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Absolutely. But yeah, I know, I know exactly how you feel about like, you know, feeling like you're an outsider and not really knowing how to fit in. So for real, like it's, it's not an easy way to grow up and it definitely leaves a lasting impression on you. And it's probably why, one of the reasons why we're both kind of doing the work that we do. It's so true. I think because so many of us, we, we want to desperately fit in. So we end up masking and we're not our authentic selves as a result because our authentic selves, we feel like that's going to get rejected. Yeah.
So this whole idea of inclusivity is, is very important to me for, for that very reason, because I felt so othered for so long and yeah. yeah well and li
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