EP20: Intersectionality BRG/ERG Solidarity

In this episode of FARSIGHT Chats, host Farah Bala discusses the intricacies of intersectional Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) with guests Stephanie Galera, Simone Harvey, Eshani Parikh, and Tammy Tran. Recorded in Spring 2021, the conversation explores the challenges and opportunities within BRGs, including how to be an effective ally and upstander, fostering inclusive leadership, and leveraging BRGs for organizational growth. The discussion also delves into the emotional toll of the pandemic, the importance of mental health, and the need for systemic change to support genuinely inclusive workplaces. Various perspectives, challenges, and strategies are shared on how to evolve these groups to be strategic partners within their organizations, reflecting on both personal experiences and professional insights.

| KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED |

Mental Health & Resilience

• Pandemic trauma impacted everyone differently.
• BRGs provided safe spaces for emotional support.
• Importance of therapy, rest, and community connection.
• True safe spaces are rare; progress often requires discomfort and risk.
• BRGs act as brave spaces for candid dialogue, healing, and systemic challenge.

Allyship & Solidarity

• True allyship includes advocating for other ERGs and showing up consistently.
• Ally fatigue is real; must overcome individualistic systems to build collective power.

Structural Barriers

• Professional growth is often hindered by lack of visibility, mentorship, or leadership pathways.
• BRG leaders highlight the need for pipeline-building and role modeling.

Leadership & Representation

• Executive sponsorship is vital—but it must include allies outside the group (e.g., a white male exec sponsoring an API group).
• Leaders must support ERG/BRG leaders professionally and structurally.

Tactical Collaboration

• ERGs can share resources, coordinate events, and amplify each other’s efforts.
• This cross-ERG support increases visibility and collective impact.

Best Practices & Takeaways

• Normalize therapy and mental health discussions at work.
• Create shared ERG resources (e.g., directories, campaigns).
• Develop ERG leaders with succession planning and mentorship.
• Frame ERGs as business-critical contributors, not extracurricular groups.
• Leadership must actively participate and listen—not just observe.

| SHOW NOTES |

00:00 Introduction to Far Sight Chats

01:53 Meet the Esteemed Guests

04:26 The Importance of Intersectional Solidarity

07:02 Personal Reflections on a Challenging Year

16:44 The Evolution of BRGs and ERGs

24:28 Challenges and Opportunities in BRG Leadership

34:18 The Importance of Allyship in Diverse Workforces

35:16 Challenges and Discomfort in Learning and Growth

35:45 Addressing Systemic Oppression and Supremacist Structures

36:39 Ally Fatigue and Grassroots Community Building

38:05 Sharing Power and Servant Leadership

38:46 Tactical Support and Collaboration

39:36 Historical Struggles and Shared Interests

42:17 Disruption and Agility in Leadership

46:04 Career Growth and Systemic Blocks

51:40 Representation and Dismantling Nepotism

53:31 Intersectionality and Broader Societal Impact

58:01 Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing

01:06:22 Concluding Thoughts and Future Conversations

Connect with our guests:

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Welcome to Farsight Chats, your guideto navigating complex and important
conversations on workplace culture.
I'm your host, Farah Bala,founder and CEO of Farsight.
We specialize in leadership andorganizational development, focusing
on equity, diversity, and inclusionas core leadership competencies.

(00:24):
Join us in these conversationsthat aim to foster understanding,
growth, and positive change.
Today's episode is aboutintersectional BRG and ERG solidarity.
That's Business Resource andEmployee Resource Groups.
I am joined by preeminent ERG leadersStephanie Gallera, Simone Harvey,

(00:45):
Ishani Parikh, and Tammy Tran.
When we recorded this in the spring of2021 , I wanted to dive deeper into
the intersectionality of BRGs and what itreally takes to be an upstander or ally
for each other within an organization.
We also explored how to engagethe company in your BRG and

(01:06):
leverage it to develop leadership.
A key aspect of this is to createopportunities, not just for the
employees, but also for the leaders.
The sponsors, which will inevitably leadto a company's overall growth and success.
So as you listen in today,we invite you to consider

(01:26):
what are some ways your own ERGsor BRGs have helped you feel more
included within your company?
How may it have expanded yourexposure to a larger network and
your own professional development?
And what have you learnedabout being a good ally to
other ERGs within your company?
Join us on this journey oflearning and unlearning in

(01:49):
today's episode of Farsight Chats.
Friends, please join me inwelcoming our very esteemed guests.
I am so honored that all of yousaid yes to this conversation and
Stephanie Galera, Simone Harvey.
Ishani Parikh, Tammy Tran.

(02:09):
I'd love to ask you tointroduce yourselves, please.
. Hello, everybody.
My name is Nathan Galera.
My pronouns are she and her.
I have been with IBM since 2008.
I had joined ABRG for LGBT our community,in 2008 and started leading one in
2015 . After that, then I've had theunique opportunity To become the DNI

(02:33):
partner, so a bit of the HR side ofDNI, for the Philippines, and then had
a short stint in talent before I movedback to DNI, where my heart is and where
my soul is, as it pertains to my currentrole, Global DNI Leader for Workplace
Programs and Community Engagement.

(02:55):
So my name is Simone Harvey.
I am one of the two globalblack at co leads for Airbnb.
I have been in that role for about a yearI took over early last year when you know
there were some changes in the company,but I had previously worked with black
at as a chief of staff for pretty muchsince I started at Airbnb three years ago.

(03:18):
And in my day job, in my regularjob, I am a senior program manager in
the business operations and strategygroup, and there I'm responsible
for strategy and program governance.
Hi, I'm Ishani.
I'm one of the co leads of theLGBTQ ERG at HUGE, which is an
advertising agency based in Brooklyn.

(03:41):
In my day job, I am also projectmanager like Simone, but I focus more
on integrated marketing campaigns,and brand marketing campaigns.
And before I joined huge, I wasin the sports industry working
in baseball for six years.
Hi, everybody.
My name is Tammy Tran.
I'm glad to be part of this, thesession today from California.

(04:03):
I'm currently a senior manager in localpublic affairs at Southern California
Edison, which is an electric utility.
I currently serve as a senior advisorfor, our strategic advisor for our API,
, business resource group and previouslyserved, in the role as president.
Very happy to be a partof today's conversation.

(04:25):
Thank you all.
So this topic, intersectionalBRG, ERG, employee network, there
are so many terms, , solidarity.
, why this topic?
Why now?
For me, personally, in the work that I'vebeen doing, The personal and political got
intersected and intertwined if it alreadywasn't in a very deep way this past

(04:46):
year, , between working from home between,having home at work and work at home.
, We have, there has been a lot of overlap.
This has also been the year where ourcommunities have been experiencing an
escalation of violence and oppression.
And this is an attemptto explore what does.

(05:09):
This space of coming together look likeand what happens when we are there.
The term intersectionality originallycoined by Kimberly Crenshaw, a black
woman, and within her definition is whathappens when we are at the intersection.
It's not as much necessarily coming tothe intersection but when we are there.

(05:31):
How do we go forward together?
And that's the complexity andnuance that I keep thinking about.
And, would love to socializein this conversation.
What I love about this group is thatyou all are, representing yourselves and
A very wide spectrum of organization.
We have a small to midsize adagency to a global conglomerate.

(05:54):
, we have public sector and private sector.
We have, , a relatively startsmall startup, which was, , less
than a decade ago now into aburgeoning, organization globally.
And so again, this speaks to,what we are going to discuss.
It transcends.
the organization that we come from.

(06:15):
I want to acknowledge that not allcommunities and BRGs are represented
in this panel and our speakers today.
We have so many identities and somany communities that inform BRGs at
different organizations in different ways.
For example, we have our Nativeand Indigenous communities, our
disabled communities, our Latinxcommunities, faith based communities.

(06:39):
And, what is,, front and center forall of us is also the heightened mental
health challenges that we're all facingas professionals and in the workplace,
and the complexity, and intersectionthat forms within our identities.
So I want to acknowledge that and namethat we're holding space for all of

(06:59):
that within this conversation as well.
So friends, my first questionfor you, how are you?
How have you been this past year?
This has been quite the year.
How have you been impacted,personally, professionally,
and what has kept you going?
Especially in these crucialescalating situations.

(07:20):
Yeah,, it's a very likea very layered question.
Of course, this past year hasbeen difficult for everybody.
, for me, , I live in Brooklyn, as Isaid, and the height of one, , the
pandemic at the beginning,, of theU. S. resurgence was April and May
in New York, where, there's sirens,going off at all hours of the day.

(07:43):
, and then, after the peak of that,the George Floyd protest started,
, right outside, my window, basically.
, It was definitely, , a year of a lotof, reflection, , frustration, , but
also, , some areas of hope wherethere are people that are, , on the
front lines marching and protestingand things like that, which, , it

(08:04):
does give me a bit of hope, but.
It's also, , it was , very tough year,a full range of emotions, but, , things
, that keep me grounded is just, , mycommunity , I know that I have people,
, to reach out to, if I , have, , needto just cry or, , need to talk about
anything, , especially, , my fiance andmy family, , people like that, and also,

(08:25):
.Therapy helped a lot, honestly, , that kind of that, that definitely helps me
a lot and just staying grounded, , justtalking things out and also knowing
that, think there are a lot of thingsthat I can't control, but the things I
can control are, Within my communityor just, , doing things like, , donating
to causes and, , sharing resourcesof, , articles or organizations that are,

(08:49):
, around the globe, really, , especiallyas far as you mentioned, like , with
the India, , devastation now, it'sdifficult to be here in the U. S.
and not be able , to physically help.
, Just doing what I can to spread awarenessof what is actually happening over
there and to Just using the resourcesthat I have to help as much as I can.

(09:10):
Um, Ashani, I feel like you sharedmy sentiments and oftentimes
when people ask, how are you?
, at various times throughoutthe past year, I probably would
have said different things.
But I feel like today I can say I reallydon't have anything to complain about.
And I'm so hopeful about the days ahead.
, and I say that I don't haveanything to complain about.
Not that I haven't,, haven'tfaced the same challenges, but

(09:33):
there are so many people thathave it so much harder than we do.
And I feel like that's something thathas really, I really thought about,
over the past couple of months andthe past year is, we're all in this.
pandemic, multiple pandemics together, buthow we're experiencing is very different.
And I often think about the kids thatmy, my children go to school with

(09:55):
and they go to a title one school,they're in a dual immersion program.
And there are kids thathave not reported to class.
They have not reported to zoom.
And I wonder often about, whatis going on in their homes.
And so I feel, , burdened by the factthat there's so much suffering around us.
But I'm hopeful that there'sso many things that we can do.
And in particular, when we look at ourbusiness resource groups and the companies

(10:19):
that we work for, I'm very gratefulthat I've been able to work remotely.
I've been grateful to have beenable to be at home with my kids
and spend the time with them.
Despite, the lost learning theymay have in certain respects.
But , I'm just very grateful and I'malso very grateful like Ishani about
the community that we're a part of andseeing how the unrest that has taken
hold in our country across, , butacross our country, but there's so

(10:42):
many examples and so many things we'veseen of people coming together, and
listening to each other and the dialoguethat has happened over the past couple
months that haven't happened before.
over the past couple of years,I want to give a quick shout
out to a mentor of mine.
Linda Akutagawa, , she's the head,the CEO and president of leadership
education for Asian pacifics.
And it's examples of people like herwho are out there bringing communities

(11:06):
together, talking about diversity, equityand inclusion that really keep me going.
So the way that I'mthinking about this is.
I love to travel and I think wheneveryou go to new places, you leave the
comforts of your home behind the waythat you like to do things and the things
that give you , the calm and the restthat you need in order to feel safe

(11:29):
and when you first go to a new place,it's super disorienting and you're just
like, where's my blankie or whateveror , where are my favorite pillows?
, but then after a while you adjust and youintegrate this new information in this new
context and then you settle in and thenmaybe even after 10 days, if you're like
me, you're like, oh, I could live here.
, and so that's how I feel about like thiswhole experience of the pandemic is that,

(11:52):
, many of my comforts have been taken away.
Many of the things that I do tofeel connected, to feel fed, to
feel rested have been taken away.
And a lot of that has to do withconnecting with other people.
, but I think over time, whathappens is that you settle
into a new understanding of.
where you fit within that environment andwhat it means, and then you still have

(12:12):
days where you just feel crazy and you'relike, why are the mosquitoes, killing me?
And why is it always, whyam I always the target?
So not to say that I've had thissuper consistent experience where I've
always been happy and healthy and.
, without tears, but I've seen it asa necessary sort of condition as

(12:33):
like this as part of this larger,really extreme experience that we're
in , and the fact that we're ina collective trauma as a planet.
. I think that the piece that feeds meis that I'm still I have this level of
responsibility for my community at Airbnb.
And so the intersection that I'mnavigating as an individual is between the

(12:55):
conservation of my resources and the waythat I want to participate in this battle.
And so what I've decided is I'm goingto invest in the folks that, share this
experience with me, in the folks that,feel like they are part of my community,
part of my family, part of the people thatI am responsible for in some capacity.

(13:15):
And I think that , gives it meaning, even, if the larger environment feels crazy
and arbitrary and unpredictable, I havea place where I can point my motivation,
my focus, my vision for a better future.
And so that's, what's kept me going isthis connection to, to purpose , for
the black people at my company.
For me in particular, there is an addedcomplexity to how we dealt with the

(13:39):
pandemic in the last year because myspouse and I had actually adopted a four
year old boy , last year in August, sowe are at a point where he can't go out
because right now we're still on lockdown.
We were in lockdown the entireTime in April, and now they're
extending it because the numbersare getting higher and higher.

(14:02):
And we, as new parents, are havingdifficulties dealing with the emotions
that come with feeling that your son isn'table to go out and experience the world.
, and , that's a really difficultthing, , because even though here in the
Philippines, we're very removed from thesituation, because of course we're amongst
fellow Filipinos, but being in a globalrole, you get to see what's happening and

(14:26):
you get to empathize with your friends.
, just recently we realized one of ourfriends, has been rejected eight times
by a car service just for looking atthe way they do . Which is really scary.
It initially in our heads andask these things happen being
very removed in a situation.
You can imagine that happeninghere, and it's really scary, but

(14:48):
there was another situation wherewe were driving in the highway.
And then it starts to creep in.
And then it's starting to happen becauseeverything that happens in a specific
area now because of socializationand because of social media, we
get to experience them as well inthe highway while we were driving.
It's a car that had a lot of hate,banners of hate in it, and it had

(15:14):
at the back of it, , a yellow maskwith horns and had blaring music
that we didn't really hear off.
And that, which is very unheardof here in the Philippines.
, that, that doesn't necessarily happenbecause we try to be as, , as peaceful as
we could when it comes to our protests.
And.
What we're really grateful for, myspouse is also an IBMer, , by the

(15:37):
way , and also in the D& I organization.
So what we're really, what we're reallythankful for in terms of dealing with
all of these situations, is that theorganization is actually helping us
build resources to, to build resilience.
And just last year, what we builtwas like a DRG kinder cafe.
Where it was built by PRG members, forall PRG members, and the focus really

(16:01):
was not to talk about so many differentkinds of things that are very official,
very, very, like a presentation andstuff, because we have a lot of faculty.
fatigue on that.
it's just getting together,bringing , your own drink and talking
about how you build resilience.
So we've got topics around, it couldbe as easy as, what do you do when your

(16:23):
work workspace is really small and youhave to share that with somebody else?
Or what do you do when youhave children around or pets
around and so on and so forth?
And it's a good way for the communityto connect and share best practices
because we actually learn from each other.
So we're, very fortunate thatwe have that kind of support.

(16:44):
Want to move to the evolution of BRGs.
And I know that we've had a sliceof this conversation earlier.
And Tammy, I want to includesomething that you said specifically
around your experience in the APIcommunity where, initially it was
about celebrating heritage andacknowledging all of where we come from.

(17:04):
And it's now moving to how do weEstablish and create our connection
and pipeline to leadership andreally develop our people for access.
I might have been very inaccurate intranslating exactly what you said,
but I want to use that sentiment ofevolution and explore with you all.

(17:25):
Understand from your perspective, what isthe opportunity to move forward from here?
And in this, spirit of intersection,around including the disability community.
How do you suggest we encouragemore colleagues with disabilities
to self identify and participatein each session of your teams?

(17:46):
So I know that was a lot.
But the under the umbrella of evolutionand the intersection your thoughts,
I really think about black at as astrategic partner to the business.
And as such, I wanted to develop inthat same capacity, almost like as if

(18:07):
you're standing up a business unit.
So I think there's both the opportunityto collaborate and partner with the
larger company, understanding what thepriorities are , for leadership overall.
And Seeing how, like, how can we weavewhat we're trying to do into that?
And that's really starting to happen.
And that's probably the most excitingprojects that we are working on are

(18:29):
the ones that have longer term impactson the entirety of the company.
So that's one way that I'm thinkingabout it is like, how do you start to
manage these groups more like an activeparticipant in how the business is run
and not just a social club or a place for
.For highlighting heritage.
I think the way that our experienceas groups that are marginalized

(18:50):
or disenfranchised is going tochange is if there's actually a
lot more participation in likeconventional, running of the business.
So I think that's thepiece of like evolution.
And I'm not sure that , we havefigured out this piece around how
do we give voice and include it.
, folks that have maybe invisibleways in which they are

(19:11):
marginalized or disenfranchisedor left out of the conversation.
But we did do a campaign.
What's the February?
This feels like six months ago.
, that we called humans of black at andwe basically did profiles of all the
different intersections of a numberof black people in the company.
And it went from the CIO to folkswho are working at the front line.

(19:33):
We didn't really call out people's rolesor like where they are in the hierarchy.
And what ended up happening isthat we got a lot of different
facets of people's experience.
And there was a couple of in there that, acouple of them in there that talked about
what it felt like for them to be disabled,how has it framed their perspective on
themselves and on their lives and what,how is it connected to their blackness?

(19:54):
And so I think giving opportunitiesfor storytelling, I think is
important so that our concept.
Of the realities where people existexpands, but I think it's also an
opportunity to create more intimacyand more connection within our groups.
And so we just need to think about , howdo we create the psychological safety?
How do we surface these topics?
How do we make sure the folks that we'respeaking to are aware that , there's

(20:18):
actually a very broad Broad experiencethat people are having, and everybody
exists on a continuum, and how do wefacilitate more of that to be surfaced
when we're bringing people together?
I think what,, my experience atSouthern California Edison and, , the
evolution , of these groups, , theaffinity groups was, it, the,
and , I'll speak to our Asian PacificIslander group, , and a number of our

(20:40):
ERGs were once known as inclusive.
. The evolution is that they're nowwidely known as business resource
groups at Southern California Edison.
And so I feel like in that sense,it's also an evolution in terms
of how we're seeing, , withinthe company, the organization,
but also, how we see ourselves.
As having a voice within the company,, all of us go to work every day and we

(21:03):
have our jobs, we have our goals, wehave our managers and our teams and their
specific goals, but the work that we do asa part of a BRG is more transformational.
And being able to understand that is.
Is I think, an ongoing effort, for notonly the leaders , for all of its members.
, and I feel like that's the evolutionis understanding that your impact in
your workplace is not just in the workthat you do, . It's also in how you use

(21:27):
your voice and how you come together.
, our heritage or the fact thatwe share certain abilities or
disabilities, that's what brings ustogether, but how we use our voice.
How we make an impact, how weinfluence is how we move forward.
And I think that's really key to whata business resources group is, right?
We have to acknowledge that we area resource to the company in order

(21:48):
for the company to be able to,, togain, greater profits or to meet
their goals or exceed their goals.
It's the greatest asset is.
people.
And I think if we understand thatat a very foundational, then I
feel like, I feel like , that'sreally what the evolution is.
And I'll speak to my personal experience.
, I came into the company, I hada Pacific job and I happened

(22:08):
to be able to get involved withthese business resource groups.
And I feel like that's the best part ofmy work because that's where I'm able
to influence things that are beyond my.
function, right?
I'm able to help lift other people.
I'm able to, , to weigh in when thecompany talked about making a stand , for
a greater racial equity, acknowledgingthat there is systematic discrimination.

(22:29):
, these are things that, , cannot bediscussed or acknowledged alone.
It's, it has to be a movement.
It has to be a movementwith, within the workplace.
And I feel like that's whatBRGs really are a value.
To the organization.
Yeah, I agree with both whatSimone and Tammy just said.
I , I think, \ , there has beenespecially, I think, in the past, , 55

(22:50):
years, like more of a shift of . Notjust having these BRGs to just check
a box, , it's more of using these asactual resources, using these as not
just one to celebrate the culture withinthese communities, but to, , push those
like, policy , within a company or.
push, for example, in advertising,we have a lot of affinity groups.

(23:12):
, not for, we have a blackand brown, , affinity group.
We have a parents group andimmigrants group and API group.
, and all of us are just trying to,at the end of the day, just make
a better experience for all typesof people, but also have that.
\ , seep into the work that we're doing andadvertising, especially, , representation,

(23:32):
of course, matters everywhere.
So making sure that, , if we're makinga marketing campaign that we're not just
including, , certain type of people,, that, , we're looking at, , All types
of diversity in terms of the talent,but not just in the talent, but our
production partners and things like that.
So we're working with not just, the samekind of company over and over again.
We're working with black owned businesses,black producers, black directors, black

(23:56):
photographers, et cetera, et cetera.
, so we try and at least, makeit known that, , what kind
of resources are out there.
And a lot of that is, is within ourcommunities building, even just like
Google spreadsheets of , , black ownedbusinesses , within our communities
, or queer owned, , businesses withinour communities that, putting our,
putting the money where our mouthis thing, and making sure that.

(24:19):
, others that are not just in ourcommunities know that these resources
exist and encouraging them to utilize it
definitely agree with everybody'ssentiment there in my head when it comes
to leadership and building pipelineand during the evolution, or maybe more
appropriate terms, the revolution of BRGs.
is, , it really depends on how thebusinesses define or considers what is

(24:43):
valuable and what is impactful right now.
And what the good thing about , what'shappening is that the business,
we're seeing a shift in how thebusinesses see our resources and
coming from , an initial here.
Here's a number of volunteers.
, these are the thingsthat they can do for us.
These are the things that they cando for profit and so on and so forth.

(25:05):
We're seeing that ship into amore employee centric experience.
, and the pandemic has accelerated thatby all of the things that are happening.
So we're also seeing.
A mixed kind of feelings aboutwhat the pandemic is bringing in.
, we started with in terms of therevolution, we started with
no data at all, , very littledata when it comes to targeting.

(25:29):
Talent and pipeline.
We started with no data to , manyresources where we can actually
use data as a business case totalk to the leadership and say,
These are the right things to do.
These are the rightpopulations to focus on.
And then these are theright leaders to build.
So it becomes a more collaborative,more efficient way to actually

(25:53):
build pipeline for the communities.
Because of that kind of visibilitythat we have, , and in speaking off,
, self identification, that's always achallenge for a lot of organizations.
, it's a difficult business case tosay, I want you to self identify.
And then people would say, so whatdo I gain by self identification?

(26:13):
And it more so when it comesto, , persons with disability or
what we call them diverse abilities.
And what I would say there is thatthere's still strength in numbers.
And when it comes to intersectionalityalso, and I'll connect that with
intersectionality, we become allies ofeach other and that actually amplifies
our voice and , makes it louder.

(26:35):
And I'll give you a reallygood story with regard to
intersectionality that we've done.
We do a lot of online forums andone of the forums was actually , a
combination of different engagementthings like polling and then mural.
Mural is our tool of choicewhen it comes to collaboration.
And then we have all VRT members.

(26:56):
That was actually a VRTkinder cafe session.
And, we created a safe space wherepeople who, are neurodiverse were able
to come to us and say, Mural is reallyterrible for me because with everybody
coming in and moving stickies around,I'm having a headache, I had to leave

(27:16):
a session, and so on and so forth,and ask people in this organization
with influence to change that.
That's where we start andmake, , to make changes.
We should also recognize thatthere are , BRGs or ERGs that
have varying levels of engagement.
, some of them are more mature, some ofthem are more successful than the rest.

(27:40):
So, as an advocacy, in my head, when itcomes to intersectionality, what we want
to do is we don't leave anybody behind.
If someone is suffering andthey're not able to do, but we
do have best practices to share.
That's a, all really a trigger forus to say, , let's get together.
Let's speak.
Let's find out why you'reunable to engage , your BRGs.

(28:03):
So it's, it creates a conversation,a safe space where people can have a
conversation, a candid conversationabout, what's the problem?
What's the difference betweenyour community and my community?
How can we integrate that?
So that we are at the same level ofengagement, the same level of passion,
the same level of, , commitmentthat we have for our communities.

(28:23):
And in the terms of safe spaces, I thinkwe all wish for safe spaces, but the
reality is that we do not have them.
We, as part of a marginalizedgroup, as a part of a oppressed
group, we do not have safe spaces.
We can do our best to try and cultivatethem, but the specter of white supremacy

(28:44):
means that Anybody who falls outside ofthe norm of what's considered normal or
average or interesting or successful,there will be some kind of consequence.
I think the point of our, ouractivism, our engagement, our advocacy

(29:06):
is to function in spite of that.
, to be able to continue to make progress.
And acquire more power and moreinfluence and to be able to direct
the powers that be in spite ofthe consequences that we may be
experiencing because we're belonging.
We belong to a group like this,right?, I could draw a parallel by
saying , okay, it's obvious that I'mblack or to most people, it's obvious.

(29:30):
, But if I, , but if people are saying,oh, bring your full , self to work, like
this is a, this is a. Whatever culturewhere people can show up as they are.
It's , no, I can't, because if I do that,I'm going to alienate half the people
in the room and scare some of them.
. So , you can tell me that it's asafe space, but that doesn't mean
that's what's actually happening.
And so I think the whole point of anykind of revolutionary act of any kind

(29:53):
of transformation means that it can'thappen at the surface and it means
there's going to be negative consequences.
It means that there'sgoing to be conflict.
And so that's a hit that we all haveto take if we're trying to operate
space, and while we can do the best totry and negotiate this safe space for
each other and support each other, thereality is that we have to be able to

(30:13):
deliver and make progress in spite of it.
You know, at Southern CaliforniaEdison, we have something
called space for dialogue.
And I think that's whatwe all need, right?
Space for dialogue and it'songoing space for dialogue.
It's not something that's one and done.
, and , Stephanie, you were talking abouthow there's different levels of engagement
with our BRGs and that is so true.
And I've seen that in just five shortyears because the folks that are often

(30:35):
at the front lines often get exhausted.
And I will say that, one of thethings I've noticed with, my
fellow black employees, , who arereally good friends to me is Yeah.
, oftentimes, and I didn'trecognize this before.
, and I see it now is, when we talkabout diversity, equity, inclusion,
or things like that, it's often,the black leader, the black person

(30:56):
that has to speak up, right?
And that's something I take verypersonally, because I feel like
now, with all the stuff that we seewith stop Asian, with Asian hate
that can't be just us speaking up.
. It has to be others as well.
And just like for our black employees,the discrimination that they have felt,
it can't be just them speaking up, right?
We all have to speak up because ifthere's discriminated discrimination

(31:17):
against one particular group, it'sa discrimination against everybody.
And on the flip side, if one groupis able to advance right and to be
visible, then we're all advancing.
We're all more visible.
So I think back to your question for aboutwhat we need for the disability community.
The API community is one.
We need space for dialogue.
We need to be visibleand we need to be brave.

(31:40):
, are what my good friend of minewho's in diversity, equity,
inclusion, that's her career.
She will often say that comfortand growth cannot coexist.
And I think that's true for us.
And I think it's true for otherswho are used to being successful,
, average and seeing that they can'tgrow if they're not uncomfortable.

(32:01):
And I think we have to make surethat we have these very difficult
and uncomfortable conversationsin the workplace in order for us
to be able to push it forward.
And I think the BRGs has a role in that.
In the workplace.
Yeah, I agree 100 percent witheverything Tammy is saying.
I think, the yeah, like thecomfort piece is that's exactly it.

(32:22):
, we can only do so much byourselves, but we do need allies.
We need advocates outsideof our communities.
And part of that comes with a lot ofunlearning of, , things you just have
not even noticed about, , there's alot of unconscious bias going around
and, , after last summer, a lot of peoplejust learning that, like racism exists,

(32:44):
, wow, the concept that but they'venever had to experience that before.
And then it makes them uncomfortablethat, wow, , I can't believe
I didn't even know this.
I can't believe I didn't learnthis, especially in school.
We don't learn about BlackWall Street in school.
We don't learn about Stonewall in school.
There's, there are things that we needto do on it in our own selves and in our
own communities to, to learn about what'sactually going on and not just, The

(33:08):
past of like Simone saying that, , whitesupremacist culture that is so ingrained
, in our societies in the US, at least.
, but yeah, it takes everybody and ittakes and, it's a shame what Susie
was saying that people don't feellike that they have that belonging
because that's at the end of the day,that's what we are here for, right?
Is it.
Yeah.
One community and two tojust advocate, for everybody.

(33:32):
And, but we need allies and weneed people outside of, again,
outside of our own communities.
And if the organization that youbelong in is not fostering that, kind
of comfort and those safe spaces,that's very dangerous and , especially.
How much time we all spend at work.
It's super important, that it'srecognized that we, if you don't feel

(33:54):
comfortable at work, that's somethinga lot of people don't experience, but
when you do, it's all you think about.
, and if your employer and , is notaccepting everybody and not encouraging
everybody , to make , that communitywithin themselves, it's super dangerous.
And it, it does take everybody bottomup top down to, to make that change.

(34:17):
, it's up to everybody.
It's not just, up to ERG leaders.
It's not just, up topeople in the community.
It's up to everybody.
Yeah, Ishani, maybe I canalso drag your point.
I , really do agree withyour point on allyship.
And maybe a good example is, we havebeen working with the Autism Society of
the Philippines for a, very long time.

(34:37):
And no matter how prepared, their internsare or their workforce are, in terms of
skills, in terms of Of everything thatthey need to do to enter the workforce.
If the workforce is notprepared to accept,.
People with autism.
Then it's going to be a difficultsituation for all of us.

(34:58):
So it's the same for allkinds of diversities.
If your population, if your allies donot have the right tools, do not have
the right education to accept peoplein their organization, then it's not
going to be a safe space for sure
.Thank you.
, I want to uplift a couple of things.

(35:19):
The unlearning.
That is needed.
The discomfort, , because learningonly happens in our discomfort space.
And, the resistance, the challenge,, if we cannot challenge each
other to do better to be better.
We stay siloed.
And for me, that is what I thinky'all are speaking to is what

(35:40):
happens at the intersection.
What does it take to move that needle?
And then the other piece that y'allhave brought in is structures and
systems that have been historicallyoppressive and supremacist.
And it is not enough to make a statementor put out a black square on Instagram.

(36:02):
But it is about lookinginward and actively changing
your systems and structures.
It is not enough to say we celebrateeveryone and everyone is welcome here.
If your existing spaces arenot accommodating of the needs
of your diverse populations.
I personally have a pet peeve withthe word diversity because of that.

(36:24):
It's not enough to invitediversity and applaud diversity.
It's what is the environment.
That enables diversity to thrive.
So I want to take all of that all of this.
I'm literally just reflectingwhat I'm hearing from all of you.
Want to talk about ally fatiguethat a lot of us, if not all of

(36:44):
us have felt in this last year.
And I will go ahead and make somegross generalizations that may or
may not be accurate, but I've been inconversation where it's, , when there
is something brought up about, , weneed to show up for this community.
And yes, but what aboutus and our oppression?

(37:05):
Or yes, but we've just come out ofthis and we are tired, the yes, but
and the space of Looking out for us.
And what I think about is grassrootscommunity building and spaces
of belonging, that come from ourglobal cultures and histories
are about collectivism are aboutcommunity are about togetherness.

(37:31):
And our systems and structures highlight,celebrate, reward individuality
and those are by default set upfor all of these marginalized, our
marginalized oppressed communitiesto be pitted against each other.
How do we dismantle that?
How do we disrupt that inthe work that we do in BRGs?

(37:55):
I'm in a position of power, right?
I'm in a position of power leading myERG, having all these relationships
with executives, having their ear.
And so it is up to me in this position tomake sure I'm bringing other folks along.
I'm highlighting other voices.
Whenever we do events.
It's never the same people that aregoing to be facilitating those events or

(38:17):
that get visibility across the company.
, it's my responsibility to usemy position as a developmental
opportunity for people's skill setsand to find avenues for them to
be able to, evolve in that role.
So I think part of it islike how we share power.
If one of us makes it out,how do we share power?
What does that look like?
What does it look like tobe a servant leader, right?

(38:40):
And, what are the responsibilitiesthat I have as a leader to do that?
I think a couple of other pieces.
One.
Sometimes it can look really tactical,it can be like, hey, , we have a
group called , Asians At is trying topull together a particular campaign.
How can Black At tacticallysupport something that needs to

(39:01):
be delivered at a certain time?
So , this is not culture wars,this is not thought leadership,
this is like literally, I'm justgoing to get my hands dirty.
Trying to help youdeliver this thing, right?
It could be very tactical things like thaton a day to day basis, especially in a
work context that could be super helpful.
I have a project manager on myteam who is not part of Blackat,

(39:22):
but who has been supporting, theproduction and the delivery of a
number of big projects for Blackat.
And that has been a really meaningfulcontribution because it is something
that we need in order to be ableto, deliver, on these events.
And then I think, it's justunderstanding that historically,
there's always communities that havebeen at the forefront of a fight.

(39:43):
And of course, I'm thinking aboutBlack people and I'm thinking about,
like, all of , the civil rights.
Struggles and all of the, , battlesfor social and racial justice
that black people have fought.
And then lots of other communitieshave benefited from, and we're still
in this schism of being called toaction when another group of, , people

(40:05):
of color are struggling or are underattack or are, , experiencing like
similar, , levels of like violence anddiscrimination, but at the same time
.The anti blackness and the racism against black people hasn't gone away.
And so how do we build connectionbetween our communities when there's
constantly, these opposing forces.

(40:25):
, even at the microcosm oflike between our communities.
From my perspective, it's reallyabout looking at interests,
shared interests versus positions.
We all have.
Positions about where our communitiesare suffering the most, what our unique
challenges are, what we're most interestedin, but what we should be focusing on
is like, where do all of our interestscoincide or intersect, if you like, and

(40:50):
do we galvanize a movement, a coalitionto try and have more impact towards that.
And that's probably in acompany context, we're probably
struggling with the same thing.
We're probably, getting blocked,seeing obstacles, experiencing
interference in the same arenas.
And so that's where a place I thinkon a really tactical level, we

(41:10):
can work together to look at whatare our shared interests and how
do we fight, for a common goal.
Yeah, I agree with all that.
And at the day, , it's about thatcollaboration between the groups
and, like advocating for each other.
, like Simone saying, sharing the messageacross the board, just if you're not,
, just because you're just, , part of, myaffinity group, LGBTQ, and you're not

(41:35):
part of, the API group, I want you toknow that they're hosting this event
or they're sharing these resources or,these things are going on, you're, you
may not be thinking about it, but youshould be and just encouraging that,
crossing of the lines, if you will,but, at the end of the day, I think
it's, , going back , to that mentality.
That's that Simone mentioned that, justbecause our group is struggling, there

(41:57):
are also so many other groups that arestruggling and why not work together to
just dismantle the system at the end ofthe day, it's going to help all of us.
, who are not, straight white males,essentially, that, if you're not
trying to help and collaborate, withother marginalized groups of people,
you're doing a disservice to yourown community by not doing that.
For me, disruption is really,related to being agile our

(42:21):
ability to change and pivot.
If we're seeing something wrong,we'll play a really huge factor
in us becoming successful.
So , it's really very uncomfortable torecognize that we can be wrong, in the
past, we used to have VRG structured asyou've got a president, a vice president.
So on and so forth, which are, verytraditional roles, we had to pivot very

(42:42):
quickly to make it a more collaborativerole, a collaborative organization
where you now have co leaders who areleading in the same level that they are.
And Agile is really, if it doesn'twork, then we need to change it.
And not everyone has the openness tochange and it can be, very difficult and

(43:02):
it's something that you need to recognize.
But it's the same with the pandemic.
The world had to pivot, very quicklyto address changes in the workplace.
And that's also something that weneed to have the foresight to do with
our BRGs to become, really successful.
The only thing I would add to that, , Iagree with everything that everybody
said, especially around the idea ofservant leadership and making sure

(43:24):
that, , progress and the work thatwe're working on isn't predicated on
one person or one group of leaders.
And they're all , there should alwaysbe a pipeline of people that we're
bringing up right new employees,or even pulling in employees that
have been at the company for a longtime, because it's also important
to make sure that there's diversity.
of thoughts, right?
And experiences within a particularworkplace, because what someone knew

(43:47):
the company, their perspective is fresh,but then someone who's been there for
a while, they may have other things.
And then there's learning that canbe, , and unlearning that can happen
between those different experienceswithin a company and across different
employees, and different organizations.
, I think that's.
That's the key thing about breakingdown the system that wasn't built for

(44:07):
us is making sure that we're lookingup and looking behind us, looking
up in terms of making sure that ourleaders are involved in the BRG.
And that's one thing that I feel likethat I really appreciate at my company
is that, it's not only employees thatcome together right now, individual
contributors or middle management.
But our the highest leaders of ourcompany are engaged as well, not

(44:29):
just from a listening perspective,but they're also involved and we're
looking to them to also be advocates.
And I'll share one thing aboutour Asian Pacific Islander ERG.
Our executive sponsor when I wasthe president was a white man.
And he was our chief informationofficer, and I thought it was important
to me that he was our executivesponsor because we need to look to

(44:50):
him who, to better understand the APIexperience, but also be the advocate
in the room when decisions are made.
I had many employees and members thatasked him, why don't we just look to
this person, she's Asian, , he is Asian.
And I thought it was very importantto me to have a white man serve as.
Our executive sponsor so that he can hearfrom us and learn from our experience

(45:12):
and be an advocate in that room.
And luckily, I think since then we'vehad other executive sponsors who are non
Asian, , but we still involve all theother Asian executives in our company.
And I think that's so key is to createthose opportunities, not only for our
members, but for our leaders, right?
For our leaders to open up their ownlearning and perspective as well.
And I'm really lucky to be a partof a company where our, one of our.

(45:34):
Key values is continuousimprovement, and that we're never
satisfied with the status quo.
We're never satisfiedwith what we've done.
Yes, we've made progress,but we can still do better.
We can always do better.
Pretty much all of you saidthe openness to be wrong.
And the constant improvement the constantassumption that we can do better.
Simone, you mentioned, , and I want tojust dig into it a little bit around

(45:58):
working together, especially in areasthat we are blocked or we find resistance.
I'd be curious to hear fromall of you in your experience
in your professional careers.
What are some very typical systemicblocks that have the opportunity
to evolve moving forward?

(46:18):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of challengesaround people's professional development
and their career growth, and I thinkit's a tricky thing to navigate and
assess because, , as a person of color,you're thinking, okay, am I not advancing
because These people are racist or isit like some part of my personality

(46:41):
that's problematic or, am I immatureand I don't really see the ways in
which I am getting in my own way.
I'm not saying that people actually reallyhave this dialogue with themselves, but I
think, , when you're not making progress.
, in any capacity, you probably have acontribution that you're making to that

(47:02):
and that there's probably some partof you that needs to evolve and grow.
But I think that gets much morecomplicated when you're a person of
color, because you're also getting allthese signals about who you are, that
are projections, and that are inaccurate.
And so to try and parse out Whichpiece of this is me, and which piece
of it is my environment, and what doI take from this in order to like,

(47:23):
continue to grow as a professional?
I think that's a really complicated,scenario, , to navigate.
So a lot of the conversations that we'rehaving around career growth is, how do we
reduce the margin that feels arbitrary?
In people of colors advancement or inblack people's advancement by giving

(47:44):
people the tools and by making surethat people have the rigor and the
discipline to do the work that they needto do in order to grow as professionals.
So that's like, how do you have, howconfidently and how expertly you talk
about the work that you do in yourcontributions, you have the language to
be able to articulate the ways in whichyou have a positive impact on your team

(48:05):
on your company on the larger culture.
How are you document,documenting your accomplishments.
How are you making sure that youhave visibility in your organization
for the things that you're doing?
Are you recruiting mentors?
Are you getting feedbackon a regular basis?
How are, what are, your, what'syour skill set in managing up?
How many executive relationshipsare you cultivating?

(48:25):
So those are all things that areto a degree within our control.
And , yeah, from my perspective,I think we need to start there.
And then we can reduce the marginand see, okay, what's left.
I've done everything I'm supposedto do in order to, , show up as my
best self in a professional setting.
What's left that's still a,that just seems dissonant.
that doesn't fit, that doesn't make sense.

(48:46):
Is this now about someone's prejudice?
Is this now about someone's projection?
Is there some sense of this whereI'm like, some part of this where
I'm not being assessed fairly?
And I think those are the things thatI'm working through, with my community.
And I'm pretty sure that thoseare also The same topics and other
communities that feel disenfranchised.
, and so I think it's important to havethose conversations but to be able

(49:08):
to parse out like which piece of thisis developmental and it's about your
emotional maturity and how you show up, in a professional setting and all this
stuff and how much of this is structural.
And, once I can take care of, or havea Have a solution or a process to deal
with the developmental pieces, thenwe can start talking to the company.
Okay, here's what's left.
We have all done all this work totry and advance to get ready for

(49:30):
the next step, and we're stillnot getting past this hurdle.
What are you going to do on a systemiclevel to change the situation?
And so that's the way I'm thinking aboutit from a very tactical perspective.
Yeah, to add to what Simone has beentalking about and it talks about a lot.
It talks a lot about skills.
And this is something that wehave been experiencing in the

(49:50):
past in the talent organizationthat I was with a year or so ago.
We have had a lot of opportunitiesto upskill, reskill, and get new
skills for our workforce, andthe next question is always about
, availability of roles, and availabilityof skills to match those roles.

(50:13):
So it's a chicken and egg conversationwhere we say, okay, so we now have a
group of people who are very skilled,who are ready for the next role.
But are there availableroles for them to move into?
And then you get to a point where nowthat they're feeling that, I'm so excited
right now, but now that I have theskill, there are no availabilities there.
Now they lose energy.

(50:34):
And then you couple that with sentimentsfrom our BRG communities and leaders
saying that by doing BRG work, Idon't see a career path for me.
I don't see any BRG leaders movinginto a different role because
of the BRG work that I'm doing.
So it's a double whammy where you say.
There are no available roles,and then for BRG leaders, there

(50:54):
isn't really a clear path.
To those roles that they really want todo, because there's only so many DNI roles
in the organization that you can fill.
So very interested also to hearthe rest of the panelists to
hear if they have any kind ofrecommendations and solutions there.
I, that is also something, Stephanie,that we talk about , as ERG leaders.

(51:18):
And of course, we're doing thiswork on top of our regular day jobs.
, It takes a lot of time and effort tomake an impact on this side, because
we need to carve out that time.
it's not, , it's not carved out for us.
So it is what we make it.
, so that is definitely a question.
I, I am interested in as well.

(51:40):
. But I think going , back to your question,Farah, it's also about, representation
at the top too, I, like I said before, Icome from a sports industry background,
a baseball background, which, , asyou may know, if you're familiar
, with the sports industry, , it'sall , , white male executives at the top.
So, for me coming into that industrywas, , definitely a lot of luck, a lot
of, , making good connections, but, , Ihave to overcompensate myself to do that.

(52:05):
. I have to go out of my waycompared to, , another person who
might want that same job, , justput in more effort and there's.
a lot of, , especially in thatindustry, a lot of kind of just
, nepotism kind of things like that.
So it's just dismantlingthat is really important.
And there's a big shift, at least inthis, in the, at least in that industry

(52:25):
right now, of getting more, Blackand brown voices, more LGBTQ voices,
everything across the board, but it'sgoing to take a long time because,
these, this industry has been aroundfor a long time, but we, , it starts to
with somebody at getting to that level.
And then.

(52:47):
Making sure that other people belowthem have, that opportunity to
eventually rise up and become, aC suite executive, for, a certain
sports league or whatever the case is.
, so it just, yeah, it takes a lot of time.
It takes a lot of work, but it's alsoup to , the companies that are, have
been around , for a long time too, andthe industries that have been around
for a long time to recognize that if.

(53:10):
, they're not one of the industries changingor one of the companies changing then.
Eventually, they're going to getovershadowed by the companies
that give a shit about this stuff.
, and it might not be in the next coupleof years, but it's going to take a
long time, but it's just importantto have that top down representation.
Ashani is so right.
Leadership matters.

(53:31):
And I think back to the maintopic of this session today,
it's about intersectionality.
And it's not just within these ERG orBRG, BRG groups, but across our society,
what happens in government, what happensin corporate, what happens in the
nonprofit, what happens in our schools.
We have to see, these types ofdiversity, equity, inclusion initiatives.

(53:52):
Happen in their own ways, right?
In these different spaces.
And I feel , I'm a mother of two, soI have a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old.
And , every day I show up to work andI think about , the things that I do
and how it's gonna add to their future.
And I'm, their future is gonnabe better than our future and
our workplace, our situation.
, and that's what I look towards , andwhen I talk about these things to my team
members or other folks that are members ofasn, is that, , we're, we may not reap the

(54:13):
rewards now, , the wins may be individual.
Joel, right?
Maybe here and there incremental.
Over time, looking back, , I thinkthe things that we do today, it's
going to add to that progress.
And I think that's key as leaders andour messaging is that, , this is all
work that we're doing to uplift ourcommunities, but it does take time.
And the people who are currentlyin leadership roles right at

(54:34):
the highest level of leadership.
Government at the highest level ofcorporate business and non profit.
We need to advocate to make surethat you know that it reflects the
diversity of our community and thatthey're, , they have the support and
we have their backs in creating theenvironment where diversity can thrive.
And I think that's key to is once we getfolks in these leadership roles, we need

(54:55):
to make sure that we're strategicallyhelping them right strategic backing them.
And so when they speak that there's, not only employees, but communities
and customers and consumers and,a whole, movement behind them when
they're advocating for these change.
And so what happens in the workplace,I feel it nowadays is also a reflection
of what's happening in our society.

(55:15):
And that's exciting.
That's exciting to see.
And we're in a really, challengingtime, but I feel like this is where
comfort and growth that, that mantraabout comfort and growth cannot coexist.
We're in a very uncomfortableplace in history today, right?
In our society.
And that's exciting.
, , that's where we're goingto push for change.
I just wanted to add one more thing here.

(55:35):
And, it's about this idea of likepositions not being available or like
limitations of our roles, I think.
It's important that we are not naive aboutthe value that we bring to the company.
And if we are in a niche position,In a niche function, we probably have
diminished value to the overall company.

(55:57):
And that's why I mentioned in thebeginning, it's so important that we
are strategic partners, that we area functioning unit of the business
that contributes to the business in ameaningful way, that contributes to the
goals of the business in a meaningful way.
We have to be in a position where.
Our participation is an advantage tothe company, and that if they don't

(56:18):
include us, and if they don't havethe diversity required, that they
will lose something, that they willfeel like they lose something, right?
It's , have you ever tried toplan a party without an event
planner or a wedding, right?
And then the event happens.
And you're like, Oh, snap,nobody has anything to drink
because we didn't think about it.
and then when you're losing something,then you're saying, okay, next time

(56:38):
I plan a wedding, like on my secondmarriage, I'm going to make sure I
have a wedding planner because I don'twant to have a crappy experience.
And it's, and the wedding planner, whyis the wedding planner there because
they have this perspective of the , manydifferent pieces that need to be
considered and need to be looked at whenyou want to put together as when you

(56:59):
want to have a successful outcome, right?
That's what diversity is, reallymaking sure is that we don't have
blind spots , as organizations.
It's making sure that we have a 360degree view of what needs to happen.
Both in terms of the strategyemployed, the impact it has, the way
that we might financially benefitfrom something that we're doing.
And so it has to be somethingwhere the company loses

(57:21):
explicitly if we are not involved.
And that means we have to createthe value and we have to create the
contributions that makes the companylook at us as key partners in the
goals that they're trying to achieve.
I just want to name one thing thatmarginalized historically oppressed
communities have to think in thisstrategic way of how do we become a

(57:42):
business case, and there are othercommunities who have historically held
privilege, who do not have to thinkabout that their presence is enough.
I just find it important to namethat friends I'm cognizant of
time, and I want to end with.
One last question around mental health.
As violence and hate are only escalating,it is taking an increasingly emotional

(58:05):
toll on our black and brown colleagues.
What innovations are you seeing orare you investing in when it comes to
emotional well being and mental health?
And I would actually Extendthat question to you.
How are you taking care of yourselves?
You all of you mentioned it alittle bit up top, but that is so
important to be able to put thatoxygen mark mask on yourself first.

(58:26):
, and then what can leaders be doing moreor less off as it related as it relates
to well being in these very painful days.
from my perspective, I think there's acouple of things that we can do, and,
that Scott, Michael and I try and do.
, one, , we're not licensed,, professionals, but at the same time,
highlighting the resources that wehave at a company level, , is very

(58:48):
important, , at least , our parentcompany too has, , like group therapy
sessions and things like that.
So we always try and amplifythat to make sure that everybody
knows that, at least on.
Even if it's just somethingthrough our health insurance.
, we have these resourcesthat everybody can use.
, and at our office level to, main HRrepresentative is very good about

(59:12):
sending those type of resources.
If you ever need family leave forwhatever reason, or things like that.
, offering, , something like, , timeoff to get your vaccine, like things
like that, that are very important,that go a long way, but people
might just not know about them.
So I think, that's avery important thing.
, And me as, , as a project manager, Ithink there's a lot of like responsibility

(59:35):
that we might not recognize that we have.
Since we are the gatekeepers to thework that's being done right and
the work that's being delivered.
I think there's a lot of people feelpressure to be at 200 percent when
all these things are going around.

(59:55):
And they, , they just can't performlike they normally would but at the
same time it's up to us to like.
make sure that they know that's okay, , tojust reach out to them and make sure that,
if you need to take an hour or two or likea whole day, like just tell me, , it's
the work will go on at the end of the day.
, but just making sure that employees,not just in my project groups,

(01:00:19):
but in our affinity group are.
Just recognize that, , workisn't everything.
They don't have to, , feel liketheir cameras need to be on if
they're not feeling like itthat day or things like that.
So just, amplifying resources,amplifying that, they have.
We, you recognizing that you cando more than you might think to

(01:00:39):
help the other people around you.
, and just keeping in mind of that.
I love that you said that Ishani, becauseit is really important to have a shared
resource that people can go to so thatit's ready for them when they need that.
And to add to that for me in particular,, what's important for me and what
I think the community also needsis, , people who can role model.

(01:01:01):
, these kinds of things.
, I'm very embarrassed to say that I haven'thad a talk with my therapist for quite a
few months, and that's something that Ialso usually talk about with everybody.
, when I talk about mental health, notnecessarily that I'm an SME on it
or that I'm licensed to do anythingthere but I talk about the resources

(01:01:25):
that you have, as you mentioned, andthe experience that I have with my
therapist, and how that kind of helped me.
, , and.
And trying to remove the stigma that.
You know it's okay toseek help if you need it.
And as our therapist would usuallysay, if you're taking your, , taking
care of yourself through the foodthat you eat, through the exercises,

(01:01:46):
regimen, , that you do, it's alsothe same for your mental health.
, you have to also , carve outtime to be able to manage, , your
emotions and your mental health.
, it needs to be with all.
The elements that you doto take care of yourself.
One of the things I will often sayto my team members or others, , is
that it's okay to not be okay.

(01:02:07):
I think there's an article on that toothat I read recently, and I feel, we often
will talk to people like, How are you?
And the immediate thingpeople will say is, I'm good.
That's probably not the case, right?
And so I think it's important for us to,whether it's within our organization,
in a formal setting, in a meeting,or one on one, is to let people
know it's okay if you're not okay.

(01:02:28):
Very tangible things that I know we'redoing in our workplace is that, we're
telling people they need to take vacation.
And I think that's something that'sreally important, and especially
in this pandemic, when you'reworking from home, you're remote.
You're managing severalthings during the day.
And so you feel like it's a, you needto work into the evenings because
you're in a meetings all day long,, that you need to take your vacation.

(01:02:48):
I think that's important to remindourselves and each other, and then
set that example to you by takingthat time off, and unplugging.
I feel like because we're so digital,we're so attached to, our laptops,
our phones, that, our zooms that.
Just taking that time away canreally give people fresh perspective,
and the other thing I will oftensay, and I've learned this too, is

(01:03:09):
focusing on the win, not necessarywin in a literal sense, but what.
What's important now?
So for the win, so alwaysfocusing on the win.
What's important now?
So
I am in a really magical place in thiscompany that I work for because we have
a ton of resources And I think what'shappened over the past year is that people

(01:03:32):
have gotten a lot more honest about wherethey are Emotionally, and I do think that
modeling that behavior is really important, people who know me know that I am all
feelings , and I will cry on camera.
, if I'm having a day I will cry on cameraI will, , let people know I've been
crying all morning so I'm very transparentin a contained way about , where I am.

(01:03:57):
, and really I do this.
To give other people permission todo the same and to make room for a
range of like sort of emotional statesthat people are in, , with my team
that looks like us actually havingconversations about how they're feeling.
So it's not necessarily all centeredaround work because I think if I can
ground them and I can get them to a placewhere they're feeling more centered,

(01:04:21):
then, , they're going to do better workand they're going to be more comfortable.
pair.
I'm also in this unique situationwhere I have two clinicians on my team,
which is like the best thing ever.
So if you're ever wonderinglike who you should hire, just
hire therapists for everything.
, that will solve a lot of yourproblems because like I like to say,
everybody likes to talk to therapists.
Nobody wants to go to therapy,but they are , very popular women.

(01:04:43):
, in the sense that theycontribute a lot of, in a lot of
different ways to our culture.
And I think it's normalized.
A lot more , having conversationsaround these topics and being much
more real, much more transparent aboutwhere people are on an emotional level.
And so I think it has to startwith authenticity so that people
feel like they have the space toprocess and to take the time to

(01:05:03):
process if they need to.
Thank you.
I want to bring into the space cannotcheck who is a mental health advocate
and was one of our guests in ourdisability advocacy conversation , she
made a point that Historically,culturally, mental health has been a
taboo, has been a negative, has been, andglobally, , as a South Asian identifying

(01:05:25):
professional, I know what I needed tounlearn about mental health and therapy
concepts, et cetera, once I moved.
And my immigrant journey here.
, and the point she made was that mentalhealth is something that we need
to assume as part of our processes.
It cannot be something that we waitto be told that we need to work on.

(01:05:48):
, and this is again that continuedintersectional thread of
how do we create, space forthat, , for the disability voice.
. And again, \ , the other point thatthey had made that conversation
is clearly very present for me.
The other point that they madewas that people are at different
levels of mental health.
They are at different levels of theirown abilities and disabilities, and

(01:06:11):
because of a lack of acceptance.
And because of our own perceptionsthat are negative around it, the
environment for folk who identifyin that way becomes unsafe.
Simone, Ishani, Stephanie, heartfelt thankyou to each of you for your time, for your
willingness to have this conversation withus, and for the incredible generosity of

(01:06:34):
your thoughts, your strategy, your spirit.
We continue the exploration ofworkplace culture with our next
episode, Inclusive Leadership.
Thank you for listening to Farsight Chats.
I hope that this episode is the startto future conversations you have with
your colleagues, teams, and communities.

(01:06:54):
Subscribe now to Farsight Chatswherever you get your podcasts.
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GoFarsight, LinkedIn at the FarsightAgency, and check out our website.
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com to know more aboutwho we are and what we do.
Thank you for answering the call todo more, do better, and do different.