#110 Shift Your Work Culture to Embrace Diversity & Inclusion with Cheryl Thompson

Have you ever felt excluded in the workplace? We are willing to bet your answer is yes. Feeling excluded can range from being the minority to not being invited to a lunch group. What corporations tend to forget about is that employee motivation and retention is directly linked to belonging and inclusion. 

Today Deepa is speaking to Cheryl Thompson, Founder and CEO of CADIA - the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement. Cheryl is on a mission to double the amount of diverse leaders in the Automotive Industry by 2030. She offered great tips for how we can begin to change our work cultures to be more inclusive.

Key Points from this Episode:

• A big challenge for minorities is feeling as if you are always being watched and will be judged more than the majority. 
• When someone doubts us, we immediately turn and doubt ourselves.
• We can easily give up our own sense of identity to fit into corporate culture. 
• When we can’t be our authentic self, our brains don’t work as well! How much more productive and profitable would organizations be if all employees can be authentic?
• It is not enough to hire diverse talent, organizations need to embrace all cultures. This promotes creativity within projects and the organization is able to keep talent instead of having a high turnover rate.
• A change of culture within organizations will help build inclusive environments. First thing is to include yourself, take responsibility for showing up authentically. You can be the change agent.
• There has to be a Leadership Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion- they set the tone and the priorities, they model what is valued within the company. 
• Systemic Change is needed for overall inclusion in a company as well. You have to look at how your company hires, offers benefits, and unconscious biases.
• Start to assess performance differently. Ask your leadership team - What do you define as success? What would get in the way of someone who doesn’t look like you to reach that success?

We hope you liked this episode! Let us know in the comments - have you had moments where you have felt excluded in your work culture? What did you do? 

About Cheryl

Cheryl Thompson is the founder of the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement. A veteran of the automotive industry, Cheryl has over 30 years of experience at Ford Motor Company and American Axle and Manufacturing in positions ranging from skilled trades, operations, engineering and global leadership. She is trained in diversity and inclusion, career and leadership coaching and is Six Sigma trained and certified as a Black Belt. Learn more about CADIA and their mission to double the amount of diverse leaders in the Automotive Industry by 2030 here. 

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