The New Year is upon us and it is a time for resolutions. Yes that strange time of year when everyone resolves to achieve some goal attuned to personal growth… Lose 20 pounds… Exercise every day… Spend more time doing whatever… And it generally lasts … what… about 3 weeks? … That’s at least how long mine do… And lord knows I need to lose the weight! (Every doctors appointment now starts with me apologizing for liking chocolate way too much… Sigh)
I am often asked for advice on what someone can do regarding diversity and inclusion. While I have given a bunch of advice in these posts I realize that some things are more difficult than others. Impossible for some in fact. Not everyone is a hiring manager for example. Not everyone wants to do a blog either. :)
But people still want to help or at least understand.
They want to start but don’t know where. I have lots of recommendations on the resources tab of EmergingAlly. There are tons of resources available on the web.
But I get it. Time is short. Tight deadlines. Coordinating kids events. Juggling everything in the household.
So how do you find time to do something constructive on diversity and inclusion?
I have an idea.
Social media.
Yes that social media. The Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram, everyone posting everything social media.
Hear me out.
You look at it everyday most likely. So what not make it helpful?
My advice: find 2 or 3 diverse voices on social media and follow them.
That’s it. No need to post. No need to react. Just follow.
There are very interesting voices out there. Giving different perspectives than in traditional media. Giving thoughts and insights from their experiences. Sharing their research into topics. You get a new insight into topics and hear about items that aren’t in the headlines. Thoughtful critiques and perspectives of stories.
In addition I find it has changed my feed. Twitter for example has started recommending different things. The algorithms shift and you get new stuff. On LinkedIn you get shifted over to new diverse voices and potential candidates for positions.
Some people I follow include:
Some Organizations include:
There of course are others. Some are more active on some platforms than others. I am active on LinkedIn but not on Twitter. Yet where ever they post, they all bring a perspective and experience that can help give a new view and better understanding.
The beauty of this is you only need to do this once. You click follow and this resolution feeds you automatically. Thats it. Just pour the wine and relax. Open up your feed like you always do and it's there. A quick read or two and voila! You’ve done your new years resolution! What could be more satisfying? … Other than adding a piece of chocolate cake of course :)
As always I hope this helps. I look forward to continuing the conversation. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.
All the best,
Dave Terné
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