The Communicators Guide to D&I

Over the past couple of years, the world has seen unprecedented change on all fronts. General awareness of social, racial and ethnic inequalities has been heightened during the pandemic coupled with an increased drive to become more inclusive towards those in marginalized or minority communities.

Communication teams are often called upon to have the ‘right’ language or give guidance on ‘up to date’ perspectives on workplace inclusion. However, the field of workplace D&I is fast moving, complex and extremely nuanced, and as communication professionals there is rarely time to take stock and engage in meaningful conversations about potentially unfamiliar diversity areas. That’s where our D&I for Communication professionals can help.

As part of the two-part programme. You will learn how to build empathy with the topic of diversity and inclusion amongst employees or external stakeholders, how communication can support an inclusive culture and practical tools to help day-to-day engagement with diverse audiences.

Part One: Understanding Inclusion for Communicators

• Diversity and inclusion in a changing world
• Why workplace inclusion is important: Communicating the business case
• Unconscious bias for IC professionals
• Understanding intersectionality
• Self complete fieldwork – Participants are set group challenges, encouraging them to explore respectful language, microaggressions and allyship actions pertaining to potentially unfamiliar diversity areas e.g. lgbtq+, neurodiversity, disability, minority ethnicities, world religions, non-binary gender identity

Part Two: Inclusive Actions for Communicators

• Respectful language
• What are microaggressions?
• Tools to build empathy for difference
• Removing stereotypes in language and communication
• Feedback on group challenges as part of the fieldwork

• Internal and/or External Communication focus
• Virtual global teams
• Intersectional focus covering lgbtq+, neurodiversity, disability, race and minority ethnicities, world religions, non-binary gender identity

“The two bespoke, virtual sessions with interim ‘homework’ for our global Communications team were incredibly engaging and eye opening, and most importantly initiated important and valuable conversations. As Communicators, we have to ‘get it right’ and I&D can be a difficult topic to raise – Charlotte was incredibly approachable and provided a safe space that gave our team confidence to ask questions and further understanding. She helped us think about diversity and inclusion from different perspectives, and the breakout work challenged the team to think outside their day-to-day. As a team and individuals, we now feel empowered, more confident and are holding each other accountable in a positive way.”

Marie-Claire Rees, Director of Communications GE Healthcare