Books that help you understand inclusivity better
We've compiled a list of five must-read books about diversity and inclusion. These works address critical issues such as confronting personal and institutional bias, having difficult but essential dialogues, building safe spaces, and providing skills for empowerment and belonging.
1. The Memo
John Hope Bryant, best-selling author, activist, and founder of Operation HOPE, has a track record of establishing movements. Bryant presents The Memo, which lays down five criteria for obtaining financial independence for readers. He highlights the inextricable link between "inner capital" (mindset, relationships, knowledge, and spirit) and "outer capital" (money, possessions, and reputation) (financial wealth and property). "You can never be truly poor if you have inner capital," Bryant argues. All the money in the world won't be able to set you free if you don't have enough inner capital."
Bryant provides empowering strategies that range from basic financial literacy to investing in great relationships and approaching wealth with a fresh perspective. We all benefit when your people feel economically empowered and seize opportunities for actual riches.
2. Overcoming Bias
Everybody is biassed, whether we want to admit it or not. This basic fact can be interpreted in two ways: we all have unconscious assumptions that can come in the way of our good intentions and prevent us from developing genuine relationships with individuals who are different from us. When these biases continue unchallenged, they can grow into social "isms" that perpetuate oppressive power structures. Overcoming Bias recounts colourful anecdotes and even includes enjoyable (yes, enjoyable!) exercises and activities to help us reflect on our own experiences and learn how our hidden biases are developed. We may manage knee-jerk reactions, overcome phobias of the unfamiliar, and overcome closed-mindedness by being more self-aware.
Erasing Institutional Bias builds on the transformative effect of their previous book, Overcoming Bias, which focused on controlling individual and interpersonal bias, and expands the approach to impact systemic change in businesses. Authors Tiffany Jana and Ashley Diaz Mejias address specific issues such as racism, sexism, recruiting and advancement prejudice, and retribution bias, which occurs when firms develop an aggressive culture, and provide strategies to recognise and control them.
3. We Can’t Talk about That at Work!
Every day at work, conversations about race, gender, and religion take place, and if they aren't handled properly, they can become polarising and divisive, affecting productivity, engagement, retention, teamwork, and even employees' perception of workplace safety. When these discussions are perceived as necessary and manageable rather than avoidable and tense, they become the starting point for permanent change. In order to move toward a future that works for everyone, we need to talk about it at work. So, how can we make sure they're constructive instead of divisive?
Mary-Frances Winters, founder of The Winters Group, teaches how to deal with delicate topics in a way that pulls people together rather than drives them apart in We Can't Talk about That at Work! She teaches you about the importance of culture in affecting people's views, behaviours, and communication styles, as well as how to structure conversations about the topics we're not supposed to discuss.
4. Safe Enough to Soar
It's not only a "soft" promise to cultivate a working culture with high levels of interaction safety—a it's commercial need. Some firms place a high priority on maintaining the physical safety of their employees, but do employees feel safe speaking up and raising serious concerns? Do they have any big, still-forming ideas? In their new book, Safe Enough to Soar, bestselling authors and inclusion specialists Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz explain the notion of "interaction safety" and show how it can help establish a work atmosphere that is trusting, inclusive, and collaborative.
People know they will not be punished, ostracised, demoted, made small, dismissed, or rejected because of their ideas, contributions, or talks when interaction safety occurs. Individuals feel inspired and emboldened, and they can accomplish more as a group than they could alone. Miller and Katz present a four-level approach for analysing and improving organisational interaction safety, which is shown with brief scenarios drawn from real-life events. They provide specific steps that team members, leaders, and organisations may follow to create and maintain a productive, collaborative, and inventive atmosphere where people can accomplish their best work individually and collectively.
5. Our Search for Belonging
Howard Ross, co-founder of Cook Ross Inc. and bestselling author of Everyday Bias, returns with a hard-hitting study of the rising tensions caused by political tribalism, which is tearing people apart. Our Search for Belonging follows the emergence of tribalism and regurgitates the daily life narratives to which we are exposed, which serve as echo chambers in which we hear our opinions reinforced while others' beliefs are demonised. There is a paradox at the heart of tribalism: as humans, we are built with a desire to belong, which leads us to be intimately linked to some while also deeply divided from others. We revert to a "we versus them" mindset when these tribes emerge out of fear of the "other" on matters like race, immigration status, religion, or partisan politics. These conflicts penetrate into our daily lives, especially in the digital age, when we are all connected in some manner, and we get sequestered with our self-identified tribes.
Ross investigates the depths of tribalism, the role of social media in intensifying it, and proposes techniques for combating it, drawing on decades of leadership experience. There are challenges to tackle our own impulses to bond with others who are similar to us, as well as tried strategies for creating safe and honest discourse in the workplace.