Creating an inclusive environment

My guest Salma Ibrahim joined me to discuss how team members can make environments more inclusive. 

Transcript

Welcome back to my podcast Scaling Out!

Diversity discussions have thankfully been brought out of work taboo status and are now part of ongoing conversations. Employees are gaining understanding from each other and we are all growing an improved community. Its not perfect - there will ALWAYS be continuous improvement, but just allowing the conversation has been beneficial to us all. Today I have a guest, my friend Salma Ibrahim to share about her workplace experiences and offer guidance on increasing acceptance in the workplace.

Hi Salma! It is so great to have you on today!

> Hi Angela! Thanks for having me!

Salma was my coworker during the 2016 election and had to endure the hateful themes expressed in the news against Muslims. ....  

> It was definitely one of the hardest periods of my life. Seeing hate become more publicly and socially acceptable truly made me feel like an outsider who did not belong here. I’ve felt some version of that my entire life, but I ended up in therapy by the end of 2016 due to the severity of these feelings. I was uncomfortable in crowds or around people, and would often go to worse case scenarios in my head. Having a physical representation of my difference, my hijab, makes it difficult to be anonymous.

I think for a lot of people Muslims are just different and that’s enough of a reason to dislike us, but there are also assumptions made about Muslim women being hateful or oppressed. We’re often not afforded the opportunity to express who we are individually rather than be pre-defined.

Did you ever feel like this negativity carried over to the workplace? .... 

> Well one of the hardest parts about all of this is that you can’t always see people’s intentions. It’s a constant battle in my mind of are they having a bad day or do they have an issue with me. This doubt definitely impacted me. It was incredibly hard for me to even show up to work, and I started spending as much time as I could in my office with the door closed. I didn’t have any confirmed negative events, but the doubt in my mind about what drives others was enough for me to take a step back. This is something I struggle with and try to overcome daily.

I had some positive experiences along the way that gave me some hope in all of this. I don’t know if you remember this Angela, but you actually pulled me aside one day to tell me you were thinking of me and appreciated me for my differences, and reminded me that not everyone sees me (or Muslims) negatively. That was such a huge thing for me. It really made me feel seen and empathized with, and I really appreciated that then and now. My manager at the time also regularly expressed distaste for the hate, and I think that was his way of letting me know that I have allies and support.

What would you suggest managers do to ensure that these biases are addressed appropriately? 

> I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have great managers and work for companies that value diversity; this is not the case for many of my friends. I think first and foremost, providing a safe space or avenue for employees to open up is important. It can be difficult to have open conversations with managers when they have ownership over your livelihood, so I think establishing that trust as early as possible is crucial. 

Second to that, education and open communication are really key. Having smaller scale open and ongoing conversations with your teams about biases, especially implicit biases which in my opinion are more prevalent in the workplace. 

Simple statements that might not have been given a lot of thought can significantly impact someone’s confidence and sense of belonging. It’s important to educate teams about that and empower employees to speak up without fear of being perceived as dramatic or causing trouble.

Salma, I cannot thank you enough for joining me today and sharing your stories and advice. Until next time, stay safe everyone!