Yesterday’s verdict in the case of Derrick Chauvin brought a moment of release and relief for people committed to racial justice and equity.  But the work is far from over. People in our country, in our communities, are pleading for us to treat them as human beings. 

Where to begin? It starts with acknowledgement. Acknowledge that biases, no matter how unconscious or subtle, have a corrosive impact on certain segments of our society who are unjustly targeted. After acknowledgement comes commitment. All of us must be willing to play a role in disrupting systemic inequality. We have to be vocal about it. Call it out when we see it and demand action to override biases. If you are in a leadership position, get loud. Use your platform to spotlight issues – whether they are related to lack of representation in management positions, or tensions in the workplace due to exclusive treatment, or attrition of talented women and people of color who choose to leave even if they don’t have another job lined up because the culture is so toxic for them. 

Many organizations have woken to the need for true, systemic change in the last year. But there is much work to be done. We have to go far beyond “the way things have always been done” to achieve a new level of progress. My guest this week is dedicated to helping organizations do just that. This week on Culture Stew I had the opportunity to interview Ashish Kaushal. Ashish is the owner of Hire Talent, a recruiting firm specializing in diversity. Ashish is also the founder of Consciously Unbiased, an organization dedicated to disrupting traditional diversity training to focus on true culture change. Ashish’s mission is to “connect the hearts and minds of people across organizations and industries to spark behavior change and drive inclusion.” In today’s Podcast, we talk about how to raise the unconscious behaviors to the conscience, how to develop strategic goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how to leverage technology to correct everyday behaviors.