Continuing the Conversation

In the session led by the Diversity Awareness Partnership (DAP) two weeks ago we talked about unconscious bias and its' impact as well as race relations in St. Louis. Continuing that dialogue is valuable given the importance of diversity and inclusion to our work within the Foundation and the greater community. 

For conversations that are both engaging and inclusive, we should observe the following guidelines. This will keep the conversation dynamic, on topic, and, most importantly, a dialogue not a debate. 

• Respect the diversity of each other’s views. Work to understand both intent and impact.
• Seek to be a continuous learner by approaching these conversations as source of new information

D5 Coalition Webinar: Career Paths of People of Color in Philanthropy

Once in a Blue Moon Lunch & Learn Series

The D5 Coalition and Public Interest Projects co-sponsored a webinar series, "Advancing Issues at the Core of Philanthropy: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."

In the final webinar, “Career Trajectories of People of Color in Philanthropy," researchers from Forward Change discuss their interviews with people of color to identify what got them in, what kept them in, and what influenced their careers in philanthropy.

Two key findings of the report were:

D5 Coalition Webinar: The Role of the CEO Comittment in Advancing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Once in a Blue Moon Lunch & Learn Series

The D5 Coalition and Public Interest Projects are co-sponsoring a webinar series, "Advancing Issues at the Core of Philanthropy: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."

In the April 17 webinar, “Commitment from the Top: The Role of the CEO Commitment in Advancing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion," Sindhu Knotz of Philanthropy Northwest discusses her organization’s report on the role of foundation leadership in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Two key findings of the report were:

DiSC Group Culture

The DiSC Group Culture report representing current MFH staff has been distributed and was reviewed at the June 25 All Hands meeting.

Information about the group culture report and links to other resources are below:

Perspective on Pruitt-Igoe

During my 9-month experience with the Leadership St. Louis program, I learned about many of the challenges St. Louis residents and leaders face. The most memorable weekend session for me was focused on Racial Justice and Equity.  We discussed St. Louis history as it pertains to discrimination and racial equity, and examined why St. Louis struggles more than other cities with similar histories.

After watching “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” at the MFH Lunch & Learn in July, I started thinking about national and local policies that were intended to make Pruitt-Igoe a better environment than the “slums.” In the end, however, those policies actually contributed to Pruitt-Igoe’s demise and the ongoing challenges with racial segregation in St. Louis. 

Initially, the Pruitt and Igoe buildings were racially segregated.  Whites lived in the Igoe Apartments, named for William Igoe, a white Congressman; and African Americans lived in the Pruitt Homes, named for Wendell Pruitt, a celebrated Tuskegee Airman from St. Louis.  In 1954, segregation at Pruitt-Igoe ended with the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the St. Louis Housing Authority lifted racial restrictions.

5 Generations in the Workplace

Thank you to everyone who participated in the generational diversity lunch & learn.  As was mentioned, each individual has his or her own unique values and experiences, so generational values should only be looked at as tendencies that apply to a particular age group and not be treated as rules.  

Although we do not have any Traditional or Generation 9/11 staff, it is still important to understand those generations as we most likely encounter these generations when working with our grantees, vendors, community leaders, etc.  

Below are tips for communicating with the different generations:

Generation 9/11

Born around 1991 and after

• Be supportive and positive when communicating with them.
• Speak to them as adults, not children.
• Try to understand and be sensitive to how technology fits into their work and social lives.

Millenials

Born around 1977 - 1990

• Communicate job instructions clearly and be specific.
• Give them challenges whenever the opportunity presents itself.
• Try to accommodate differing schedules by being as flexible as possible

Generation X
Born around 1965 - 1976

• When assigning tasks, give them clear and precise instructions and deadlines.
• Listen closely to their ideas.
• Understand that if they seem impersonal at times, they may be trying to be more efficient.

Baby Boomers

Born around 1946 - 1964

• Remember their strong work ethic and try a reasonable and compromising approach to them.
• Let them know they are needed and valuable when appropriate.
• Treat them with respect and clearly explain your point of view.

Traditionals

Born around 1930 - 1945

• Respect their values and beliefs which may be more conservative than yours.
• Teach instead of being dismissive, explain instead of being impatient.
• Respect their significant experience.

Generational Differences Chart
Although the chart is a few years old (2008), it gives a thorough breakdown of what each generation prefers in a work environment, their communication style, and their view on work/life balance.  
 

Do you have any generational diversity articles or resources you find helpful?  If so, feel free to comment and post the link on the PRIDE blog. 

Viewpoint on Disabilities

As many of your know my big sister, Katie, has Down Syndrome. A few months ago Katie and I were driving to lunch and she turned to me and said “I wish that we were kids again- that was my favorite time in my life.” She looked like she was about to cry. When we were kids we had a fairly traditional sibling relationship- we played games together, we had sleepovers, we fought, we schemed against our parents and sometimes I defended her at school. Now our sibling relationship is less traditional- she has the life that we both had 20 years ago while I have a house 300 miles away, am married, work full-time and serve as her power of attorney and the executor of her special needs trust. 

She knows that our relationship is different- that she is different- and she wishes that wasn’t the case. She may not articulate it, but she notices when people are staring at her just as much as she notices when people avoid her. And it hurts.
 

No One Said it Would be Easy

We live in a society that attaches privilege to being a part of certain social groups such as: male, able-bodied, white, heterosexual, Christian, and many others.  All of us have numerous social categories to which we belong and most of us have some social statuses that give us privilege and others that result in us being disadvantaged.  So for example statistics say that as a male I am:

One Team, Different Styles

Over a rainy weekend in October of 2009 I traveled with a team to the Nelson Ledges race track in Garrettsville, OH, to race a $500 car for 24 hours.

An auto racing series was developed a few years ago called the 24 Hours of LeMons that fields over 100 beat-down cars in 20-odd (very odd) endurance races throughout the country. The series takes its name from the famous 24 Hours of LeMans, if that race was filled with crap-can lemons found at the junkyard. Typically the races are 12-14 hours, divided over a Saturday and Sunday, but our team decided to go big or stay home. Nelson Ledges was going to be a true, non-stop, 24-hour race—and we had just the car.

A friend told me about a car he saw for sale, cheap. “The owner was asking $200 for it, but I’m not interested,” he explained. “You should buy it.” There’s a bad feeling that comes from being urged to buy something that a friend wouldn’t touch, but I ignored those feelings entirely and brought the rusty, non-running car home. Recognizing that I know little about working on cars and absolutely nothing about racing them, I needed to round up some other nuts interested parties. I posted a message online at the St. Louis BMW Club forum saying I had a 1983 BMW 635 that needed a racing team, and almost instantly had nearly a dozen people jump on board.

The team included six driver/mechanics, a couple regulars who helped wrench from time to time, and dozens of specialists, supporters, financiers and other invaluable individuals who got us to the finish line. I learned to recognize where my talents could be brought to bear, and noticed where others found their comfort zones.

Some team members focused on the big picture. Their enthusiasm helped promote the team, raise funds and keep the car clean (occasionally they polished parts of the rust-bucket while others were simultaneously grinding ever-expanding holes in the floor.) Others were interested in improving performance by tuning the engine and suspension, and buying special racing tires. Stability and dependability was important for those who worked on matters unique to an endurance race, like protecting the headlights from damage during night racing, and even basics like changing the oil. Attention to detail was crucial for building the car to the rules (including cheating), managing our registration, entry fees, and selecting the right bottle of Irish Whiskey for bribing the judges (it’s encouraged in the rules).

The rules state that teams can’t spend more than $500 on the purchase and modification of the car, but this excludes safety equipment for obvious reasons. When the car came back from having a roll cage installed with a $2,000 price tag on it, several members of the team began suggesting walking away or postponing our entry until the following year. “I wrote the check to the cage builder, but now my mortgage check is going to bounce,” one teammate e-mailed.

Call it my D-style tendencies, but sometimes I prefer a brute force solution. Throwing more money at the problem seemed like an easy fix, so I instantly replenished our funding by transferring a wad of cash through PayPal. “Here, pay your mortgage,” I replied. I’ve never replaced a fuel filter, but it needed doing, so I crawled under the fuel tank and tried to minimize the amount of gasoline running down my forearm as I worked. And nearing the end of the build, when no one else was around to get the car from the paint shop back to the garage, I went to a club member’s place after work to borrow his diesel pickup and trailer. Then I drove to Sauget, IL, picked up the car and trailered it back to the garage in Webster Groves, returned the borrowed hauler to the south side and made it home before midnight (I think--things got hazy towards the end).

Some weekends the car was swarmed with people working on it, while some nights involved one person replacing shock absorbers or rebuilding brakes. I could take almost anything off the car, but more skilled team members were required to put things back on properly. Getting the car ready for a trip to Ohio included everything from holding a flashlight and passing tools, to coaxing experts to weld the exhaust, adjust the vales and rewire the ignition so the car would, you know, start.

I didn’t share the same objectives or methods as my teammates for making a race car, but we all brought valuable talents to the project. Everyone’s smallest efforts were necessary to be successful, like having a team member with a smart phone who could find a motel in Indiana at 2 am. And even after 13 hours of racing, when the water pump gave up, a few of the team waited for the parts stores to open Sunday morning, found a water pump for a 26-year-old German car in the middle of Amish Ohio, and installed it in time to finish the last three laps before the checkered flag.

In the end it wasn’t speed or performance that caught us out, but a simple maintenance item that ended our reliability. Yet, we would never have even reached that point without all the cash, time, blood, sweat, grease, fuel, tools, firewood, loaner cars, camping gear, granola bars, water jugs, blue racing suits, tractor headlights, custom racing-stripes and hot pink paint.