DEI Interview for Women Icons Network
In this interview for Women Icons Network (WIN), I talk about my DEI journey and how I became a DEI consultant.
Here is a snippet of the interview:
“Veronica recently created a Women’s Mentoring Circle for a company in Singapore as a freelance DEI consultant. Women executives from different industries, markets, and roles came together throughout the 12-week program to talk about and support one another’s struggles in the workplace. They shared knowledge, counsel, and resources while supporting one another as they talked about issues like gaining confidence, projecting authority, and negotiation techniques.
The participants’ feedback was overwhelmingly favourable, and they notably underlined the importance of having a reliable group where women encourage one another to succeed.
As an author and linguist, Veronica included DEI into her training programs to aid teams in achieving greater performance across cultures. All of her programs use DEI to build high-performing teams that will attract diverse talent, foster an inclusive culture, and provide equal opportunity for everyone.
One of the cornerstones of her work in the DEI field is cultural agility. The majority of APAC firms employ diverse personnel, but they do not offer training or tools to enable multicultural teams to function effectively and inclusively. To be truly inclusive and get the benefits of diversity, businesses must all overcome unconscious biases and stereotypes. To assist people understand why they think and act differently based on their cultural lenses and backgrounds, Veronica incorporates cultural mapping into her sessions. She also enjoys delivering personal, powerful stories to demonstrate how cultural EQ can operate as fuel for performance and teamwork.
She shared that, in her perspective, there are two main obstacles for women in the workplace. Inequity between men and women exists in the workplace. If society continues to develop at the present rate, it will take 132 years to close the gender gap internationally (in terms of salaries, the percentage of senior leadership positions, etc.). Unconscious prejudice in recruiting, discrimination, fewer possibilities for promotion, microaggressions, and sexual harassment are just a few examples of the external causes that contribute to many of the problems.
The second issue is a personal one: many women lack the self-assurance to stand up, market themselves, apply for a promotion, or argue for a pay raise. She urges women through social media and her books to speak up, develop their personal brands, and discover how to confidently position and market themselves because this is something they can fully control.”
Women Icons Network is an organization that promotes gender equity through various initiatives and partnerships. Visit their website to find out more about their work in the DEI space.
To read the full interview, click here.
If you are interested to discuss how I can support your organization in your DEI efforts, book a discovery call to start a conversation.
