The Office of Personnel Management released my agency’s engagement scores for 2015 last week and for the second year in a row, Asian Americans are the highest engaged group of employees by race at 72%. For the 7th year in a row, my group, American Indians/Alaska Natives had the lowest engagement levels by race ofRead… Read more »
If you ever talk to American Indian/Alaska Native, Persons with Disabilities and People of Two or More Races employees, you are conversing with some of the most disengaged workers in the federal government. The work realities of these employee groups look something like this: • Their small numbers enhance their invisibility. • They have theRead… Read more »
Talk to an American Indian employee, a colleague with a disability, a person of two or more races or a Millennial and you will hear a common theme. They are some of the most disengaged employees in the federal government. The federal government has given up on these important constituencies so they have no alternativeRead… Read more »
Ever felt left out at work, like you didn’t fit in with your coworkers in some way or another? If you work in the public sector, you are not the only one who’s had that experience. According to a survey conducted by Monster Government Solutions, 71 percent of federal workers report feeling misunderstood at workRead… Read more »
In December of 2014, I tried to have a constructive confrontation with some colleagues about their use of a racial slur in the workplace. 4 months later I got a response from them via an email. It went something like this. “Let me assure you when we sent the message, we did not intend toRead… Read more »
They are the offspring of the Boomer generation that gave us the Civil Rights movement. They are responsible for the nation’s election of its first Black President. Demographers call them the most diverse generation ever. They were educated in school systems that emphasized mainstreaming, collaboration and diversity. They were exposed to diverse classrooms that wereRead… Read more »
I used to be a prison chaplain. I got very familiar with the phrase “snitches get stiches.” Among people doing time, blowing the whistle on someone was the vilest symbol of disloyalty. We see this “keep it in the family” culture in other settings particularly among male athletes. The notion that what happens in theRead… Read more »
On March 10, 2015, University of Oklahoma President, David Boren expelled two students who were responsible for leading a racial chant that was secretly filmed on video. He defended the decision based on the school’s policy of zero tolerance for racism. This decision comes from a school that from 1940-1970 had an Indian mascot calledRead… Read more »
One way white people like to exert their privilege in the inclusion debate is to create this myth of what I like to call cheap inclusion. It goes something like this. Can we coexist? Can we tolerate each other? I think I can put up with this person in the workplace. They want to doRead… Read more »
Is it just me but has the world gone a little bit crazy here lately. I almost have to pinch myself in order not to feel like I have been transported back to the mid-20th century of Jim Crow. Take a glimpse at some of the offensive statements and incidents in the news that suggestRead… Read more »