How Language Creates Power
Unlocking the Diversity Dividend: Changing the Game by about 36% I saw a tweet earlier this week and it got me thinking: I’ve been considering language a lot recently, specifically thinking about how it positions a circumstance and how language places responsibility. For instance, I was in a room where the topic of conversation was the barriers of ‘getting in’ and ‘getting on’ at the workplace for those from ethnically diverse backgrounds. An important and needed talking point. The conversation was hugely valuable and enabled the diverse talent in the room to tell leaders at one of the UK’s largest organisations what barriers we faced. The leaders listened and pledged to enact change, and I believe they will. During the conversation, I noticed we kept circling back to ethnically diverse talent having a “lack of” something, be it role models, guidance, information, networks etc. Although that may be true for some or not true for others - I understood the point, we all did. ...