Bernadette Smith | CEO, Equality Institute; Author, Inclusive 360
- Bernadette is the Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Institute.
- She is an author of a book titled, “Inclusive 360: Proven Solutions for an Equitable Organisation.” She has also written four other books.
Podcast
Overview
An organization can only thrive when the team feels included, heard, and respected. Diversity brings empathy and either soft skills to the table, which are equally critical for any successful task. In today’s episode, we discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in detail.
[00:32] – About Bernadette Smith
- Bernadette is the Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Institute.
- She is an author of a book titled, “Inclusive 360: Proven Solutions for an Equitable Organisation.” She has also written four other books.
- She decided to start a business specializing in planning weddings for the LGBTQ community, with a goal to really be their advocate and to help them feel safe when navigating a traditional industry.
- After retiring as a wedding planner, Bernadette focuses on diversity, equality, and inclusion.
[03:35] – What was your motivation to start, “Equality Institute?”
- My motivation was about supporting people who were customers and clients because I’ve been so focused on service in the hospitality industry and in the wedding industry.
- I feel that a lot of companies do not train their employees that interact with their customers, they don’t train them on issues like diversity and inclusion.
- And so, actually, in many cases, the frontline employee is the representative of the brand, yet they also don’t get training on how to be inclusive.
- My vision was to train those types of employees and build a business around that. But what I realized is that a lot of companies don’t want to invest in that.
- My business is focused on helping all employees, not just frontline employees, although I do have a soft spot for frontline employees, helping all employees understand how to create spaces where everyone can feel safe to be authentically themselves, including them.
[07:00] – What are some inequity challenges a lot of women and minority leaders face?
- There are a lot of unconscious biases built into the way we operate. So, when we have systems, for example, hiring and promotions, committee assignments that are assigned or people are hired or promoted, without a lot of structure to that process.
- When there is not a lot of structure to that process, then there is room for bias.
- Our brain subconsciously believes that people who are like us are more familiar, and more comfortable, which must mean that they are safer.
- Our brain is wired to go to safety first. That is the way it was back in the day of hunters and gatherers. But even now, we have to be really intentional about being inclusive because generally, we will default to being exclusive.
- For folks who are from underrepresented groups, they are not always getting a fair shot, because we tend to default to what’s familiar, safe, and what’s been done before.
- Hence, in a lot of leadership roles and organizations around the world, there is a very high percentage of straight white men, who have given opportunities to people like them, and the cycle perpetuates.
RESOURCES:
You can connect with Bernadette Smith – LinkedIn
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Profile
- Bernadette is the Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Institute.
- She is an author of a book titled, “Inclusive 360: Proven Solutions for an Equitable Organisation.” She has also written four other books.
- She decided to start a business specializing in planning weddings for the LGBTQ community, with a goal to really be their advocate and to help them feel safe when navigating a traditional industry.
- After retiring as a wedding planner, Bernadette focuses on diversity, equality, and inclusion.
