We all learn differently. You’ll have both heard and experienced that many times throughout your life. Each organisation is made up of diverse groups of people, experiences and personalities; therefore everything should be created to reflect this. Article by Deryl Dix, Associate at Bray Leino.
Increasingly throughout the last fifty years the UK government introduced significant equalities legislation stating that everyone is to be treated equally. Unfortunately, beliefs, values and attitudes can take longer to change.
It is thought that 6% of the UK population are lesbian, gay or bisexual, and the average British person knows 3.1 gay women and 5.5 gay men. Yet discrimination and inequality remains rife among the LGBT population. It’s also not uncommon for discrimination to occur unintentionally.
The Everyday Sexism Project and similar projects highlight current issues that we still face in regards to discrimination of all types. While this could occur, causing issues within training, the underlying point to remember is that good quality training can support positive organisational change. Voicing the right messages is the first step to creating these changes.
Workplace training is not the only area where discrimination can take place, but with the personal exposure that learning and development creates, it’s paramount to ensure a safe environment for all. Here are eight ways to avoid discrimination and its lasting impact in training.
Language and materials
Appropriate language and materials should be universally delivered throughout an organisation, and training materials should reflect this. Think about the language and any images being used. Do you have an example where you are referring to someone’s husband or wife? Perhaps using the word ‘partner’ would be more appropriate. The same theory applies for mothers and fathers; using parents and guardians prevents exclusion of same sex parents.
Communication, Jokes and Banter
This is one of the highest risks in a training environment, and applies to all forms of discrimination. A delegate may make a throwaway comment, often directed at themselves, but could cause offence. How many times have you heard someone refer to something pejoratively as ‘gay’?
Some may regard such comments as harmless banter, but they’re not. At the very least they may cause discomfort and upset to others in the group. In this case it’s the trainers’ responsibility to not collude and ensure other delegates do not join in. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness of how these phrases affect others. Be aware that these comments may be made during a break time, not necessarily during the formal training setting.
Unconscious Bias
Every person experiences unconscious bias; our minds working on auto-pilot to create an automatic response to a trigger. Each of us will have different unconscious biases; some may be gender related – assuming a man has more power or autonomy than a woman, they may be age related, sexuality related, or even something as simple as fashion choices.
Inclusive workplace training can work to overcome some of these prejudices. For example, if there’s a perceived bias against one of two trainers, perhaps that trainer can take the lead in answering group questions, or do more presenting to help challenge the bias.
Ice-breakers and activities
Ice-breakers and activities are a useful tool in training, but consider how some could cause offense and potentially end up as an explosive issue, e.g. asking people to reveal a secret about themselves could make people feel uncomfortable. Think about underlying issues that activities could cause and references that could be made regarding discriminative issues.
Don’t take personal relationships for granted
Just because you or one of your delegates have a personal or professional relationship with someone it doesn’t mean that comments will not offend them, even if they don’t show an emotional response. Often people feel they can get away with more banter with colleagues and friends, but these are often the remarks that hurt most.
If, as a facilitator, you are working with a team, you have responsibility to unpack and resolve any problems that may arise. Space and time should be given to these issues to agree how this will happen.
Multi-generational challenges
With many organisations now employing three generations, multi-generational training rooms are common. Language and terminology changes and develops over time. This makes it possible for one generational term to mean something different, and potentially offensive, to someone of a different age group.
As a facilitator it’s important to challenge anything that may discriminate and explore the impact of the language on other people.
Responding to issues
To ignore issues would be detrimental to inclusive workplace training. It’s inevitable that, at some time, you’ll encounter some discrimination. How the facilitator/s and the group respond to these issues is what will have a lasting impact.
There have been occasions when individuals have left training programmes because they felt discriminated against or undervalued. The trainer must take care of both the individual and the rest of the group. Training provides an opportunity to explore issues of discrimination and in doing so some may make inappropriate comments about sexuality, age, mental health, gender or other sensitive issues. Learning events expose people to different situations, so be sure to include the group in exploring statements in a facilitative way. If someone has experienced a negative emotional response, talk to them during the break or, if co-facilitating, do one-to-one work with them.
End on a high
Make sure that at the end of the programme everyone is left with a positive outlook and not feeling undervalued in any way. This can be done by strongly emphasising equal value all the way through a programme. Finishing a programme on a high will hopefully eradicate any relationship issues that may have presented themselves throughout the day.
This all comes back to experiential learning, which lends itself to working with difficulties as they arise. Ensure that if a difference is exposed, or a hurtful exchange happens, time is dedicated to finding a way forward, particularly if people are going to be working together in the future.
