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In this episode, Naomi Williams invites us to talk about the elephant in the room. We broke down the "black token girl" concept and emphasized avoiding performative actions. We discussed the need to "see color" and act based on genuine interest and a willingness to make a real difference in the workplace and the world making #inclusion and #diversity part of our daily lives instead of seeing it as a one-shot event.

Naomi Williams
Naomi Williams is a DEIB advocate and Career Development Coach collaborating with a Spanish private university where she is a driving force in creating safe spaces and amplifying underrepresented voices on and off University Campus and the workfloor.She is the creator of the speaker series “Talent Bites”, which encourages Black and Brown professionals in leadership roles to share their stories and leading practices with early talent, and “The Elephant Talks”; safe spaces where uncomfortable conversations about race, injustice and inequality can be held on campus grounds. She has also been involved in the creation of an elective course on racial issues in the university called “Racial (in)Justice”. If she were a billboard she would say “Empowered women empower women” and it would be a constant reminder that we consciously need to uplift each other, especially black women amongst each other.
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Resources
‍• LinkedIn
• Racial (in)Justice: The necessity to create equity starts within our aulas
‍• Rebel Ideas: The Power of Thinking Differently" by Matthew Syed (2021): Funny and very on-point book about diverse teams on the workfloor. Why, when hiring for new talent, managers should be aware that hiring according to the Similarity and/or Affinity Biases (def: when managers are inclined to "hire in their own image") ain't beneficial in the long run. You want your ideas to be challenged and improved. Diverse teams do so and are considered more profitable for their broader spectrum of ideas and insights.
‍• "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler (1979): An absolute must-read novel where the intersection of power, gender, and race issues are being explored through an interracial couple, timetravel and the history of slavery ! It was written in 1979, so has been around for a while. Timeless!
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‍Timestamps‍
‍00:01:41 An inspiring career in DEIB advocacy
‍00:02:59 Not a token black girl
‍00:08:08 Running away from performative action
‍00:12:51 Reprogramming our minds for inclusion
‍00:11:50 The path to educating ourselves
00:14:04 Language matters
00:16:00 Active and involved allies