A Mexican Perspective of Inclusion: How Can a Comprehensive Conceptualization of DE&I Help Us Bridge the Gaps in Public Workplaces?

Description

Challenge your traditional concept of DE&I and explore the major role played by gender, racial, ethnic and cultural elements in comprehensively defining the broader issue. The implications of having a comprehensive understanding of what DE&I entails reflect on nations’ efforts to make workplaces more diverse, inclusive, equal and effective overall. Therefore, this session will draw on expertise from the speaker’s years of consulting activities and experience working with public organizations of the Mexican Federal Government, which have sought throughout the years, on the one hand, to benefit from the high levels of diversity the country offers and, on the other, to make their workplaces more inclusive and attain certifications recognized by international standards.

This spotlight session will include a discussion covering three areas of knowledge relevant to the field: 1. The source: Analyze the correlation between the absence of a comprehensive conceptualization of DE&I and the current lack of tools and mechanisms to tackle social divides, toxic values and attitudes in the workplace; 2. The implications for the DE&I national agendas: Discuss how the lack of a comprehensive DE&I concept perpetuates discriminatory attitudes and practices (like sexual harassment, absence of women in high-level positions, ineffective inclusion measures) in the workplace, what mechanisms can be implemented to tackle the problem, and how the absence of DE&I figures in the lack of policies in National Strategies for Development to address diversity, inclusion and equity issues; and 3. The path forward: Share the most common obstacles faced in the implementation of DE&I strategies in public workplaces and how to best overcome them.

The session will pair-up practical experience and handouts with valuable data, testimonies and lessons learned in Mexico throughout the years. In addition, this session will serve as a discussion framework and allow participants to brainstorm and formulate their own concepts and definitions about how DE&I should be addressed for public policy purposes (both domestically and internationally) and in-country activities. Review of the lessons learned from the work done in Mexico will help attendees understand how DE&I perspectives are introduced in public workplaces of such a diverse country and how to best achieve the full potential.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify and contrast all the elements involved in the conceptualization of DE&I
2. Understand the relevance of having a national strategy for the development of integral DE&I policies
3. Counter the obstacles for the implementation of DE&I perspectives in public organizations