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Post by sungod on Aug 17, 2018 19:09:38 GMT -5
Hey PD, I’ve got another “What would you do?“ post. The title of this thread is hinting at inspiration porn that society loves so much.
I work at a large company, >10,000 employees. I got an email from a woman at headquarters, and she had been referred my name by the HR rep for my branch. They are on an “Inclusion & Diversity“ campaign, and they are working on a video. Big surprise, they want the wheelchair guy in their video.
I spoke with her, they are going to have ~ 20 people from the company with diverse backgrounds in the video. Not going into any detail on anyone person, they want each person to give an example of what inclusion means for them. Yada yada yada… Details details details…
It’s not compulsory that I do this. On one hand, I feel like it’s incredibly cliché to have the one dude with the physical disability be in their diversity video. Barf.
Then I start to think… If I feel awkward in this video as someone who could very easily be treated poorly, how about the other diverse backgrounds… Racial, gender, parents… unless there have been conscious effort to integrate them into their role, wouldn’t they feel just as awkward in a video?
It’s been very easy to work for my company. I don’t make a big deal out of my disability. When I started work, they very quickly got the accommodations I need, and I never feel like I’m treated differently. Not through any “inclusion conversations“, it just happened naturally. As I thought more about this video, I think that’s what they would want to strive for as inclusive and diverse.
Back to my initial question: what would you do? Put yourself on show? Or kindly pass?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2018 19:29:01 GMT -5
Initially I can't come up with a good answer right now, definitely a great topic and something to think about.
What did come to my mind was that in so many shows on TV they always have that one black or Hispanic person among his/her white peers and how awesome that would be if they always also had that one disabled guy in those shows. I would probably watch a lot more TV shows...lol
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jujulemon25
New Member
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Gender: Male
Dev Status: Devotee
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Post by jujulemon25 on Aug 17, 2018 19:36:09 GMT -5
My two cents - The diversity cliche and tokenism is annoying ...but how great your company comes out on that side of the equation than the other (or at least wants to be perceived that way)? You're clearly smart and articulate. Don't speak as a token, speak as yourself - including on your thoughts on this. Heck, read what you wrote above. I've been asked to do the same at my big large conservative company... I made the point that every single person is different, and I couldn't pretend to represent "The Gays" any more than you could be a token for "The Disabled." Ick. But from my perspective, it was great to have someone in a big organization that at least cares about having conversations about differences and how combinations of differences result in strength, not weakness. And flattering that someone thought that others could benefit from hearing my point of view. And the best was the individual conversations that came afterwards.
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Post by bunster on Aug 17, 2018 19:54:08 GMT -5
Hey PD, I’ve got another “What would you do?“ post. The title of this thread is hinting at inspiration porn that society loves so much. I work at a large company, >10,000 employees. I got an email from a woman at headquarters, and she had been referred my name by the HR rep for my branch. They are on an “Inclusion & Diversity“ campaign, and they are working on a video. Big surprise, they want the wheelchair guy in their video. I spoke with her, they are going to have ~ 20 people from the company with diverse backgrounds in the video. Not going into any detail on anyone person, they want each person to give an example of what inclusion means for them. Yada yada yada… Details details details… It’s not compulsory that I do this. On one hand, I feel like it’s incredibly cliché to have the one dude with the physical disability be in their diversity video. Barf. Then I start to think… If I feel awkward in this video as someone who could very easily be treated poorly, how about the other diverse backgrounds… Racial, gender, parents… unless there have been conscious effort to integrate them into their role, wouldn’t they feel just as awkward in a video? It’s been very easy to work for my company. I don’t make a big deal out of my disability. When I started work, they very quickly got the accommodations I need, and I never feel like I’m treated differently. Not through any “inclusion conversations“, it just happened naturally. As I thought more about this video, I think that’s what they would want to strive for as inclusive and diverse. Back to my initial question: what would you do? Put yourself on show? Or kindly pass? |
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Post by bunster on Aug 17, 2018 19:54:50 GMT -5
i would do what felt best in my gut.
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Post by Braced4Impact on Aug 17, 2018 20:24:11 GMT -5
I can't tell you what to do, but I hate companies that have to virtue signal their diversity. I believe we should follow Dr. Martin Luther King's advice and judge not on the color of the skin but the strength of character. To put a black person, Asian person, Hispanic person, disabled, LGBTQ for the sake of doing so is pandering and solves nothing other than the company virtue signaling how great they are.
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Post by devogirl on Aug 17, 2018 21:08:46 GMT -5
It’s been very easy to work for my company. I don’t make a big deal out of my disability. When I started work, they very quickly got the accommodations I need, and I never feel like I’m treated differently.
If this is how you feel, then yes I would do it. Not every company is like this, so why not support their good work? Especially if the video is just for internal use or recruitment, it's a good message to get out there that might encourage more pwds to want to work there.
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Post by matisse on Aug 17, 2018 21:44:42 GMT -5
I don't know if I would do it. But if I did, I would say that it means "to be treated just like everyone else."
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Post by matisse on Aug 17, 2018 21:55:41 GMT -5
i would do what felt best in my gut. Still not quoting correctly. At this point, I think you are doing it intentionally. It substantially reduces your credibility. |
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Post by laur on Aug 17, 2018 22:27:46 GMT -5
It’s been very easy to work for my company. I don’t make a big deal out of my disability. When I started work, they very quickly got the accommodations I need, and I never feel like I’m treated differently. If this is how you feel, then yes I would do it. Not every company is like this, so why not support their good work? Especially if the video is just for internal use or recruitment, it's a good message to get out there that might encourage more pwds to want to work there.
Yeah, I agree with this too. I think "tokenism" is a major issue in how organizations work with diversity and inclusion. In my work, it mainly comes up mostly surrounding students who represent different racial backgrounds through including those students disproportionately in marketing materials and events. I've chatted with some of those students who have had this happen when talking about social justice. While they typically have similar feelings to what you shared about the iffy purpose behind this and how it's a weird thing to do, many also shared that they seek out representation when they're going through the college admissions process. It's important to them to see that the college is reflecting values of diversity on the surface as a screener and then, from there, most said that they dig deeper to ensure that it's a real thing and not just talk. I see company recruiting as similar and would think it could be an initial reflection of inclusiveness and a value for that as a company. I think it'd be a whole other story if you hadn't had positive experiences with them. In that case, I'd say no, as it would be disingenuous of them to use you to market themselves that way. |
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Post by bunster on Aug 17, 2018 22:40:19 GMT -5
i would do what felt best in my gut. Still not quoting correctly. At this point, I think you are doing it intentionally. It substantially reduces your credibility. @ Matisse yes. you got it. i AM doing it deliberately. and establishing "credibility" with some of you cretins here means soooooo much! *SARCASM* cos some of you need stuff spelled out!!!! dumb ass smh... |
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Post by someonerandom on Aug 17, 2018 22:53:32 GMT -5
Still not quoting correctly. At this point, I think you are doing it intentionally. It substantially reduces your credibility. @ Matisse yes. you got it. i AM doing it deliberately. and establishing "credibility" with some of you cretins here means soooooo much! *SARCASM* cos some of you need stuff spelled out!!!! dumb ass smh... Ha ha ha, cretins? You are funny when you get mad.
To the OP I think it's cool your company is doing this. I agree with others who have said that this "tokenism" can be a bit cringeworthy, but I do think it's important for people to understand disability shit. I got the opportunity to talk to some social justice class in a master's program about being a para and the feedback I got was that people really got their eyes opened, and these are the "woke" types I'm talking about. I did talk a good bit about sex shit too  Right now disability issues are kind of second fiddle to race, trans, and women's issues, and those are all incredibly important too. But, disability just isn't something people think about a whole lot. I've been denied jobs (in my opinion) because they were unwilling to spend the money on accommodations, so it's great that your company is so open to this stuff.
I took a training at my work recently that explained what trans was, and what each part of LGBTQ stands for. I already knew this stuff, but I bet there are a lot of people who don't. I like that they are explaining that stuff because one of my clients is a trans woman.
Anyways if you do this, please tell people not to FORCE THEIR FUCKING HELP on wheelchair people thanks. No means no, also our lives are not immediately terrible because we use a wheelchair for mobility.
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Post by matisse on Aug 17, 2018 22:54:43 GMT -5
Still not quoting correctly. At this point, I think you are doing it intentionally. It substantially reduces your credibility. @ Matisse yes. you got it. i AM doing it deliberately. and establishing "credibility" with some of you cretins here means soooooo much! *SARCASM* cos some of you need stuff spelled out!!!! dumb ass smh... Ok. |
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Post by bunster on Aug 17, 2018 22:59:32 GMT -5
@ Matisse yes. you got it. i AM doing it deliberately. and establishing "credibility" with some of you cretins here means soooooo much! *SARCASM* cos some of you need stuff spelled out!!!! dumb ass smh... Ok. glad you got it....BRAH!!! have a wonderful night. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2018 1:38:01 GMT -5
bunster I am sorry but the quoting thing is getting somewhat annoying. I agree with matisse on that. Really you did not even have to quote the whole paragraph, you could have just wrote your reply.
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Right now disability issues are kind of second fiddle to race, trans, and women's issues, and those are all incredibly important too. But, disability just isn't something people think about a whole lot. I've been denied jobs (in my opinion) because they were unwilling to spend the money on accommodations, so it's great that your company is so open to this stuff.