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Workforce Development Toolkit - Workplace Culture and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

What's happening in our nation is an opportunity to tackle issues around racism. Educating ourselves about the different perspectives of others is a first step. Below are some resources to help you better understand about racism and become part of the solution.

Training and Resources

WSDOT Learn DEI Learning Pathway

This training pathway provides more foundational DEI learning and growth opportunities that are a part of successful workplace culture where inclusion and belonging are centered. These learning resources support the importance and value of DEI in all state work.

WSDOT Commitment to Diversity (Video, 1:25 min)

Transportation Secretary Roger Millar stating and describing WSDOT's commitment to diversity

3 Requirements of a Diverse and Inclusive Culture – and Why They Matter for Your Organization (Form to download report)

Learn how to go beyond company policies and make inclusion central to your culture and employee experience.

4 steps for busting unconscious bias (Video, 4:26 min)

A video step-by-step guide for recognizing and responding to our own unconscious biases.

An Introduction to Unconscious Bias (Video, 3:30 min)

A whiteboard video explaining unconscious bias and how to avoid it.

Belonging in the Workplace: A New Approach to Diversity and Inclusivity (Article)

Creating a positive workplace culture, and has a sense of belonging.

Examples of Workplace Micoaggressions (Video, 1:53 min)

Video on examples of racial and ageist microaggressions at work.

Inclusive Remote Meeting Guide

Inclusive leaders understand that inclusion is a priority anytime people are working together, whether in person or remotely. Below are a few articles that can help us stay inclusive during our remote meetings.

Microaggressions: More Than Just Race (Article)

Article about microaggressions and their unintended consequences.

Perfect Guide to Gender Neutral Pronouns (Video, 2:52 min)

It's time to stop assuming gender pronouns - there's a wonderful world beyond the binary.

mypronouns.org

Resources on personal pronouns

Sharing Your Pronouns (Video, 3:06 min)

Video on why people share their name and pronouns and how to do it.

Racial Micoaggressions in Everyday Life (Article)

An article about daily racial microaggressions.

Washington State 2019 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit: View the 2019 DEI Summit presentations and documents

This is Office of Financial Management Website with links to presentations to the 2019  DEI Summit. A summit that is conducted annually.

What are Microaggression? (Video, 1:33 min)

The fact that microaggressions are often subtle can make them harder to shake off than more overt forms of discrimination.

TED Talk: 3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace (Video, 8 min)

We're taught to believe that hard work and dedication will lead to success, but that's not always the case. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation are among the many factors that affect our chances, says writer and advocate Melinda Epler. It's up to each of us to be allies for those who face discrimination. In this actionable talk, Epler shares three ways to support people who are underrepresented in the workplace. "There's no magic wand for correcting diversity and inclusion," she says. "Change happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time."

TED TALK: What does my headscarf mean to you? Yassmin Abdel-Magied (Video, 13:46 min)

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Unconscious bias is a prevalent factor driving culture, causing us all to make assumptions based on our own upbringings and influences. Such implicit prejudice affects everything, and it's time for us to be more thoughtful, smarter, better. In this funny, honest talk, Yassmin Abdel-Magied uses a surprising way to challenge us all to look beyond our initial perceptions.

TED Talk: The Danger of the Single Story: Chimamanda Adichie (Video, 18:34 min)

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

TED Talk: When we design for disability we all benefit: Elise Roy (Video, 13:10 min)

"I believe that losing my hearing was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received," says Elise Roy. As a disability rights lawyer and design thinker, she knows that being Deaf gives her a unique way of experiencing and reframing the world -- a perspective that could solve some of our largest problems. As she says: "When we design for disability first, you often stumble upon solutions that are better than those when we design for the norm.

The Diversity and Inclusion Revolution: Eight Powerful Truths (PDF 2MB) (Article)

An article about the Eight Powerful Truths of DEI. This article talks about the following: