From Adversity To Determination: The Founding Of “All Things Equitable”.
I am pleased to write my first blog post to introduce All Things Equitable Inc., a new management consulting firm in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion arena.
Founded in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, we are one of a few firms assisting employers to hear the cry for equitable treatment at work that is coming from of all historically marginalized groups—workplaces need to be diverse, inclusive, safe and support the mental health and wellbeing of all employees.
Our mission is to provide the best in diversity and inclusion innovation to each organization we work with so that they know how to treat people equitably. And so we go beyond diversity and inclusion and we offer creative solutions for leadership development and employee engagement and education. We provide organizations of all types and sizes with range of services that address inequities and transform workplaces at the root.
We have a thorough understanding of human rights law, equity, and barriers to inclusion and we take an interdisciplinary approach to implementing systemic change. Using a team of experts with lived experiences of marginalization and workplace violence, we specialize in the areas of human rights, accessibility, workplace violence and harassment, and occupational health and safety.
Working with organizations’ senior leaders, we break systemic and attitudinal barriers to inclusion through the assessment of workplace practices, developing workplace policies, aiding legislative compliance and providing training.
I was inspired to start this company by my own first-hand experiences. Even though I have worked primarily in the inclusion arena, I have been bullied and harassed at work. I have been marginalized and ignored.
In these so-called inclusive workplaces, I was passed over for employment opportunities, even though I was the most qualified. Subordinates were disrespectful; they went over my head; and they even openly questioned my qualifications without consequence.
Supervisors have tried to demean and diminish me and denigrate my work product. They called me names behind my back. They told me what I could and could not do as a working woman, including bringing my breast-feeding baby to work conferences and the impossibility of working from home with children (imagine that when everyone is now able to work from home, with children!)
I have been terminated at will and without cause, twice, with nothing but positive performance appraisals in my employment record and when toxic work environments were created by my predecessors. I have been insulted to my face, told I don’t have what it takes, before being walked out the door.
I lost my voice. I let it happen. I did not pipe up. Ever.
But, I knew when the treatment I endured related to the colour of my skin. I knew when the treatment related to my my womanhood or my age. These experiences caused me and my family extreme harm including the mental and emotional trauma that comes with being devalued and the economic fallout of unemployment. And I know I am not alone in these experiences.
Too many people from equity-seeking groups have these and other painful experiences at work. They also know when it relates to their race, sex, sexual orientation, creed, nationality, ability, or other protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
The microaggressions are obvious to them. But, employers have a hard time seeing how the bad behaviours of the people they employ, and often promote to leadership positions, are deeply rooted in the personal phobias and isms their staff have (homophobia, xenophobia, racism, sexism, abelism, etc.) and deeply rooted in the systems their policies and practices support (patriarchy, white supremacy, misogyny, etc.) These workplace behaviours lead to homogeneity, exclusion, workplace violence, oppression and injustice, time and time again.
The Amy Cooper incident in which a white woman attempted to have the police attend at Central Park to deal with a black male bird watcher was particularly triggering for me. She feigned fear when he spoke to her and asked her to leash her dog. But, she felt like he had no authority to tell her what to do. She was not scared of him. She felt like he did not belong in that part of the park and wanted him gone by any means.
The fact that she could, at any moment, lie and have such extreme consequences affect his black life, reminded me of my own experiences. It reminded me of the times when a white superior or subordinate went to Human Resources staff, with opinions about me, to question whether or not I belonged where I was and to also have me removed. The power and privilege to inflict harm on my black life was too easily used, like it was in Central Park and like it was with George Floyd.
And so I founded All Things Equitable Inc., to participate in the current movement toward racial equity. So that I am not an onlooker to the cries of historically marginalized people but I am using my voice as a participant in systemic changes in society.
I believe in belonging and justice for all people and so knowing that black people are not alone in having these experiences, it was only right to broaden the scope of my new endeavor to address the inequities in workplaces for all equity-seeking groups.
I am hopeful that this movement for change will incite workplaces to make meaningful improvements. I look forward to working with employers to make system-wide improvements to policies, procedures and practices to achieve equity for all.
Work with us. We make it easy to be equitable.
About Janelle Benjamin: Janelle Benjamin, B.A., J.D., is the Founder & Chief Equity Officer of All Things Equitable Inc. addressing systemic change for equity-seeking groups in the workplace. Learn more about Janelle.
