Final thoughts on diversity and inclusion in the workplace

It's for the last time that I do something that's been a regular part of my life for more than eight years — write my Diversity Diva freelance column that has run regularly in the Kansas City Star.

It's time. For personal reasons — mostly good — that I believe this is no longer mine to do.

My idea was to create a column that addressed the diversity and inclusion issues that address the workplace. As a former employment attorney who helped represent a lot of companies that had to defend discrimination suits, I knew many people deal with these issues every day.

As the author of "Working While Black” and “Diversity Code” I knew many employees deal with the flip of these issues every day also.

My aim in my columns was to be thoughtful, fair and pragmatic. Based on the reception I received over the years, I think I mostly hit my mark, even as workplace issues accelerated and sometimes got more confusing.

But when I look at what is going on in our country, right now, as a columnist, I'm weary of addressing diversity issues just through the lens of workplace issues.

Frankly, a lot of organizations are either bored, irritated or intimidated by the subject of diversity and inclusion.

They are bored because they see it as removed from the financial bottom line, or as having nothing to do directly with the goods or services they provide.

Or they are irritated because the subject seems more of a moral imperative where people feel subjected to the criticism that they are not trying hard enough.

For some companies, they are intimidated because they feel the benefits of valuing diversity and inclusion work don't outweigh the uncomfortable hornets’ nest that come from addressing issues head on.

Personally and professionally I get all the responses — simple, unchanging solutions to concrete issues are easier to focus on. But people skills and people management have never been simple matters.

But that isn't what creating a work environment that works is about. Just like with health and safety issues, dealing with differences is an ongoing concern with ongoing benefits.

Special thanks to Donna Vestal, Greg Hack and Steve Rosen who are the editors that nurtured and nudged me over the years. And thanks to readers who always made what I wrote about feel relevant and necessary and worthy of the thought that true change, true equity requires.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Final thoughts on diversity and inclusion in the workplace."