Shifting Perspectives: How the Next Generation Embraces Inclusivity

The clip episode delves into the ongoing transformation regarding identity in the workplace, especially the role pronouns play in building inclusive environments. 

It reflects on the noticeable shifts toward more accepting and diverse workspaces without merely adhering to compliance.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Changes in Identity
• 19:47 Positive Developments and Trends
• 43:25 Companies Embracing Compassion Over Compliance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Things are changing now. All of us have had experiences like that and will continue to, because we still live in a very messed up world, but what positive things have you seen that have been more inclusive, more accepting or more even questioning or asking what our preferred name is or what our preferred pronouns are? What have you seen that's been positive?

Speaker 2: 0:22

Yeah, now looking at the statistics in California, 27% of the youth in California according to the Williams Institute in 2019 that came out identified as gender non-binary. The numbers are going up every day and even if you look at in 2030, the workforce is going to be 75% of the workforce is going to be millennials and Gen Zs. We are looking at a revolution where people are coming out of not just a process issue, a technology issue, but also a people issue. They never had people issues so far. Covid disrupted the whole industry. It disrupted the whole world, where people have started telling the companies that this is how I'm going to work. You want to figure it out? So companies are now thinking about what they can do proactively. They are trying to hire trans folks. I'm working with a company today to implement pronouns. It's a $26 billion pharmaceutical in California and I'm trying to bring in the pronouns and I see that everyone is willing to use pronouns.

Speaker 2: 1:29

But unfortunately, according to the Pew statistics, 48% of the Americans are still not comfortable using pronouns because they see what is on the top Bathroom. They only hear bathroom pronouns, bathroom sports pronouns. They don't see under the surface how much we have struggled, homeless, you know, going through mental health issues, going through incarceration issues uh, every area of our life we've been going through all these issues and they don't see what is the root cause of the reason why people are different. Companies are changing, but I would say that, um, I see a lot of change in the media industry also.

Speaker 2: 2:03

The way in which ads have come. It's always demeaning to the trans community. We've been portrayed as you know, drag queens or having a fishnet stock or just kissing someone. It's always about that. I want to see trans entrepreneurs in the media industry. I want to see entrepreneurs, ceos, being portrayed in the media industry. I want to see astronauts who are trans in the media industry. I want to see astronauts who are trans in the media industry. And that's the way we want to change things. It's happening, but I'm glad that the younger generation is able to change that. For the Gen X and boomers and I'm so hopeful that that's going the gender expansive community is much more on fire than my generation. My daughter is much more open to being an advocate for me than me. You know she talks about this she's 22 years old.

Speaker 2: 2:58

I came out when she was 12. But I see that kind of change and to me, that is very encouraging, that the future generation, they're all thinking and they are all changing the way in which companiesormative. They have a lot more to do and it's not about compliance in the companies anymore, it's about compassion over compliance. It's not about compliance, because compliance is important and they need to look at gender, non-binary in 2023 in your Equal Employment Opportunity Act, you need to add all that information. But it's also important not just to create a business value while you're adding a trans person. Look at the human value.

Speaker 2: 3:54

And that's what I try to advocate for and that's what I see companies doing is hey, if we hire, we are much better than our peers, we are innovative, we are productive. So they create a business case. Then I always tell them keep the business case to the CEO, get the funding, get the approval. When you execute it, you want to make sure the employees are transparent. You want to tell the entire employees that we are doing this intentionally to create a change in our workforce, to have a psychological, safe environment. That's the kind of workforce we are looking at, not just checking boxes. You know, black, asian, american. That needs to go away. I hope there will be one day when you don't have to check any of the race and ethnicity boxes. It's like human being, you know, it's like human being being.

Speaker 1: 4:40

You know it's like a human being Human, people right People, people yeah.