Diversity and Inclusion Module 1

D&I and 5 Pillars of the Girl Driven Experience

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Agenda

•  Welcome + Housekeeping.

•  Land acknowledgement

•  Check In

•  Community Commitments

•  Learning Objectives

•  Module Content

•  Check Out

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Land Acknowledgment

We begin today by acknowledging that the land on

which we are holding this session is the traditional

territory of many Indigenous peoples, both recorded

and unrecorded.

GGC is committed to centering Indigenous people in

our work, particularly as that work relates to diversity

and inclusion.

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Check In

•  Your Name (and gender pronouns, if you choose)

•  Your role with GGC

•  How you are feeling today (try to go beyond ‘tired’ or

‘fine’)

•  What you hope to get from today’s session.

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Community Commitments

What commitments can we make to each other to co-

create a safe space for our learning today?

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Learning Objectives

• Define diversity, inclusion, and other key words and concepts.

• Summarize the key qualities and features of the 5 pillars of the girl driven approach

• Utilize the 5 Pillars to cultivate a unit that is both diverse and inclusive

• Understand your role as Guiders in identifying and addressing barriers and challenges to diversity and inclusion for the benefit of the unit.

By the end of this module you will be able to:

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Who is the Girl Guide? The Girl-driven

Create an avatar of a Spark, Brownie, Guide, Pathfinder, Ranger, that best describes, in as much detail, a girl in your unit. Give the avatar a name and last name and introduce them to the group, providing whatever background information you deem necessary for your avatar to participate in a unit.

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The Girl-Driven experience The Girl-driven

Girl-driven, in the context of D&I, means: •  Every girl feels as a sense of belonging

•  Every girl is accepted for who she is.

•  Every girl has positive experiences that affirm her

identity

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What is Diversity? The Girl-driven

From WAGGGS: Diversity is what differentiates each one of us - a mix of many different dimensions including; identity, skill, appearance, abilities, and other characteristics of any group including how we think, what we value and the backgrounds and experiences that shape our perspectives. It refers to the level of difference represented within any group. It’s important to remember that while some of these dimensions are visible, many are not.

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What is Inclusion? The Girl-driven

From WAGGGS: Inclusion is a belief and a practice. Inclusive practices value that people of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, perspectives, and beliefs should have an equal opportunity to belong, achieve, and contribute to their community(ies). Inclusion requires people to value, respect, and accept diversity.

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GGC D&I Commitments and Principles

Small Group Discussion: What is one commitment or principle that stands out to you? Have you seen these commitments or principles at work in your units, or in the work you do for GGC? Large Group Discussion: Why does the D&I department need commitments and principles? How can you use these commitments and principles to guide your work with GGC?

Large Group Discussion •  List the various aspects or range of differences in the avatar

unit. (This highlights the diversity in your unit) •  List active ways in which the unit is inclusive. (This

highlights inclusive practices already in use) •  List the values of the unit that enhance/create a culture of

inclusion. (This highlights the D&I approach as cultural practice)

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Explore Diversity in your Avatar Unit

Without an intersectional lens, events and movements that aim to address injustice towards one group may end up perpetuating systems of inequities towards other groups.

It takes into account people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of barriers and challenges they might face.

Intersectionality is a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of simultaneous discriminations and disadvantages.

It enlightens us to socioeconomic disparities among people of color, provides pathways for Guiders to understand identity, and is crucial to the advocacy work GGC supports.

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Considering Intersectionality in D&I Units

Research shows that there are multiple gains for girls in diverse and inclusive environments. 1.  It makes a girl smarter because she learns to look at

things from diverse perspectives, and to relate with difference in a positive way. She will also be more adaptive in situations of change. (How Diversity Makes Us Smarter).

2.  Deep-level diversity, in particular, enhances creativity. Why diversity is the mother of creativity.

3.  Makes collaboration and engagement for ALL members easier. Waiter, Is that Inclusion in my Soup?

What does research reveal?

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Why do we need D&I in our units?

A culture is a way of life demonstrated by a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along through communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture is symbolic communication. 15

What is culture?

What if one of these girls joined your avatar unit?

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Why Culture Matters

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BREAK

1.  Co-create safe space

2.  Foster a growth mindset

3.  Embrace a positive identity

4.  Encourage leadership

5.  Connect with community

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How to cultivate a culture of diversity & inclusion: The 5 Pillars

Excerpt from GGC’s Safe Space Learning Module: When in a safe space, girls: •  Feel supported, respected and able

to be themselves •  Can be silly and have fun without

feeling self-conscious •  Explore their values and perspectives

knowing they will be taken seriously •  Share personal stories and emotional

experiences without feeling judged •  Are willing to try new things, make

mistakes and take risks

Dictionary Synonyms/ Definitions: •  Protected from •  Not exposed to •  Sheltered •  Guarded •  Sitting pretty. •  Reliable •  Unharmed •  Protected •  Innocent •  Non-toxic •  Untouched •  Cautious

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Safe Space in a diverse and inclusive unit

1.  Ensure everyone understands the meaning of ‘safe space’ by discussing and agreeing on a standard of safety. Use the GGC definition to agree on the unit’s definition of safety.

2.  Agree on how anyone feeling unsafe can advocate for a solution-focused discussion about their safety.

3.  Agree on acceptable responses to incidents or occurrences where a member expresses feeling unsafe.

4.  Check in regularly with each other. Debrief after an incident.

5.  Evaluate your group’s safety standards periodically to ensure the standards are still effective.

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Co-creating a safe space

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Creating a safety statement

Using the definition of Safe Space provided in the glossary as a starting point, in groups of 3-4, create a

safety statement for the avatar unit.

When creating your safety statement, ensure you are

using language everyone in the unit can understand.

Is it Nature over Nurture in GGC? Over 30 years ago, Carol Dweck coined two terms: Fixed Mindset: when people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are fixed traits. Growth Mindset: when people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through learning, commitment, and hard work.

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Growth Mindset in a diverse and inclusive unit

Growth can … •  Be difficult and painful. •  Be an on-going process. •  Require support and authentic relationships. •  Help us advance or progress through stages in

life, school, career, relationship etc. •  Require sacrifice. •  Come in forms we didn’t expect or want, e.g.

failure. •  Make us wiser and more knowledgeable. •  Look and feel different for individuals.

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How does GGC help girls and Guiders grow?

Explore a moment where growth was difficult or painful for you. •  What made it difficult/painful? •  Can you imagine the alternative to growth? •  Are there things you have sacrificed in your life in favour of

growth? •  Can you pinpoint a time where the growth started or ended? •  Who helped you through the process? •  How did you benefit from growing? •  Did someone else benefit from your personal growth?

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Reflecting on Growth

1.  A girl must be able to express her identity so that others

can relate with her in an authentic manner.

2.  It is critical that a girl knows herself so that others can

know her.

3.  Identity starts with self-understanding but also requires

understanding the society with which one is connected.

4.  GGC helps girls get to know themselves and others,

thereby building the identities of girls.

True or False in a Diverse and Inclusive Unit?

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Exploring Identity in a diverse and inclusive unit

GGC Statement on positive identity in the 5 Pillars: Girls’ authentic and evolving identities are celebrated and nurtured within an environment that values difference as much as it values the unifying aspects of girls’ and women's identities.

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Positive Identity in a diverse and inclusive unit

Leading Directing Authorizing, Guiding Managing Superintending, Supervising, Organizing, Governing, Orchestrating, Initiating, Influencing

Power Dominance Supremacy Hegemony Ruling/reign Dictate Monopolize Domineer Eclipse Overrule Subjugate Conquer Tame Reduce Control

What does it mean for a Guider to be a leader?

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Shared leadership in a diverse and inclusive unit

1.  Self Awareness 2.  Active and responsive listening 3.  Giving your best, and serving others so they can be their best

(Based on Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership Theory) 4. Coaching (and mentoring) 5. Focusing on what’s important – the GIRLS are the reason for

GGC.

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How to lead in a diverse and inclusive unit

What is community? •  A group of actually or potentially interacting people living in the

same location. •  A group bound together by a shared environment and a

network of influence each group/person has on the other. •  A group of people having particular characteristics in common. •  A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing

common attitudes, interests, and goals.

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Connecting with community

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Home GGC

GGC

Home

School

GGC

Girl

The Girl’s Community

1. Draw a diagram that best represents the different communities to which your avatar is connected. Include sports and other recreational communities; religious communities; formal (school) or informal (her BFFs). 2. Draw a similar diagram for the GGC unit.

GGC

GGC 31

The Girl’s Community

Discussion Questions 1.Who did you include in your girl’s community? 2.How or in what ways might you facilitate the integration and or inclusion of multiple communities into your girl’s experience of guiding? 3.Who did you include in the unit community? 4.How might you expand the community surrounding each unit?

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The D&I Pledge

Diversity and Inclusion Module 2

Identity and Bias Awareness

Learning Objectives

• Describe how identity and social location determine the degree of societal privilege and power an individual/group possesses

• Explain the formation, harm, and impact of biases and assumptions

•  Identify bias mitigation tools • Practice applying bias mitigation tools

and feel confident using these tools

By the end of this module you will be able to:

Identity The Girl-driven

•  The characteristics that determine who a person is

•  The ways we define and

categorize ourselves and other people

•  There are different dimensions

of identity (race, education, religion, gender, ability, age, sexuality, etc.)

Social Location

Our identity position in relation the ‘dominant’ identity: •  Privilege: A set of benefits, usually unearned,

given to a group of people who fit into a specific social group.

•  Power: Access to earned and unearned

privileges, and therefore more opportunities that others do not have.

•  Marginalization: The process by which an

entire social group is prevented from or limited in full participation in society (i.e. pushed to the fringes or ‘margins’ of society).

Identity & Social Location

Our identities affect the way we interact with the world, and the way the world interacts with us.

Bias and Assumptions

Bias: •  a pre-judgement in favour of or against one

thing, person, or group of people compared with another, usually in a way that is considered to be unfair.

Implicit or unconscious bias: •  biases or stereotypes we hold without our

conscious mind being aware of them. These are messages we receive from different social institutions such as media, education and our families.

Assumptions: •  Things we accept as true without proof

Mitigation Tools

Acknowledging and examining personal bias

Challenging assumptions

Engaging in consciousness raising and critical questioning

Mitigation Strategy #1 What does acknowledging and examining personal bias look, feel, and sound like?

pausing and reflecting on how your identity and lived experience shape your perspectives and behaviour; noticing that your perspectives and behaviour are not always objective or impartial

eye-opening, surprising, sometimes uncomfortable

“when I encounter difference, what are my immediate thoughts and behaviours?”; “are my thoughts and behaviours in line with my values?”; “how does my identity and past experiences influence the way that I think and behave?”

Mitigation Strategy #2 What does challenging assumptions look, feel, and sound like?

probing into and unpacking (analyzing) specific views, judgements, and assessments that you encounter

curious, thought-provoking, enlightening

“what makes you say that?”; “tell me more about that”; “what am I basing this on?”; “what if this isn’t true?”

Mitigation Strategy #3 What does engaging in consciousness-raising and critical questioning look, feel, and sound like?

becoming aware of equity issues from a historical and structural perspective, asking questions about “why” and sharing information with others

empowering, emotional, connecting

I ask, “why did this happen/ is this happening?” when I see or hear about unfair situations; “how can I contribute to more equitable outcomes?”

Let’s Practice

Group Brainstorm From the perspective of an ACL how can we use these learnings (about identity, social location, power, and

privilege) to help make Guiding more inclusive?

Unpacking and Mitigating Personal Bias Roleplay

Let’s Practice

Scenario 1: Your unit includes a few girls who receive subsidies in order to become members of Girls Guides. You notice that a Guider in your unit seems to limit her engagement with these girls or fails to validate their lived experiences.

Scenario 2: Your unit was invited to do a bridging activity with a unit located in a different community. You are a bit hesitant about participating because they’ve heard there’s a lot of crime there and think it might be dangerous. You want to decline the invitation.

Check Out

1.  What is one thing you will commit to doing after this session?

2.  How will you practice self-care after this session?

3.  Evaluations

4.  Good bye!

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Thank you