"The Perspective" is a monthly publication of the Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Task Force, comprised of approximately 30 representatives with a passion for sharing information and learning best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce.

Goal Statement from the Chamber Business Plan:

• Leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance diversity and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions.
• Provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations.
• Become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.

Task Force Chair: Wesley Escondo, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Wisconsin
Staff Liaison: Kaylynn Stahlbusch, Workforce and Program Director

On January 25, UW-Eau Claire hosted the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee of the Wisconsin Speaker’s Task Force on Racial Disparities, with COVID-19 mitigation protocols in place for all campus visitors. While WisEye.org—the state public affairs network—was not able to attend and broadcast the hearing, UW-Eau Claire’s Event Production Crew and Learning & Technology Services teams were able to record and edit a hearing video for WisEye to rebroadcast.
 
The full subcommittee hearing video is now available on WisEye.org. Note: You may be asked to create a free account in order to view this recording.
 
The subcommittee heard testimony from Wesley Escondo, the Chamber’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair, and Kaylynn Stahlbusch the Vice President of Workforce Initiatives. Testimony included an evolution of the Chamber’s Taskforce which started in 2017. Chair Escondo took time to detail the Taskforce structure, initiatives and upcoming plans for the subcommittee to learn and share best practices in the Chippewa Valley.
 
A complete list of participating organizations were:

• University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
• Rural school and science of reading advocates;
• the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce EDI Task Force;
• the Hmong American Leadership and Economic Development organization;
• El Centro de Conexión de Chippewa Valley; and
• the Chippewa Valley Housing Task Force.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to serve the community and drive change in two governmental organizations? Join us! We are currently accepting applications for an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator! This is a newly funded City position, but is shared 50% of the time with Eau Claire County performing similar services. This position is responsible for: developing, overseeing, and implementing a comprehensive equity, diversity, and inclusion plan that aligns with the City and County strategic objectives and goals; developing and implementing diversity initiatives and strategies to attract, hire, and maintain a diverse workplace; promoting a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse community; adding value to other factors that ensure our organizations are an Employer of Choice, and more!
 
The ideal candidate must have: a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources or related field; a minimum of five years of Human Resources or related experience; a minimum of five years of professional work experience in workplace diversity, equity, inclusion, and culture; have the ability to manage and build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, internally and externally; have strong analytical skills and the ability to translate metrics, research, and trends into strategy; excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, project management, and organizational skills; and knowledge of EEOC, Affirmative Action and Compliance. A Master’s Degree and SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP is preferred.
 
The city of Eau Claire (pop. 68,000), is a university community in west central Wisconsin, located about 90 miles east of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. The City operates under the Council-Manager form of government. Although our community economy was once dominated by the lumber trade, Eau Claire is now a regional center for education, medical services, business, and cultural/musical events.
 
Salary range is $75,135.22 to $87,513.09 annually, plus excellent fringe benefits. Application Deadline: Open until filled, with the first review of applications on March 1, 2021. Online application, position profile, and full job description available at www.eauclairewi.gov/jobs. Equal Opportunity Employer.

The 21 Week Equity Challenge is an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and communities.

• Participants will receive an email at the beginning of each week from Monday, February 1st through Monday, June 21st. 
• Weekly topics take participants through a journey that starts with understanding internalized racism and explores how racism permeates person-to-person interactions, institutions and social structures.
• The experience is intended to deepen understanding, suggest ways to take action, and help launch what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to improving equity and inclusion in our communities.

Individuals are encouraged to take on the challenge themselves, or form groups for discussion and reflection.

​Joining Our Neighbors Advancing Hope is a non-partisan organization using grassroots organizing to bring people in the Chippewa Valley together around social injustice and inequity to empower them to build a more just and healthy community for all.

​Uniting Bridges combines the forces of many local organizations advocating on behalf of under-represented groups in the Chippewa Valley.

Black/Multicultural Hair and Skin-Care Drive
Feb. 1-29
Office of Multicultural Affairs, Centennial Hall 1108, 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.The Black Student Alliance and the African Student Association will conduct a monthlong donation drive to collect black/multicultural hair and skin products. Meeting the culturally specific hair and skin needs for adopted or foster youth in the area is important and these items will help families and caregivers to access necessary products and resources. Only new and unopened products can be accepted.

Black Organization Showcase
Feb. 7, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 
Centennial Hall 1931 The Office of Multicultural Affairs invites you to the Black Organization Showcase, a program highlighting UW-Eau Claire's black student-serving organizations. Come out to learn about exciting programs the groups are planning, as well as ways to get involved.

Black History Month Trivia
Feb. 10, 7 p.m. 
Centennial Hall 1931 Come by to test your knowledge of achievements and historic moments in black history, culture and traditions. 

Barbershop Talk
Feb. 11, noon-3 p.m.
Centennial Hall 1931This afternoon of free haircuts and important conversation over societal issues, politics, values and life morals will rejuvenate and empower. Sponsored by the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Student Affairs and of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Blugold Dialogue: Conversation Around Race in Predominantly White Institutions
Feb. 13, 4 p.m.
Centennial Hall 1704This dialogue aims to unpack how institutional conversations and inaction within predominantly white institutions of higher  education perpetuate the actual silence of racial dialogues they purport to advance. This discussion is intended to move institutional actors from notions of tacit verbalism to stentorian motives of praxis.

Film: 'Black Girl in Suburbia'
Feb. 17, 6 p.m.
Woodland Theater, Davies Center This documentary film examines the experiences of black girls growing up in predominantly white communities. For many black girls raised in the suburbs, the experiences of going to school, playing on the playground and living day-to-day life can be uniquely alienating. “Black Girl in Suburbia” looks at the suburbs of America from the perspective of women of color. Director Melissa Lowery is a mother of two young girls in the Portland, Oregon, area, and currently serves as the director for diversity and inclusion at Jesuit High School in Portland. 

Harambee (Black History Month Celebration)
Feb. 20, 5 p.m. 
Ojibwe Ballroom, Davies Center Join us for a dynamic program to celebrate Black History Month, which will include musical performances and recognition of special contributions and accomplishments of students, faculty and staff. Dinner and event program sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the African Student Association and the Black Student Alliance. 

All Black Everything (Wear all black in solidarity with the Black Student Alliance)
Leaders Igniting Transformation: the Future is Young, Black, Brown and Lit
Feb. 24, 7 p.m.
Centennial Hall 1931 Join us to learn about black history within the UW System and the power of black thought leaders in the state. 

Special Forum Event: Ibram X. Kendi: 'How to be an Antiracist'
Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. 
Schofield AuditoriumKendi is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices. His deeply personal and empowering lecture, "How to Be an Antiracist," aims to help audiences actively trying to understand racism in new ways, with open minds and from new perspectives. Kendi offers concrete ways for individuals and institutions to create an antiracist community. Tickets available online and at the Service Center. View related story.
The official sponsors of UW-Eau Claire's Black History Month are the Division for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Student Affairs, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Black Student Alliance.

​Get inspired. Get motivated. Get stories of Black history made and in the making. Noire Histoir features Black history facts, literature, and motivational stories from across the Black diaspora. Join Natasha McEachron as she celebrates Black pride, excellence, and power all 366 days of the year.

​In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

​In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
 
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

​Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

​A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.

When: All of February 
Price: Free

The Black Artists + Designers Guild is thrilled to unveil the OBSIDIAN EXPERIENCE, a month-long exploration with the Obsidian Virtual Concept House, and live discussions designed to invite conversations about home as a place of thriving for one million Black families. Throughout February, the virtual concept house will evolve to shine a light on how space forms the foundation for physical, social, emotional, and creative well-being. Guided by the belief that Black futures are equitable, sustainable, and liberatory, we have created virtual spaces that manifest our collective imaginations.

When: February 26 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST
Price: Free

Test your knowledge and have some fun at Game Night with host Alex TreBlack (aka Professor Clyde Ledbetter) as we explore Black history and popular culture facts presented in a Jeopardy style format. Hosted by 1 Resource Service Corporation.

When: February 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST
Price: Free

​Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum in honoring Black History Month with a Wikipedia edit-a-thon. Learn how to edit and create new Wikipedia articles highlighting the breadth and depth of artworks and the lives of Black artists in America. All levels of technological proficiency welcome.

​"The Perspective" is a monthly publication of the Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Task Force, comprised of approximately 30 representatives with a passion for sharing information and learning best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce.

Goal Statement from the Chamber Business Plan:

• Leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance diversity and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions.
• Provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations.
• Become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.

Task Force Chair: Wesley Escondo, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Wisconsin
Staff Liaison: Kaylynn Stahlbusch, Workforce and Program Director

The Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce announced it is partnering in a national initiative with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to address inequality of opportunity, an extension of the work of its local Diversity & Inclusion Task Force. 

 "Recent events around the country reinforce what we know: Inequality and violence tears apart communities and we must do better," notes the Chamber in a statement released today and signed by President & CEO Dave Minor.

"The Eau Claire Area Chamber values diversity and practices inclusion within our membership. For the continued advancement of these efforts, we champion equal access and equity of opportunity through the intentional inclusion of all. Further, we encourage and provide leadership and resources to our membership of chamber professionals and the community.  However, it will take leadership at every level – national, state, local, community, and citizen – to move forward in an inclusive and productive way."

Click here to read the full statement

In announcing the national effort, US Chamber President Suzanne Clark said her organization “believes that the moral case for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is indisputable, and there’s overwhelming evidence that greater diversity benefits the American economy, businesses, communities and employees."

"We know what a job means to a family and to a community," Clark continued. "We will leverage our expertise and relationships to help develop solutions that will enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in our economic system." she said. “We are proud to partner with the Eau Claire Chamber on this initiative and help develop a robust plan of action.” 

The national initiative gives the Chamber an opportunity to enhance and extend the efforts of its Diversity & Inclusion Task Force, which was formed in 2016 and is chaired by Wes Escondo of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Wisconsin. Its goal is to share information and learn best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce. It works to leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions; provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations; and to become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.

June 25 National Town Hall: The Eau Claire Chamber will join the U.S. Chamber’s national townhall event on June 25 where business and community leaders will discuss concrete actions that can be taken by government and the private sector to address inequality through education, employment, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice reform. We'll share details when they become available.

More information:
A message to the business community and those we serve (Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce)
U.S. Chamber Launches National Initiative to Address Inequality of Opportunity (US Chamber of Commerce)

Research shows that inclusive workplaces make better companies—but how does an organization engage in building a diverse and inclusive culture?

Explore the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace and how diversity will impact your company.

This FREE one-hour webinar includes information on:

• Learning how to get your D&I initiative started.
  
• Finding out how building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace will positively impact the growth of your business.
  
• Understanding how diversity outreach is both good business and good for our communities

A Conference on Building Communities of Equity and Opportunity

This conference will bring together individuals and organizations from multiple sectors across Wisconsin to address the most persistent barriers to inclusion, what is working, and what is promising on the horizon.

​The 2021 Toward One Wisconsin Conference will be held in Eau Claire, WI!

Rescheduled for November 12-13, 2020
Radisson Hotel and Conference Center
2040 Airport Drive
Green Bay, WI 54313

Where is your organization on its Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) journey? While each organization makes its own unique path, there are recognizable milestones and valuable steps for moving forward.

MRA hosts an annual D&I Leadership conference to bring together thought leaders, community leaders, and D&I leaders to explore initiatives, share best practices, and engage in critical conversations.

As a result of the recent 2019 D&I conference, organizations that are in the Valuing stage of their D&I journey — where a vision is outlined but more needs to be done to make D&I part of the everyday culture — shared their insights on how they are incorporating D&I into policies and values, cultivating an attitude of respect and dignity, and providing education and awareness.

​Here’s what they shared:

Bias interrupters are small adjustments to your existing systems. They should not require you to abandon systems currently in place.
​

TOOLS FOR ORGANIZATIONS. Incremental steps that improve diversity in your organization can yield large gains. Diverse work groups perform better and are more committed, innovative and loyal. Gender diverse workgroups have better collective intelligence, which improves performance by the group and its members, leading to better financial performance. Racially diverse workgroups consider a broader range of alternatives, make better decisions, and are better at solving problems. Bias, if unchecked, affects many different groups: modest or introverted men, LGBT+, individuals with disabilities, class migrants (professionals from non-professional backgrounds), women, and people of color. We’ve distilled the huge literature on bias into simple steps that help you and your company perform better.

The toolkit covers The Challenge and provides The Solution with instruction of metrics, and implementation, along with PDF resources to utilize in the process.

• Performance Evaluations
• Hiring & Recruiting
• Assignments
• Meetings
• Compensation

Project SEARCH is a 9 month program which provides training and education leading to integrated and competitive employment for youth with disabilities. Project SEARCH is based on a collaberation that includes a local business, school district, DVR, disability services agencies and family.  Mayo Clinic Health System has hosted Project SEARCH interns for three years, with 33 interns successfully completing the program. Five Project SEARCH graduates are currently working with Mayo Clinic Health System or Morrison Healthcare. Project SEARCH graduates are also working at businesses in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and Bloomer. All partners are vital to the success of the program.

Local demonstrations continued in response to the the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as increased public dialogue included the release of an open letter to the community from Eau Claire City Manager Dale Peters and Police Chief Matt Rokus. 

Local reaction included a rally and march that drew more than 1,000 people. 
​
The letter from Peters and Rokus included the following: "We stand as a partner against police brutality, as a partner against violence and are committed to strengthening trust within our community. Trust is built through our individual and institutional actions. Trust is displayed by honoring our community values of integrity, compassion, commitment and transparency. Trust is furthered by making certain we hire police officers who reflect our community, have the right ethical qualities and care about others. Trust is strengthened by properly training our officers, ensuring accountability and listening to and responding to community concerns. Trust is realized when we work together as a community to solve problems, ensure safety and security, and make Eau Claire a better place for all, regardless of our differences."
​
More information:
Eau Claire Police Chief, City Manager Write Open Letter to the Community (Volume One)
Thousands march downtown, rally in Phoenix Park (Leader-Telegram$)
Thousands gather Friday for Black Lives Matter rally and protest (WEAU 13 News)
'Against Everything I Stand For': Police Chiefs Decry Violence Against George Floyd (WPR)
Protesters have demanded police departments be 'defunded.' Tony Evers says that goes too far. (Marshfield News-Herald)
Healing Our Nation Starts at the Community Level (Quint Studer, Strong Towns)
Note on article links: A subscription is required for those marked with "$"

“If we move into a space that we can live every day being an anti-racist person in everything that we do, we can really make this place a more safe and wonderful community for all of us to live.” – Brooke Jee-in Newmaster, Eau Claire.
​
When Volume One’s “Turn of the Decade” feature was posted in January with videos and quotes of community members discussing the 10 years ahead of us, nobody knew just how bad the start to this decade would become. But threaded throughout those thoughts were actionable ideas about what we can do as individuals, and what we can do as a community, to foster more ethnic and racial diversity and actively seek equity for all people. For more from this project, visit http://VolumeOne.org/decade

BUSINESS DIVERSITY.

Despite the absence of mandated contracting goals for other than small businesses, Treasury Departmental Offices’ commitment to minority-owned and women-owned business (MWOB) utilization has remained strong. In FY 2019, Treasury Departmental Offices’ total procurement contracts for goods and services represented $329 million in obligations (with 1,754 contract actions), with over one-third (34 percent) of contract dollars totaling $112 million going to either minority-owned or women-owned businesses. A total of $82 million, or 25 percent of total contract obligations, was awarded to minority-owned businesses. A total of $76 million, or 23 percent of total contract obligations, was awarded to women-owned businesses of all sizes. Among the small business categories, contract obligations to small disadvantaged businesses represented 6 percent of all Departmental Offices contracts; and contract obligations to women owned small businesses represented 17 percent – both above the 5 percent statutory goal.

Since OMWI first began tracking MWOB contracting in 2011, there has been an almost steady upward trajectory in MWOB utilization. The percentage and dollar amounts of minority-owned business and women-owned business contract obligations by Treasury Departmental Offices were among the highest ever in FY19. These achievements were accomplished without mandated goals as incentives for other than specific small business categories. With such strong performance in the utilization of minorityowned and women-owned businesses in FY 2019, it is difficult to propose or predict challenges.

​However, with the implementation of category management strategies as a recent directive for the government-wide acquisition community, there remains the potential for a negative impact on contracting with minority-owned and women-owned businesses as an unintended consequence, particularly in specific industries where such businesses are not abundantly present. Therefore, even though no particular challenge in this regard was noted in FY 2019 for the second consecutive, this is an area where continued monitoring will be important

​A message to the business community and those we serve:

Recent events around the country reinforce what we know: Inequality and violence tears apart communities and we must do better.

The Eau Claire Area Chamber values diversity and practices inclusion within our membership. For the continued advancement of these efforts, we champion equal access and equity of opportunity through the intentional inclusion of all. Further, we encourage and provide leadership and resources to our membership of chamber professionals and the community.  However, it will take leadership at every level – national, state, local, community, and citizen – to move forward in an inclusive and productive way.

Our community has rallied to support and care for one another but again, there is no doubt we must do better. The Chamber acknowledges that unconscious bias and prejudices help to create structural impediments to systemic change. Furthermore, we pledge to build on our work supporting economic growth across the Chippewa Valley. We will lead with civility, justice, and an intentional approach to delivering systemic change.

In July 2016, the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce Diversity & Inclusion Task Force was formed with this goal in mind:
To share information and learn best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce.

The task force will continue to carry out its mission by doing the following:

• Leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions.
• Provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations.
• Become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.
  
  

The Eau Claire Area Chamber recognizes the key role the business community must play in bringing about sustained change. To that end we have signed onto the U.S. Chamber National Initiative on Inequality of Opportunity, we will engage by driving work in our local community to improve the equality of opportunity. We invite you to join us.

​The Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Task Force is comprised of approximately 30 representatives with a passion for sharing information and learning best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce.

Goal Statement from the Chamber Business Plan:

• Leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance diversity and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions.
• Provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations.
• Become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.

​Volume One: Networking events can be “transactional,” according to Mai Xiong. There are unspoken rules and expectations, and one must understand what they are in order to make connections with others. It can be a very high-pressure environment, especially for people who are new to the area or those who come from cultures that have only been in the United States for one or two generations, Xiong said.

Xiong is the president of Hmong American Leadership & Economic Development, an organization that aims to promote economic prosperity for Hmong Americans through education, networking, and elevating social equity.

“It’s who you know and your initiative to really talk to people,” Xiong said. “It’s really challenging because in marginalized communities and communities like ours where networking is so new – it’s 40 years new to us … It’s very intimidating.”

"It’s really challenging because in marginalized communities and communities like ours where networking is so new – it’s 40 years new to us – it’s very intimidating." – Mai Xiong, president of Hmong American Leadership & Economic Development
The organization, known as HALED, is in its early stages. Presently, it is focusing on providing structured, fun, and diverse networking opportunities in the Eau Claire area. Events are free to attend, breaking down one potential economic barrier, and feature icebreaking activities to ease attendees into their new relationships.

“The main purpose of why we do these is so that we can help folks expand their networks beyond their current circles and really take the initiative to learn about other folks, other communities, cultures, and all that good stuff,” Xiong said.

In the coming months, HALED will begin to offer low-cost or free classes and workshops in financial literacy. Offerings will focus on taxes, business lending, savings, homeownership, retirement, investment, and more, and will do so in a way that relates the skills and practices necessary for success in the Midwest to cultural practices and values of Hmong people.

Not every approach to financial growth works for every person, Xiong said, so HALED’s classes will help find approaches that function for Hmong people.Classes will be open to anyone, providing the general Eau Claire population to learn financial literacy skills while developing awareness of other cultures and communities in the area.

All of these efforts are designed to address what Xiong and the organization’s treasurer, Mai Houa Moua, have identified as an increasing number of young Hmong college graduates leaving the Eau Claire area because of a lack of opportunity. Many Hmong, Xiong said, find it difficult to transition from a manufacturing or front-of-house role into a supervisory position or higher, and providing resources to develop networking and financial skills will help bridge the gap.

HALED is in the process of developing a membership program with an annual donation in order to fund its efforts. It complements the efforts of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, Xiong said. While the association provides support for Hmong residents to meet their essential needs, HALED focuses on promoting prosperity among them.
“Essentially this is the foundation for our newer generation,” Moua said.

“We want to be able to help elevate our past, which is our parents, continue to grow our present, and then support the future, which is our kids, to be able to thrive and be great citizens,” Xiong concluded.

Eau Claire leaders are hoping the city’s voice can be heard in Washington, D.C., to oppose a proposal that has thousands of Hmong and Lao people worried about being deported.

This week the City Council will take up a resolution that condemns the proposal that would send longtime U.S. residents who don’t have citizenship to Laos.

“We are not supporting the Trump administration who are working with the Laos government to deport Hmong and Lao people back to Laos,” said Councilman John Lor.

The council will hold a public hearing Monday night on the resolution before taking a vote during its Tuesday afternoon meeting.

Should the council approve that resolution, it would send a letter to Gov. Tony Evers, members of Congress who represent Wisconsin, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and President Donald Trump to express the city’s stance on the issue.

The resolution is a reaction to reports of a Jan. 28 meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. That meeting was cited as evidence of a proposal by the Trump administration to send more than 4,500 Hmong and Lao residents who are not U.S. citizens and have previously committed crimes or deportation orders against them to be sent to Laos.

About 300 Wisconsin residents who are Hmong, Lao and other ethnic minorities who originated in Laos have been served deportation orders, according to the proposed Eau Claire resolution. Most of them have lived in the U.S. for at least a decade.

While they may have made mistakes in their younger years, Lor said that deporting these people would tear apart families that have become established in the U.S.

“Hmong families have been separated enough,” he said.

In some of the cases, Lor said the people facing deportation weren’t even born in Laos, but in refugee camps inside Thailand as they awaited to be resettled in America.

And the fate of people who could get deported is a concern for the Hmong community.

Many do not have family ties left in Laos, do not speak the language and have never lived there, the resolution asserts. And with the Hmong’s history of aiding U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, there is worry about still facing retribution from Laos’ communist government. Based on stories of retaliation that Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees faced when they were deported back to those countries, the Hmong and Lao fear the same could happen to them. That could include marginalization, violence or death in Laos, the resolution stated.

In addition to sending a message to federal officials, Lor said the local resolution is also intended to show the city’s support to the local Hmong community.

Eau Claire has a sizable Hmong population that numbered 2,146 people in a 2017 estimate from the American Community Survey.

Last week the Eau Claire school board approved a resolution supporting the Hmong community and urging leaders to reconsider any proposal that would lead to deportation.

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., introduced a bill that would halt any deportations to Laos for 72 months and reopen the immigration cases of those with final orders to be removed from the U.S.

She introduced the bill in the House on Feb. 28 and it has since been in the House Committee on the Judiciary.

The Mission.
To create transformative and sustainable solutions for individuals and organizations in support of their efforts to create more equitable and inclusive environments.

The Approach. 
We believe the road to inclusion and equity is paved with cultural competence. We create partnerships with our clients and apply a developmental approach to “meet people where they are.” Under this approach, we work closely with our clients to cultivate the most effective, long-lasting D&I solutions possible.

At The Winters Group, we define diversity as the differences and similarities in people, functions, and processes. Diversity exists naturally in every organization, but inclusion is only achieved when the culture is open to change, willing to adapt to difference, and embarks on a journey to become more cross-culturally competent.

Recently, a story circulated within the diversity, equity and inclusion industry (D.E.I.), one that somehow didn’t go viral on social media: At an unnamed company, co-workers were taking their seats before a sensitivity training workshop began, when some white male employees entered as a group with targets pinned to their shirts — a sartorial statement about their anticipated persecution.

Apocryphal or not, “the story is powerful for two reasons,” said Laura Bowser, the board chair and former C.E.O. of TMI Consulting Inc., a D.E.I. strategy company in Richmond, Va., named for its two founders, but also the abbreviation meaning “too much information.” “One, it shows that there is still an utter lack of empathy and understanding about privilege and power dynamics. Second, it demonstrates how many diversity and inclusion trainings in the past have failed.”
Of late, the D.E.I. (also known as D & I) industry is booming, creating new career paths and roles. Institutions and businesses are trying to correct power imbalances, which means a growing need for experts who can help address and define issues like unconscious bias.
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“I’ve seen a difference in people’s level of engagement and desire to stretch themselves since the 2016 election,” said Michelle Kim, the C.E.O. and co-founder of Awaken, an experiential D.E.I. workshop company in Oakland, Calif., whose program is popular with the tech industry. “We’re seeing employees demanding action, not just lip service.”

Awaken’s sessions, taught over the course of months, combine large group activities, self-reflection and small group conversations, and focus on themes like exploring identities, overcoming microaggressions, thoughtful ally-ship and, most recently, inclusive language.

According to data from Indeed, a job-search engine, D.E.I.-related postings were up more than 25 percent from August 2018 to August 2019.

From Hugs to Likes
The old way of approaching these issues with perfunctory, so-called sensitivity training is no longer acceptable. Today, no one is going to “hug it out” after a single lecture about embracing difference.
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According to a 2016 report from the Harvard Business Review, traditional sensitivity training can be ineffectual and can breed resentment. Even the term itself has fallen out of favor.

“Sensitivity training became popular in the ’80s and ’90s,” Ms. Bowser said. “It focuses on the negative: what not to do or say. But one-off training doesn’t shift culture in the direction we want to see it go: building empathy.” Inclusion is an ongoing process. Pay equity, language, marketing and hiring practices are all now subject to scrutiny.

Even at a well-intentioned company that espouses progressive values, there will inevitably be slips of the tongue and insensitive emails: the wrong pronoun, an outdated term, an assumption about how a person identifies him, her or themself. The glossary of appropriate terminology and inclusive acronyms and abbreviations is constantly evolving.

“Our world is changing so fast and language is changing so fast, it’s counterproductive to expect perfection,” said Jennifer Brown, the founder and C.E.O. of Jennifer Brown Consulting and the author of a new book, “How to Be an Inclusive Leader.” (She also hosts a podcast, “The Will to Change.”)

Missteps along the way are “to be expected,” she said, “because it signals that we are building new capabilities. People are showing courage by getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Even the experts are learning on the job. While running a recent panel, Ms. Brown asked the participants to indicate their preferred pronouns when they introduced themselves.

She forgot to say her own, which, in turn, tripped up audience members, who fell back on expressions like “you guys” for fear of getting it wrong. “I do this for a living and am literally learning in real time, in front of audiences,” she said.

Ms. Bowser also recalled a slip-up: She was at a conference with a woman (post-gender transition) whom she had originally met as a man. In conversation with this person and others, Ms. Bowser accidentally referred to her as he instead of she. The D.E.I. expert was mortified and later sent an apology email.

“Her response was very gracious,” Ms. Bowser said. “She said, ‘You’ve known both of my identities. It means a lot to me that you’re trying.’”

“There’s an inclination to pretend it didn’t happen and hope someone didn’t hear — but they heard,” she added. “Own it and apologize.”

For many younger people, gender fluidity and the pronouns that go with it are automatic, but not so for those who grew up with just two choices, neither plural. “For millennials, the conversation is about having grace, recognizing that this is a shift for other people,” Ms. Bowser said. “For older generations, it’s about opening their minds a bit.”
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Millennials’ expectation of inclusion is part of what is driving C.E.O.s and directors to bring in D.E.I. consultants. That generation will make up 75 percent of the work force by 2025, according to Brookings, the nonprofit public policy organization.

According to McKinsey & Company, the consultancy, businesses in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to be more successful financially; executive teams with gender diversity are 21 percent more likely to outperform their peers.

But it’s also important for public relations and brand identity. “D & I has transformed from a compliance function to a cultural transformation accelerator for companies who want to establish themselves as relevant,” said Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, the chief diversity officer at Microsoft.

The company strives to generate inclusion with initiatives like featuring personal stories from employees on Instagram and selling rainbow Pride laptop skin. “It’s become an integrative piece of how companies engage in their broader ecosystem,” she said.
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A New Profession
How does one break into the D.E.I. field? Some universities, including Cornell, Georgetown and Yale, are beginning to offer certificate programs and online courses on the subject.

For now, industry leaders have a range of backgrounds: social justice, sales, marketing, political activism, minority studies, writing and more. Some, according to Ms. Bowser, just have a natural gift for navigating difficult conversations or defusing tension in a room.

Whether consultants, recruiters, in-house D.E.I. executives, workshop leaders or manuscript readers in publishing, the positions demand emotional intelligence. Often, people enter the profession after personal experiences with prejudice at school or in the workplace.

“I identify as a member of the L.G.B.T.+ community and a woman business leader,” said Ms. Brown, whose company originally focused on more general leadership training. “I realized this was an important cause to support and a niche with growth potential.”

The job can be challenging, she said: “People only sign up because their passion is so deep that they want to fix the world.”
That is true for Nat Razi, one of the early sensitivity readers (now known as “authenticity readers”) for the publishing industry, a job that arose out of We Need More Diverse Books, a 2014 hashtag-turned-movement.

Authenticity readers — most commonly used for young-adult manuscripts — scan for bias about identities and conditions they share, including ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, PTSD, depression and more.

This corner of the new diversity industry also has drawn detractors. The growing prevalence of this oversight practice in the publishing world has spurred cries of “censorship” and arguments that the process can be detrimental to the books themselves.

Others began to feel that the authenticity readers themselves were being used as shields against potential attacks and excuses for appropriation instead of being hired because of a genuine desire to get it right.

Justina Ireland, a writer who once maintained the primary Writing in the Margins Sensitivity Reader database, a list of authenticity readers and their specialties, stepped away in early 2018, writing in an open letter that the readers were being exploited and scapegoated instead of empowered.

Ms. Razi has found the work difficult but rewarding. “When I was a kid, the books I read with Indian protagonists were racist and told me that I should be looking up to white people,” she said. “Books with queer protagonists told me that I was going to die. I can at least do my best to ensure that kids are going to see better representation.”

Sometimes consultancies like Ms. Brown’s and Ms. Bowser’s are called in, like cleanup crews, after scandals and bad publicity. But businesses are obviously trying to help avoid these in the first place, as well as keep up company morale.

The investment can be considerable. According to Ms. Bowser, diversity support can cost $25,000 to $450,000 a year, depending on the client’s needs. Businesses also have to factor in the time employees spend away from their desks during training.

Tech, and Talk
​The process can take anywhere from three months to a few years. Fortune 500 companies with existing diversity departments may only need educational refreshers, while companies starting from scratch may require thorough examinations of mission statements, employee reviews, airing of past grievances and more.

Consultants talk to employees about their day-to-day experiences, redline handbooks and intervene with coaching and conflict resolution.

Despite, or perhaps because of, Silicon Valley’s reputation for diversity gaps, tech tools are blooming to help. TMI’s founder, Tiffany Jana, is developing Loom, an online assessment and reporting platform that looks at an organization’s culture and identifies inclusion gaps.

Currently, Textio software can scan thousands of documents for language bias. “This new tech is going to create a leap in consciousness,” Ms. Brown said. “Maybe you’re a father with daughters and you say, ‘Of course, women here feel there’s equal opportunity and no pay gap!’ The tech may find information to the contrary.” Data forces people to face facts.

But sometimes only the human touch will do, as Eve Campan, a human resources site manager for Porex, a large filtration company, can attest. Just before she was hired, a group of female executives — miffed by their heavily white and male leadership — created a proposal, demanding a women’s resource group, mother’s room and more flexible hours.

Ms. Campan hired TMI Consulting to help “wrap people’s minds around the idea of unconscious bias,” she said. “If you’re not proactive, your culture will define itself.”

At the first D.E.I. seminar, she was doubtful about the corporate jargon, and more than one employee scoffed that the whole thing was unnecessary. But, after each additional workshop, she began walking the floor of the office, talking to people about their reactions. Each time, she said, more of the original dissenters came around.

According to Ms. Bowser, the key is to make everyone, from assistants to C.E.O.s, feel as if they are part of the conversation. “If you’re not making people aware and holding them responsible at the upper levels of your organization, then you don’t have a chance,” Mr. Johnson said.

“The question isn’t about whether it’s effective,” Ms. Kim said. “It’s about how to make it effective.”

After all, everyone brings their own complex back story to the table, and offenses can go both ways. Melissa Roth, a Jewish writer recalled an incident that occurred in a fiction writing class in Los Angeles, when she used the word “gypped” and a white woman in class reprimanded her.

“I got called out for being offensive to Gypsies,” she said, “by someone who couldn’t pronounce the word ‘chutzpah.’”

Interested in getting involved with the Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce? Email Kaylynn Stahlbusch at stahlbusch@eauclairechamber.org or call 715-858-0615.

The Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Task Force is comprised of approximately 30 representatives with a passion for sharing information and learning best practices about diversity, inclusion and minority business development to improve our workforce.

Goal Statement from the Chamber Business Plan:

• Leverage members’ combined experience and knowledge to advance diversity and inclusion programs and practices throughout professions.
• Provide business members with access to information, individuals and ideas that will help them build more economically and socially inclusive organizations.
• Become a forum to discuss new diversity and inclusion ideas and initiatives.

In mid-2019 the D&I Taskforce worked diligently to survey the almost 1200 members of the Eau Claire Area Chamber as a means to gather information on knowledge and interest in the areas of Diversity and Inclusion. Published below are the results of 217 responses from area businesses interested in learning more.

​Gender and Sexuality Resource Center staffers receive statewide awards
UW-Eau Claire has received multiple recognitions in recent years for the work of its Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Center staffers Christopher Jorgenson and Kallie Friede have been recognized for their efforts that led to those top rankings. Full story.

Interested in getting involved with the Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce? Email Kaylynn Stahlbusch at stahlbusch@eauclairechamber.org or call 715-858-0615.