“A culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a goal to be met by just words on paper, but it’s the actions that we take. When we’re talking about the culture of an organization, how do employees interact? How do leaders set the tone for the conversations that are taking place?” Those are words I shared during a recent podcast episode on the topic of culture and inclusion in agriculture.
Culture and Inclusion in Agriculture
Over the past year, I’ve shared a few experiences where diversity, equity, and inclusion have not been part of the culture we encounter in the agriculture community. Each time I’ve shared these thoughts, I’ve found an enormous amount of support, along with a number of people who discount the experiences because mine do not match up with their own.
That’s frustrating and disappointing. But I will continue to push for our community to have these discussions.
Diversity Imperative Podcast
This week, I had the opportunity to join the discussion on culture and inclusion on the Diversity Imperative podcast with hosts Erin Gowriluk & Hannah Konschuh. The podcast has hosted a great number of conversations surrounding diversity in agriculture and I am very thankful to join them for an episode.
“Tough questions lead to great conversation, and great conversation leads to progress”
This candid conversation explores some of the difficult decisions that I’ve had to make when I realized that my personal values did not align with those of my employer. We also talk about my continued advocacy and leadership as I work to ensure that the sector I love can reap the benefits that come from a more open and inclusive culture. I’d recommend picking up the book Erin brought up during the discussion, The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner.
During the discussion, we reference a few of my previous blog entries on diversity:
- A word on organizational culture, diversity and inclusion
- Omitting Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
- Diversity and Inclusion – will Ag brush it off?
In the episode, we mention Beef Farmers of Ontario as a great example of an organization that is working to make strides of improvement in their efforts toward better diversity, equity, and inclusion in their communities. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to follow their work as an example that an agricultural organization can go against the current status quo and take action on difficult cultural issues. Listen to the Diversity Imperative episode featuring Beef Farmers of Ontario’s work.
Can we hold other agriculture organizations accountable to better culture and inclusion work?
Take a few moments to listen to this episode featuring my story. Consider how you can play a role in work toward stronger culture and inclusion efforts in our community. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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