Here are 5 tips for talking to your employer about Critical Social Justice (CSJ):
1) Know where you stand - Make sure you understand the degree of the problem at your organisation, so you can avoid under or overreacting.
Take a look at our short guide to get a better assessment of the problems you face, and the appropriate actions you should take to resolve them: counterweightsupport.com/assessing-crit…
2) Lead with compassion - When talking to your employer about CSJ, leading with compassion is more likely to generate positive results than leading with anger.
You should highlight all the places that you and your employer agree, such as on the goal of unifying your team and creating an inclusive work environment.
3) Connect with colleagues - It's likely that there are employees in your organisation who share your concerns - you just need to find them. So, speak with colleagues you trust and broach the topic gently.
Rather than simply stating 'This new Unconscious Bias training course is nonsense', reference specific aspects you disagree with, and back this up with evidence...
Such as by saying 'I don't think this course is going to help us to achieve our goal of reducing bias. In fact, I read a research paper recently which found that courses like this can actually be counterproductive.'
4) Join your D&I team - Many Counterweight members have joined their D&I teams, and this has helped them to make real and lasting progress at their businesses, such as persuading employers to utilise a more liberal approach to D&I, or to make all future training voluntary.
Taking an active role at your business will also help you to show your employer that you're part of the solution, as opposed to part of the problem.
5) Get our help - At Counterweight, our case workers can coach you through the process of talking to your employer about CSJ. To get our help, visit counterweightsupport.com/seek-support-f… and fill in our enquiry form today.
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Here are three mistakes to avoid when talking to your employer about Critical Social Justice (CSJ):
1) Lacking sufficient tools - If you do not have access to the right resources to back up your arguments, it's unlikely that your employer is going to take your concerns seriously.
In our toolbox, you'll find everything from example letters and walkthroughs, to educational videos and editable presenters: counterweightsupport.com
After reading our latest article 'Is Academic Freedom in Crisis? A New Report Suggests the Answer is Yes', a few people tweeted at us saying that the sample sizes in @erickaufman’s study are small. We reached out to Eric for his response. Here’s what he had to say:
1) Sample size is the total sample (in this case, 484) and *not* the minority in the sample who vary from the majority.
For instance, in a sample of 100 US voters, with 15 black voters, if the 15 are 95% Democrat and the sample is only 45% Democrat, the coefficient for black will be statistically significant if their difference from other voters is large enough – even with a small sample.
Are you being forced into Unconscious Bias Training?
We've helped many people to navigate this situation with positive results. Here's a thread on what to do:
1. Show Sympathy For Their Goals
Explain that you care about the intentions of the training (to treat individuals equally regardless of identity), and highlight that you have an issue with the methods.
2. Get Educated
Take an informed approach. Learn about Critical Social Justice & get familiar with the research that shows UBT does not work and can even have detrimental effects. Resources: bit.ly/Counterweight-…
Recently, we helped a parent to push back against the emergence of CRT at their child’s school. Here’s what they had to say… (1/6)
"Our school district launched a student equity page which was filled with extreme CRT resources from people like Kendi, Oluo, Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance, and the National Equity Center. They announced it and started pushing it in our community.” (2/6)
“The example letters and walkthroughs found in the Counterweight toolkit were invaluable to me as I crafted a lengthy letter for our school board president." (3/6)