Inclusion and Diversity

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Inclusion and Diversity

• Stephanie Bland
• Program Specialist
• The Office of Education, Training and Assessments

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Inclusion and Diversity

• National Staff has attended four formal training
  sessions
• The Office of Education, Training and Assessment
  has
• offered sessions for
• 2009 - 2010 National Officers
• 2010 - 2011 National Officers
• State Officer 101/201 and Advisor Training
• Alumni

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Inclusion and Diversity Committee Members

• Stephanie Bland-Chairperson
• Office of Education, Training and Assessments
• Niki Clausen
• Office of Education, Training and Assessments
• Tim LawrenceOffice of the Executive Director
• Sarah Morton
• Office of Administration and Finance
• Chris Powell
• Office of Business and Industry Partnerships
• Ann Schreiber
• Office of Publications
• Jane Short
• Office of Communications and Government
  Relations

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Committee mission statement

• SkillsUSAs inclusion and diversity committee
  strives to impact leadership at all levels to
  create an inclusive culture throughout SkillsUSA

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Organization Statement

• In keeping with a tradition of respect for the
  individuality of our members and our role in work
  force development, SkillsUSA strives to ensure
  inclusive participation in all of our programs,
  partnerships and employment opportunities

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Why is Inclusion and Diversity important?

• Our mission is to contribute to SkillsUSAs
  success by helping students to be able to live
  and work in the 21st-century work force.

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What does inclusion and diversity mean?

• DIVERSITY represents a large group comprised of
  different people with different experiences.
  These differences include race, color, religion,
  gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age,
  disability, veteran status or citizenship.
• INCLUSION enables us to strive to have all
  people represented and included in the SkillsUSA
  family, and make all members, partners and
  employees feel welcomed and valued, not only for
  their abilities, but also for their unique
  qualities and perspectives.

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Why?

• Students cant be leaders in todays work force
  without awareness in inclusion and diversity.
• We must understand the diversity of the global
  work force and the changing demographics of the
  United States

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Whats your role?
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National Officers are role models

• As a role model you are responsible for
  empowering SkillsUSA members

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Behavior reflects core values

• As a _________ (fill in the blank State
  Association Director, National Officer, Alumni),
  you are an ambassador of SkillsUSA and should
  espouse leadership and encourage behavior that
  exemplifies SkillsUSAs core values.

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Its about Leadership and the SkillsUSA Brand

• The SkillsUSA mission is built upon and its
  success depends on the commitment of our
  members and partners to the following values
• Integrity
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Citizenship
• Service

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Communication

• Small gatherings
• Be engaging with fairness and respect
• Be aware
• Be encouraging
• Be inviting
• Be mindful of body language
• Dont be offensive, derogatory, demeaning

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Communication

• Invocations
• Use language that includes all faiths
• Avoid references to religious deities
• Invocations/prayers/thoughts for the
  day/meditations may address or acknowledge a
  divine presence where appropriate, give thanks or
  seek inspiration
• Be careful not to preach, not to condemn, not to
  persuade or not to testify

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Communication

• Web pages Myspace Facebook Twitter
• e-mail addresses voice message greetings
• As a representative of SkillsUSA avoid political,
  racial, sexual views
• Be sensitive to your audience
• Be aware that you dont know who your audience is
• Be respectful to yourself, your team, school,
  administration, family, mentors and SkillsUSA
• Be mindful, during your volunteering time,
  SkillsUSA is renting your behavior. Always
  represent SkillsUSAs core values

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Types of Behavior

• Avoiders avoid conflict
• Perpetuators look for authority before telling
  a joke they know is wrong
• Change agents want harmony
• Fighters are always looking for a fight
• Naive people dont know any better and dont
  know what they dont know

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PAUSE

• Put yourself in the other persons shoes.
• Analyze the various perspectives involved.
• Understand and validate by listening carefully
  and summarizing what youve heard to validate
  that you understand.
• Select the best solution based on the various
  perspectives involved. Make sure all parties
  understand the options before proceeding.
• Engage others with fairness and respect not just
  tolerance.

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Lets talk about it

• Marshmallows on sweet potatoes?

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Lets talk about it

• Have you experienced any incidences with
  inclusion and diversity?
• How would you handle being the only minority
  when attending a SkillsUSA event?
• What do you do when you encounter someone who
  isnt being inclusive?

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SkillsUSA Demographic Breakdown
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SkillsUSA Demographic Breakdown

• Why are demographics needed?
• We can better serve our members
• Business and Industry partners inquire
• To have an accurate picture of what we look like
• Potentially more members and funding