Challenge #18 – Start a Conversation About Your I.D.E.A. Strategy

The conversation around IDEA has been happening at a global and industry level for the past couple of years. We see it being discussed in mainstream media, within international organisations and across many brands. It has influenced everything from global advertising campaigns to regional hiring decisions. 

 

What isn’t always acknowledged is how hard it can be to start the conversation at a local and personal level.

Often the biggest challenge within this topic is knowing where or how to start. 

 

This month we welcome back Tash Koster-Thomas, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the European Coworking Assembly. Tash is also an Independent Diversity and Inclusion Consultant working with a number of organisations such as Mercedes Formula 1, Disney, La Prairie and more to help them develop their EDI strategies and implement training and education. 

 

Through her work she has seen that often the biggest barrier to people’s IDEA journey is knowing how to start, knowing what questions to ask and where to find the answers.

“A lot of the time when I am speaking with people, they say, I’m worried about getting it wrong, I’m scared to make a mistake and offend someone.”

 

This month we look at how to tackle these feelings by focusing on what we are already doing well. 

“More often than not there are examples of best practice all around us.” 

 

The Challenge

 

This month’s challenge will be to find examples of people, communities, and coworking spaces that have already started their IDEA journey and to record what they are doing. Choose a couple of spaces and take a look at any or all of the following:

 

• Website
• Social media 
• Projects 
• Events 

 

Ask yourself the following questions: 

 

• What is the message they are sending? 
• What is it about their messaging that’s inclusive? 
• Do I see diversity? 

 

To help frame your thinking you can also use the protected characteristics (Equality Act UK  2010): Age, Gender Reassignment, Sex, Disability/Neurodiversity, Marriage/Civil Partnership, Religion, Race, Sexual Orientation, Pregnancy/Maternity. When you think of people specific to each of these characteristics, would they feel included? 

Make a note of the success stories, the good examples and where possible give them a shout out. We will be rejoining at the end of the month to discuss what we have found and to share ideas for the future. 

 

Navigating this subject isn’t as straightforward as we would like it to be. That is why the ECA has teamed up with Tash to create a guide that will ensure easier navigation of the topic. The IDEA handbook will be released during the first week of September. 

 

In order to get your hands on a copy of the book, sign up on the Cowork.Tools website and be the first to know when the book is ready for purchase.

 

The August 2022 IDEA Challenge is brought to you by our friends at the European Coworking Assembly.