PayPal will lead this roundtable discussion at Dare to Overcome, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, from 9:00-9:45 am. Location: Busch School of Business, Room 204.
Description forthcoming.
Deloitte will lead this roundtable discussion at Dare to Overcome, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, from 9:00-9:45 am. Location: Busch School of Business, Room 207.
Description forthcoming.
DELL Technologies will lead this roundtable discussion at Dare to Overcome, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 2:30-3:15pm. Location: Busch School of Business, Room 207.
Description forthcoming.
Coca-Cola Consolidated will lead this roundtable discussion at Dare to Overcome, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 4:30-5:15pm. Location: Busch School of Business, Room 207.
Join Mark Whitacre and Julia Oltmanns from Coca-Cola Consolidated for an interactive discussion of success stories and learnings gained from the implementation of different leadership development initiatives, mentoring programs, prayer groups and other methods of employee engagement that include a faith component.
Mark and Julia will share examples that are based on Bible studies or scriptural references and will also discuss examples that are useful for employees from different faith backgrounds. Please come with examples of studies or groups from your own workplace so that this can be a collaborative time of information sharing.
Equinix will lead this roundtable discussion at Dare to Overcome, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 3:30-4:15pm. Location: Busch School of Business, Room 204.
Description forthcoming.
The 2024 theme for Dare to Overcome, our 5th annual national conference for Fortune 500 faith-oriented ERGs, is The Golden Rule Across Faiths and Beliefs.
Every major faith or belief system has a version of the Golden Rule at its core – do to others as you would have them do to you. This is part of our ongoing vision: Daring to Overcome those things that prevent unity, justice, tranquility, security, general welfare, and the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Indeed, we believe that this vision is in the spirit of the US Constitution which was “ordained” and “established” “in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
Each of the sessions, awards and activities of the conference will reinforce these concepts and aspirations, which are not unique to those in the US, but common to all humankind.
Leading up to this year’s Dare to Overcome Conference, we would like to see your pictures of The Golden Rule in action. This concept of loving one’s neighbor is central to religious and spiritual people around the world.
The Golden Rule also unites people from different faiths and beliefs in the workplace as they come together to overcome things that prevent unity, justice, tranquility, security, general welfare, and the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Let’s celebrate these moments of collaboration across faiths and beliefs. And let’s inspire others to put the The Golden Rule into action at work.
What does The Golden Rule look like in action as people work together across faiths and beliefs to create cultures of flourishing in the workplace?
Submit your photos of The Golden Rule in action by midnight on May 17th.
A winner will be selected and announced during the Dare to Overcome conference (May 21-22, 2024).
Contest participants must be employees at companies with representatives attending the Dare to Overcome conference.
By Kent Johnson | See more at Authenticity & Connection
The now-widespread focus on “belonging” as integral to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a signal that the time has now come for religion to be included as a full-fledged part of DEI.
Beginning around 2019, “Belonging” emerged as a hot topic in DEI circles. Many leaders began wrestling with the fact that some DEI programs can have a tendency to alienate employees to the point that they feel unwelcome; that they don’t “belong.” This warrants more thought.
Here’s a common Venn diagram from Krys Burnette that seeks to illustrate the interrelations between DEI and Belonging:
The lower center section highlights an important insight, that emphasizing equity and diversity WITHOUT a corresponding emphasis on “inclusion for all” causes disengagement and low retention. If the overall message is perceived as pushing cultural assimilation – a melting pot that disregards distinctives – many employees will feel excluded, diminished and alienated.
Often in the DEI world, “inclusion” is measured predominantly to ensure that people in recognized diversity categories are represented in management, salary scale and “seats at the table” in numbers that mirror the ratios their categories bear to the general population of the community, the country or the world. If a DEI program is seen as mainly dedicated to achieving that mathematical outcome, it can appear to pit employees against one another. It feels like a zero-sum game; “them” against “us.” The “ins” versus the “outs.” Without a concurrent focus on “belonging” for all, the benefits to be derived from proportional representation tend to get lost in the math.
DEI’s adoption of the goal of “belonging” begins to address this matter. Unlike “inclusion,” which often is treated as a fact corroborated by mathematical ratios applied to specific groups, belonging entails a highly subjective element. And it begs a key question: “Belonging to WHAT?”
In this context, I suggest that a concerted focus on RELIGIOUS diversity, done well, can mitigate a zero-sum-gamed ethos and strengthen the sense of belonging for everyone in the organization, without compromising traditional diversity goals.
Over 80% of the global population identifies as “religiously affiliated” and this number is projected to increase to over 85 percent by 2050. It’s clear that the overlap between religious diversity and traditional diversity categories is huge. Many people across the diversity spectrum are religiously affiliated. The reach of religious diversity is even greater if one applies the following common sweeping definition of religion: “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” Especially with that definition in mind, a concerted focus on religious diversity avoids the exclusivity of many other diversity categories. It speaks to all of us.
Religious diversity doesn’t seek to advance one group in relation to any other. Its goal, instead, is to serve other celebrated goals of DEI: to free employees, first, to “be themselves,” second, to openly share their richly diverse business-related ideas, views and philosophies, and third, to advance a culture of “full engagement” of all. A purposeful focus on religious diversity promotes meaningful and warm connections across all diversity categories. It welcomes people of all faiths, atheists and agnostics, for the specific purpose of promoting a culture of listening, mutual respect and cross-cultural friendship. And, importantly, belonging.
As can be seen in the following linked summary, companies across the spectrum of industries have eagerly embraced religious diversity, with powerfully positive results. Employee resource groups (ERGs) representing specific beliefs (and atheism) have sprung up, leaving the door open for additional beliefs. In some companies, faith-oriented groups fall under an umbrella diversity category referred to in various ways including “Interfaith,” “Inter Belief,” etc.
Many of these faith-oriented ERGs offer informational sessions to all interested coworkers, describing the relevance of their respective religious views and practices to their work. These sessions often feature multiple faiths, and include discussion of unifying themes, including values they hold in common. These ERGs also engage in joint projects to help communities with food banks, tutoring, elimination of human trafficking and many other positive outreach works. All these activities strengthen participants’ sense of belonging and connection, across sectarian lines. More information about faith-oriented ERGs is available here.
The result is a deep and wide sense of BELONGING – not just belonging to particular diversity groups (though that is important), but, profoundly, belonging to the entire enterprise – the whole of the company’s work.
HR professionals: This is worth pursuing.
As war wages from Ukraine to the Middle East, Shirin Taber, Iranian-American woman, refuses to allow the inevitable strife of conflict stop her from building bridges of peace.
Shirin Taber, founder of Empower Women Media and Abraham Women’s Alliance, coordinated an executive forum at the United Nations Plaza in New York, bringing together interfaith leaders of Arab, Jewish, Muslim and Christian backgrounds to share their stories and peace building solutions.
Taber was raised by Muslim and Christian parents, and is a longtime advocate for women led reconciliation. “As we know, women are often the first responders to conflict, and we knew that if we could get women in the room together, mothers, sisters, daughters, that we could actually activate peace and re-ignite the Abraham Accords,” Taber explained.
From the painful dialogue around the Israel-Gaza conflict, to the ongoing hate crimes affecting nearly every people group in the United States, the gathering included panels, short films and experiential presentations. One such presentation included a spoken word poem written and presented by CBS reporter and poet Loureen Ayyoub, entitled “What If:” a rhythmic reminder of the sacred value every human equally carries, regardless of one’s cultural background.
One of the several films featured included a Jewish woman and a Palestinian woman openly sharing their pain from the conflict with one another. Taber believes having the uncomfortable conversations is the critical step needed for peace-building.
“I believe women have to keep contending for peace and multi-faith societies, because if women don’t, who else will do it? As Michelle Obama said it could take 300 years to empower women. We think it could happen sooner. And we think where the world is at today, where there is so much division, that women could actually drive that change,” she explained.
A study from the International Peace Institute found that peace agreements are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years when women are involved in the negotiation process.
Abraham Women’s Alliance plans to host an executive forum for Arab and Jewish leaders in Dubai in November 2024. The two-day leadership event will include workshops, practical tools, women’s films and an excursion to the Abraham Family Center in Abu Dhabi.
“Unity is possible; it’s getting people in the room together, who are normally perhaps back to back, getting them face to face, having those conversations, building trust, and creating a path forward.”
And forward is the only direction, Taber hopes, such efforts, will take the world.
For more details about the Abraham Women’s Alliance and upcoming events, contact: Shirin at Empower Women Media
Peace is being built by millions of people daily through company-sponsored, employee-led faith and interfaith workplace initiatives. Join Dr. Brian Grim to learn about this amazing movement for peace occurring in Fortune 500 companies as diverse as Google, Salesforce, DELL, CVS Health, American Airlines, PayPal, and more!
Religions for Peace (RFP) USA is the largest and most broadly-based representative multi-religious forum in the United States, with participants from more than 50 religious communities, representing each of the major faith traditions. The organization identifies shared commitments among religious communities in the U.S., enhances mutual understanding among these communities, and facilitates collaboration to address issues of common concern. We envision a nation and world in which people of faith and goodwill live together in respect and mutual support, creating pathways to peace and justice
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