Diversity Initiatives Gone Wrong - share your stories!

I have a "if I didn't laugh, I'd cry" experience to share on a diversity exercise gone wrong. I'll share my story here but I'd love to hear from all of you too!

About 5 years ago, I worked for a tech "startup" that had about 300 employees. Using inverted commas because the company was about ten years old at that point and profitable. Everyone got together in-person for a company kickoff and as part of that, we had a diversity expert come in to present on inclusivity.

One of the "inclusivity" exercises started with all 300 of us standing in a circle in a large room. The expert asked a series of questions and for each question where your answer was yes, you took a step forward towards the middle of the room.

Example questions were:

Have you ever experienced gender discrimination?

Have you ever experienced food insecurity?

Have you ever experienced housing insecurity?

At the end of the exercise, it was me and one other person standing in the middle of this huge event space with everyone else looking at us. I've never felt so called out and highlighted in my life! The opposite of inclusion. I still look back on that day and cringe.

How about all of you?