Having lived and worked in different countries, Vaishali Shah, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Randstad Sourceright, was exposed to many ways of living.  It was these experiences that led her to realize the need to recognize the strengths that our differences can make within organizations. Her personal experiences inspired her to pursue diversity and inclusion as her full-time job. “I've often seen myself as being a little bit different from the people around me. I've been...

The ongoing pandemic and social unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd sparked a greater emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training within organizations. As the demand for DEI trainers continues to rise, many lack a clear path for making progress and must learn on their own without clear guidelines. Maria Morukian, President of MSM Global Consulting,  authored the new book Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Trainers: Fostering DEI in the Workplace, to create a guide for...

Pursuing creativity by doing things you love and sharing them with the world is not optional, but actually critical for your mental health, happiness, and overall productivity. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Holly Corbett, VP of Content for Consciously Unbiased, has Eve Rodsky back on the show. Eve is a Harvard-trained lawyer, author of the best-selling book Fair Play and also author of the newly-released book Find Your Unicorn Space. Eve has spent a decade interviewing thousands of...

Due to a series of economic downturns, gender-based social norms and the cracked-yet-not-broken glass ceiling, women of Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) are sometimes referred to as the “sandwich generation.” Gen X women are more likely to be working full time and to be a caregiver for children or aging parents—or both. According to the AARP’s Public Policy Institute, by the year 2030, the ratio of people needing care to possible caregivers will be 4-to-1 and by 2050, it will be...

It’s no secret that our country, and therefore, our workforce is diversifying. By 2045, our country will have no racial majority according to the 2020 census. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are key for creating workplace cultures that celebrate differences, embrace commonalities and allow all voices to be heard. In order to be successful, DEI shouldn’t focus only on full-time employees, but your entire workforce. The contingent workforce includes contractors and...

The Dalai Lama, one of the most respectable Buddhist preachers, stated, “Individual acts of compassion and kindness have the power to spread harmony in the entire world.” Studies support that acts of compassion—such as expressing elements of empathy, love, and care to ease the concerns of others and sharing in their suffering—benefits us in both our professional and personal lives. Positive social interactions among workers are more likely to occur in workplaces that promote compassion. It...

Although the people with disabilities comprise the largest minority community in the world (1 in 4 U.S. adults live with a disability), it remains one of the most underrepresented and underserved communities. In fact, according to a report funded by the Ford Foundation, people with disabilities are greatly lacking in representation both on screen and behind the camera. Only 2.7 percent of characters in the 100 highest-earning movies of 2016 were depicted with a disability, and among regular...

If there is one thing that we all have in common, it’s that we are all aging. For women, aging may be accompanied by grief or a loss of identity because women’s value in our culture has for too long been tied to youth and fertility. Other natural life phases that may coincide with aging for women is the still-taboo topic of menopause, whose symptoms may be either ignored or doubted—contributing to shame and stigma. (Menopause can also be triggered by a variety of other factors separate from...

The gig economy has continued to pick up speed during the pandemic, growing 33% in the last year. This is a continuation of a trend we’ve seen over the past few years, where there has been a growing number of contingent workers (temporary workers who work on a contract or project basis or any worker who is not employed in a traditional full-time role). According to a U.S. Census Bureau report, there are roughly 5.9 million contingent workers and they represent nearly 4% of U.S....

The Pride movement has raised visibility for humans' right to love and identify in a way that is authentic with who they are. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal (virtually) sits down with Wen Stenger, an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, for an unplugged conversation about Wen’s journey of coming out in her 40s as the mom of three boys, and how growing up in a Christian family in the South influenced the way she raised her...

National Loving Day happens on June 12, and celebrates the anniversary of the historic 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving vs. Virginia. This was the ruling that struck down all state laws against interracial marriage in the United States. Until that time, it remained illegal for one person to marry another person if they were of a different race in 17 States across America. Today multiracial Americans are growing at a rate of three times faster than the population as a whole, according...

During the pandemic, we have seen more of what our co-workers need to balance their home responsibilities in addition to their work responsibilities. Families across the country are facing a childcare crisis, but parents/guardians of color, especially mothers of color, have been grappling with the lack of affordable child care and lack of support for working families. In fact, Black (71%) and Latina (41%) mothers work at higher rates than white mothers. Additionally, mothers of color are more...

In these polarizing times, communicating with others who hold opposing views can be a challenge. Yet, we can engage others with more mutual understanding and respect if we develop our openness- a willingness to listen, receive feedback, and look for commonalities in opposing viewpoints. Being more open-minded is important, especially at work, because it helps us improve our interpersonal skills. Studies have also shown that this dimension of emotional intelligence allows us to be focused,...

If there is anything the pandemic has shown us all, it is that life can be demanding and change is inevitable. However, there is a way we can navigate with more resilience and less pressure. By improving our mindfulness, we can reduce our stress and become more focused. Most importantly, practicing mindfulness allows us to pay closer attention to our emotions and thoughts so that we can see them more clearly without making so many assumptions and judgements. In this episode of Breaking the...

Our social networks give us a special power, especially when it comes to professional advancement. A Harvard Business Review study reveals that people of all sexes and genders benefit from having a close inner circle composed of supportive and successful people. But, the research also shows that women are more likely to reach the highest levels of leadership and pay in their professions if they surround themselves with an inner circle of female contacts. In this episode of Breaking the Bias,...

On this episode of “Breaking the Bias,” Ashish Kaushal, founder of Consciously Unbiased, has an unplugged conversation with Tayo Rockson, CEO of UYD Management and author of Use Your Difference to Make a Difference. Tayo shares his idea of the art of diplomacy by highlighting the need for improving our cross-cultural competency and self-awareness in our professional/personal lives so that there is a greater sense of inclusion, belonging, and acceptance. Their conversation covers: Ways to...

Self awareness is the practice of knowing yourself. The research consistently shows that people who master self awareness are more creative, build stronger relationships, and are more effective leaders and communicators. It’s also good for business: Companies with strong financial performance tend to have employees with higher levels of self-awareness than poorly performing companies, according to Korn Ferry International. So how can we improve our self-awareness so that we are able to build...

Are we going backwards on gender equality in the Covid economy? Four times as many women as men dropped out of the labor force during the pandemic, which is roughly 865,000 women, compared with 216,000 men. In fact, one in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to COVID-19. Years of gradual advancement of gender equality and gender diversity in the workplace may be at risk as the pandemic continues to push women out of the workforce. In this...

It’s 2020, and the majority of caregiving duties continue to land on women’s shoulders. This is being magnified during the pandemic, and we may be going backwards when it comes to gender equality. Out of the 1.1 million people who left the workforce in September, roughly 865,000 were women. Latinas and Black women are leaving at higher rates than white women. How can we help ensure a generation of women don’t make a mass exodus from the workforce? In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Holly...

Over the last few months, the world has changed, and with it there has been an even greater realization that diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts are important for all workers, not just some. To help companies achieve their diversity and inclusions goals across their entire workforce, both for full time employees and contingent workers, we’ve released a new report, "The Future of Diversity & Inclusion in the Contingent Workforce," from HireTalent & Consciously Unbiased, powered...

When workplaces are inclusive for all people, everyone wins. It was recently the 75th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which celebrates workers with disabilities and highlights the importance of inclusive hiring practices. It has also been 30 years since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination for people with disabilities. Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal spoke to Zakiya Mabery,...

There is strength in vulnerability. Many men in our culture have been taught to associate showing emotions with being weak. For example, more than one-third of boys think society expects them to be strong and tough, “be a man,” and “suck it up,” according to a survey by Plan International USA. It’s time to change that. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal sits down with Pervis Taylor, award-winning life coach, & author of “Surthrival Mode” for...

How are hiring practices evolving, given the public health crisis, shift to a more remote workforce, and protests about racial injustice? In this episode of the Breaking the Bias podcast, Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal sat down with Virginia “Ginny” Clarke,  Director, Leadership Staffing at Google & author of “Career Mapping,” to find the answer to this question. Ginny has been a college recruiter, executive recruiter and a woman who broke through to the executive ranks in...

June is Pride Month. A catalyst for the LGBTQIA+ Rights Movement happened on June 28, 1969 when police raided a gay bar in New York City, sparking the Stone Wall Riots that were largely led by LGBTQIA+ people of color. That incident ignited protests around the country in the push for equal rights. Today in 2020 protests are again sweeping the nation, prompted by the death of George Floyd and others, and accelerating the Black Lives Matter Movement. The intersectionality of the Black Lives...

We’re in the middle of a pandemic and a recession, and women and people of color may be among the hardest hit. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Holly Corbett, Director of Content at Consciously Unbiased, speaks to Jennifer Streaks, financial commentator, news personality and personal finance contributor for CNBC. Jennifer shares candid advice on the money moves we should all be making during this unprecedented time; how the wealth gap is widening even more between whites and people of...