Diverse, Inclusive Workplaces More Successful than Homogenous Ones – Blumenthal-Kleiman, Udenze & Others

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#2018NBAAGC: Diversity and Inclusion
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Diverse, Inclusive Workplaces More Successful than Homogenous Ones – Blumenthal-Kleiman, Udenze & Others

An American lawyer, Laurie Blumenthal-Kleiman, has stated that a diverse but inclusive workplace is more satisfying and – in the long term – more profitable than a homogeneous one.

#2018NBAAGC: Diversity and Inclusion

Speaking at a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion at the 58th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja. Blumenthal-Kleiman, a hedge-fund expert in a major New York City law firm, drew heavily from her country’s overall experience with diversity (both in the society at large and the workplace in particular), saying that America’s record in managing diversity and integrating women, ethnic and racial minorities as well as people living with disability has been particular  woeful – for the simple reason that the United States has historically had to struggle with institutional racism and sexism.

Blumenthal-Kleiman, however, went on to outline the legislations that have over the years, gone to ameliorate the problem of exclusion and discrimination on the basis of skin colour, national background, gender, creed, age or ability – thanks to sustained advocacy, litigation, civil disobedience and personal example.

Although the way Nigerians see diversity is far different from the way Americans see it, she said, the issues of diversity and inclusion, their causes, effects and consequences are the same, and therefore the methods to combat them must be the same as well. She called for more education, advocacy and sanctions in order to engender greater inclusion, both in the workplace and in society as a whole.

Mr. Nurudeen Lemu, who moderated the session, defined inclusion in the face of diversity as the ability to see the good in ‘The Other’, calling on Nigerians (and decision-makers at both the corporate and political levels) to overcome the prejudices within themselves.

Also speaking, the President of the National Association of Lawyers with Disability, Daniel Amaechi, called for the emergence of a society – and workplaces – that does not respond to disability as a reflex action arising from sympathy, but from a deeper understanding of the intrinsic humanity of disabled persons, and their equality before God and before the law. Such understanding, Amaechi said, ultimately translates into psychological empathy, proactive approaches that anticipate the needs of persons with disability, and the implementation of affirmative action policies and programmes on their behalf.

The two remaining discussants on the 4-man panel (one a civil society and gender-rights activist, and the other a Nigerian psychiatrist based in the United Kingdom) beamed their respective searchlights on the country’s cultural diversity – with the prejudices that arise between individuals and groups, and what the moderator himself described as the diversities that can exist WITHIN an individual person.

Mrs. Saadatu Ibrahim, one of the co-conveners of the Bring Back Our Girls pressure groups, lamented the manner and speed in which many – if not most, Nigerians tend to wave the ethnic and/or the religious flag whenever they are challenged by argument of competence, character and merit. This attitude, she says, has gone a long way to enthrone a culture of impunity and mediocrity in our society, as well as weakened our institutions and eroded the moral authority of our leaders.

She also drew attention to the problem of generational diversity and exclusion – the tendency by older people and institutions to discriminate against younger persons. It is time, Saadatu said, to negotiate inclusion (and indeed our continued co-existence as Nigerians) on the basis of equality, our common humanity and the supremacy of our national constitution.

The afore-mentioned psychiatrist, Vincent Udenze, also spoke about equality, asking the assembled delegates to discover what he called ‘the diversity blindspot’ that exists in each one of us.

‘How inclusive are YOU?’ he asked, lamenting the indifference of most Nigerians, especially in the South,  to the suffering of their compatriots – especially in regard to the victims of Boko Haram in the North-East; a mental attitude he called the ‘in-group (those who look or behave like us) versus the out-group (those who don’t look or behave like us) syndrome.’

Listing the number of ways in which other nations have tackled the issues of multidimensional diversity, Udenze called for innovative legislation and constitutional amendments that capture the needs of people with disability. Warning that the journey towards inclusion was a marathon rather than a sprint, Udenze   called for a renewed community spirit among Nigerians. “We need mentors and sponsors,” he said.   “None succeeds tremendously without the investments of others.”


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