Empower your group
An inclusive environment is one in which individuals from varied backgrounds and with varied abilities and experiences feel empowered to fully participate.
In an inclusive culture it’s important that people feel empowered to express themselves authentically, make independent decisions, and play their part in advocating for change. For community members to feel that sense of empowerment we need to create the right environment and conditions, and provide them with the tools and resources they need.
Create a speak up culture
A “speak up” culture is one where people feel safe to share their ideas, point out problems, give honest feedback on their experiences, and directly challenge any behavior that does not comply with ICANN’s Expected Standards.
There are four main reasons why people may not speak up:
- Past experience: If an individual spoke up before and experienced a negative reaction, they are less likely to risk sharing their ideas, thoughts and opinions in the future.
- Need to belong: We all want to create a good impression and be well regarded by others, so it might seem easier to go along with the status quo rather than to voice disagreement or express original ideas.
- Resignation: People will remain silent if they feel that they won’t be listened to, that their opinions and experiences don’t count, that diversity and inclusion are not valued, or that the culture promotes inaction.
- Apathy: People need to feel personally connected to the issue in order to overcome the barriers above; if they don’t care enough about change, they won’t take the risk of speaking up.
In order to minimize these barriers, we must cultivate a climate of psychological safety in all interactions. This is a climate where people trust each other and are comfortable being themselves, without fear of humiliation or reprisal.
Here are some ideas for how to empower your community group and encourage people to speak up.
Make your intentions known: Ensure that group members are aware of ICANN’s commitment to treating all participants with dignity, fairness, and respect. Clarify what this means in practice: that all members have a responsibility to behave according to ICANN’s Expected Standards at all times; that members have a responsibility to speak up if they experience or witness any problematic behavior; and that no one will be penalized for speaking up.
Make space for feedback: Ensure that everyone knows how and where to report issues, and share ideas and feedback. There should be easily accessible channels to do so anonymously and remotely, to create a greater sense of comfort and safety.
Listen up and follow up: Speaking up is not a one-way street, it’s important to pay attention to all the ideas that have been shared, take issues seriously, and follow up on every form of feedback.
Recognize and reward: When people are rewarded for a behavior, they are more likely to repeat it. This may be as simple as expressing thanks and appreciation to people for coming forward and sharing their views, and making sure that their concerns are heard, heeded and used as a catalyst for change.
Respond productively: Show appreciation for all contributions, even bad news and ideas that seem unproductive. If someone says something that you feel is unhelpful, respectfully acknowledge their input, check you have understood their perspective, and then clearly explain why their point won’t be taken forward.
Be transparent: Make decision-making processes open and transparent, and provide opportunities for feedback and evaluation to ensure that all voices are heard and that decisions are made in the best interests of all stakeholders.
Offer training: Ensure that every member has the tools to recognize non-inclusive behavior, and the confidence to speak up if they experience or witness it. Select here for a simple framework that can form the basis of a training session.
TIP: When someone does speak up, check in with them to make sure that they have ongoing support and are being protected from retaliation
An essential part of the speak up culture is hearing from a diverse range of voices at ICANN Public Meetings and other events.
At ICANN we have started to implement some policies and processes to support more people to speak up. For example, the Community Childcare Grants Program aims to facilitate the in-person participation of community members with children at ICANN Public Meetings and eligible ICANN events, by making grants available to cover local childcare services.
Information on the Community Childcare Grants Program
Select here
Increasing participation in meetings
Select here
How to engage remote meeting participants
Select here
TIP: Create profiles of the different types of people you want to attract and hear from, then take some time to consider their perspective. How might they feel about attending a Public Meeting? How will they access the event? What barriers might they experience? What might encourage them or discourage them from speaking? Who will they meet, and how will those people respond to them?
How to constructively challenge ideas
How to create opportunities for participation
Engaging a multigenerational community
10 ways to increase gender diversity in your community group
10 ways to increase language diversity in your community group
10 ways to increase regional diversity in your community group
How to stand up to non-inclusive behaviour
How to ensure accessibility
Become an ally
An ally is someone who champions for inclusivity of a group they are not part of, using the privilege and power they have in certain situations to support and advocate for people with less privilege. Allies also inspire others to act as change agents, creating a culture of acceptance and support.
Below are some tips for being an ally in your everyday interactions:
- Minority groups are more frequently interrupted and talked over in meetings, so make a conscious effort to re-engage a person who was interrupted so they can finish their statement.
- When you hear a great idea, give your support and ensure the credit is given to its originator.
- If you are called out for unconscious bias, accept it with grace and don’t get defensive. Instead see criticism as an opportunity to learn.
- Be on the lookout for others exhibiting unconscious bias or non-inclusive behavior, andintervene if you do witness anything that seems wrong.
- Be respectfully curious. Once you have permission, ask people about their journey and their experiences so that you can understand their perspective better.
- Make yourself available to people from underrepresented groups as someone to confide in, and seek support from.
- When you notice that you’re in a group setting where everyone has a similar profile or background to you, consider why this may have occurred and find a way to foster more diversity within that setting.
- Volunteer to mentor someone from a minority group, and open up your network to them.
TIP: If you aren’t sure about something, educate yourself. Find opportunities to learn more about others, and you’ll likely learn something about yourself along the way.
Be reflective
- Think about what diversity means to you, and what you have done personally to include others. What more could you do to solicit, encourage, and embrace new ideas and different perspectives?
- Seek to understand the diversity and inclusion goals of your community. Evaluate how they connect to you and how you can contribute to achieving them.
- Ask yourself if what you are saying or doing is respectful and considerate, and whether you are treating people how they want to be treated – rather than how you would choose to be treated.
- Think about how inclusive your everyday interactions are: look for examples where people may have held back their true thoughts or opinions, or where a certain group of people is given more space, attention, or value than others.