A simple guide to productive engagement to ensure inclusion

- Even though I'm Jewish, Jews have not always been part of my diversity, equity, and inclusion practice. This is also known as DEI. Is this your first time thinking about Jewish inclusion in DEI? You're taking an important first step. You should feel confident acting in support of the Jewish community. After watching this video, you'll be able to plan for Jewish workplace inclusion. We can sometimes get distracted by how we categorize the Jewish community. Employers need to recognize Jews as an ethnicity and not simply or only a religious group. Jews define ourselves as a people or a nation, and there are many members of the Jewish people who don't follow the Jewish religion. Most workplaces have much more rigorous standards for protecting ethnic groups than they do for protecting religious groups. Jews should receive the same services as members of other ethnic minorities. I invite you to start by proactively creating processes for Jews to report concerns about antisemitism. There are many ways that antisemitism can show up in a workplace, from intentional and blatant discrimination and abuse to inadvertently scheduling a major event or meeting on a Jewish holiday. Jewish employees should have a clear and credible process for reporting incidents that make them unsafe or unwelcome in the workplace. Include Jews and antisemitism in your DEI practice. If you run anti-bias training sessions, make sure information about antisemitism is included. If you have Jewish employees, you should ensure that Jewish holidays and cultural events are included in your celebrations. Even if you don't have Jewish employees that you know of, you can still take time to educate yourself and make sure that employees are educated about Jewish people and our history. I recommend setting up an employee resource group or ERG for your Jewish employees. It's a good idea to create affinity spaces for members of marginalized or minority communities. Affinity spaces allow employees to share any issues or concerns about the work environment and comfort and safety, as well as create culturally relevant events and ideas for your business. They're a vital part of creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. Jewish employees should be given the encouragement and support required to set up and maintain an ERG. Many people don't know where to begin with Jewish inclusion. A good starting point is remembering that Jews are a people or an ethnic group, and not just a religion. Once we recognize Jews as an ethnic group, we can ensure that they have the same resources available as other underrepresented communities. This includes Jewish ERGs, developing credible processes to report anti-Jewish bias in the workplace, and the integration of Jews and antisemitism into DEI spaces. I've come a long way in my own ability to build inclusive communities. I hope this helps you to do the same.