Making Everyone Feel Welcome

Thoughts on building a more inclusive work environment for women and everyone else

Want a more inclusive workforce? What we really need is belonging.

Six years ago, I walked into my first (and only) tech company, eager to learn more about an industry that is changing how we live, work, and communicate. From day one, I fed off the pace. My coworkers pushed my thinking and I could see my experiences influencing how our leadership team shaped our culture and our people work.

Yet sometimes, in those same rooms working alongside those same people, my differences were not my superpowers. They were the very things that I had to push myself over to bring my ideas forward. I was in the room, at the table, and still didn’t feel like I fully belonged.

Belonging is the inclusion nirvana because it steps beyond the programs and interventions and into the psyche. Belonging fuels the ease we feel when we trust each other enough to bring more of ourselves to our teams and work. It grants us permission to uncover and reveal who we are without fear of judgment or reprisal. It provides the safety we need to step into meaningful, honest, caring interactions with others especially when those conversations are hard or we can’t find common ground. And it frees us up to channel more of our energy and creativity into our work.

To get to belonging, companies, and teams have to architect inclusive environments in which people can feel safe, seen, championed, welcomed, and supported. Last month, in partnership with LeanIn.org, McKinsey published its annual Women in the Workplace study. The analysis reflects data gathered from qualitative interviews and surveys of employees across over 250 companies. The report provides clear, evidence-based actions companies can take to build the foundation for a fair, belonging-conducive culture.

We are excited to partner with the Commonwealth Club in this critical conversation on the unique challenges women face in the workplace and what we can do to unlock how different perspectives can transform our businesses and communities. While McKinsey’s report provides a good game plan, we have much work ahead of us if we really want everyone to belong.