Kennedys DE&I chief on the important thing takeaways of Dive In 2023

A sociolinguist by coaching, the hyperlink between language and society has lengthy been of curiosity to Dr Marianne Blattès (pictured), world variety, fairness and inclusion (DE&I) senior supervisor at Kennedys, forming the inspiration for her route into translating DE&I analysis into motion. Those concerned about how language is impacted by social elements resembling gender, class and ethnicity have few higher viewing stations than the Dive In Festival and its host of worldwide occasions.

“To see the worldwide engagement with Dive In – with events from Peru, to London, to Hong Kong is a powerful thing,” she stated. “Also what’s quite interesting about Dive In is that some of the events are done in local languages, and having people talk about their topics in their first language is important in terms of accessibility and global reach.”

Introduction to Dive In

Blattès introduction to the competition – which is among the largest DE&I occasions of its variety – got here when she joined Kennedys in 2021 and he or she shortly turned concerned, quickly serving to to prepare and promote occasions and the broader competition. The world nature of the competition is sort of extraordinary, she stated, because it permits attendees to study concerning the variety points prioritized in numerous international locations, in addition to to develop a stronger understanding of how the trade can work as one to maneuver the dial on DE&I.

“At its core is collaboration,” she stated. “To put collectively an occasion you will have a number of organizations coming collectively. And that’s fairly an revolutionary mind-set about issues as a result of, traditionally, folks like me labored inside our personal organizations attempting to unravel variety issues. But actually what we must be doing is collaborating and speaking with our friends and arising with collective options to widespread issues.

“So it’s really helpful to meet people from other organizations, hear that they’re probably going through similar challenges – and then to come together through thought leadership and putting together events to raise awareness about different topics.”

The evolution of Dive In

Touching on how the initiative has advanced when it comes to its attain, visibility and engagement, she famous that since 2015 over 128,000 folks have participated within the Dive In Festival. As a member of the competition’s steering committee, Blattès highlighted the continued dedication to repeatedly redefine and refine the competition, to enhance it year-on-year and guarantee it stays as impactful as potential.

For instance, she stated, this yr has seen the implementation of a ‘reverse mentoring scheme’ which sees junior colleagues mentoring their extra senior friends on a variety of well timed matters. When signing up, the attendee can select a subject – whether or not that’s speaking about their lived expertise coming from an ethnic minority background, or speaking about expertise and so on. – and it’s aimed toward bringing collectively individuals who won’t in any other case have the prospect to work together and community on this manner.

“We’ve actually implemented something quite similar at Kennedys which we have called “reciprocal mentoring” and it’s a good way of fostering better understanding,” she stated. “It’s good to see how some senior insurance leaders are taking [the spirit of Dive In] further than just showing up to an event and actively taking part in a six-month program where they have to commit to meeting their mentee for up to an hour a month.”

The reverse mentoring program is an fascinating instance of the continued evolution of Dive In to develop into as significant and actionable as potential, she stated, an evolution which could be very consistent with this yr’s theme of “Unlocking Innovation: The Power of Inclusion”. For Blattès, unlocking innovation is about accessing a wider expertise pool and tapping right into a extra various group of people that convey completely different abilities and experiences to bear.

Collectively, she stated, these completely different backgrounds convey completely different views, which ends up in higher problem-solving. She firmly believes {that a} various group provides a richer, extra nuanced understanding of clear up even probably the most advanced issues.

“It’s not really rocket science,” she stated. “If you’ve got 10 people in the room, all coming from similar backgrounds with similar skills, that’s not going to be as rich as people who come with various experiences, various linguistic backgrounds, perspectives, religions, or simply from different walks of life.”

Diversity with inclusion

That’s the innovation a part of Dive In’s 2023 theme, she stated, however variety with out inclusion doesn’t actually make a lot sense. The inclusion aspect is essential, and for her, it’s about organizations making certain a way of belonging amongst their folks, and committing to their psychological security in order that they really feel valued and revered, and in a position to voice and share their ideas, opinions and views.

“It’s about really harnessing that talent, and unlocking the diversity and the potential to reap the benefits of diversity,” she stated. “People usually discuss concerning the enterprise case for variety, however I at all times say, truly, it’s the enterprise case for variety and inclusion, as a result of, with out the inclusion piece, you don’t actually get the complete advantages of variety.

“[…] And for me, that’s the key takeaway of Dive In 2023. It’s not a one-off but it’s about taking away some tangible actions and outcomes from these events, whether that’s personally or to use within your organization. It’s about implementing what you’ve learned or just bringing it with you and sharing it with others. That’s the value of the festival, it’s meant to drive change, to drive a more inclusive agenda and it’s meant to diversify the industry. It’s about turning thoughts and ideas into actions.”

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