Leading Libraries Series: Leading for Inclusion

Challenges to inclusive practice

The big idea: barriers to inclusion

Having spent some time considering the aspects of inclusion that affect us all as individuals, we are now going to move on to consider how group behavioural norms set up cultures of inclusion or exclusion.

As leaders, when we want to create more inclusive environments we need to understand the interpersonal and group dynamics that can cause exclusion.

Understanding how exclusion works can open your eyes to patterns of behaviours, ways of working and being, as well as power imbalances that lead to the exclusion and discrimination of certain people or groups. Once you identify these patterns you have a better chance of making a difference.

This topic is vast, so for this foundational module, we will just explore three key concepts:

• Building awareness of biases
• Formation of in-groups and out-groups
• Impact of exclusion on people's identity.

Understanding biases

A 'bias’ is a disproportionate sway for or against an idea or thing. It is usually a closed mindset, prejudicial, or unfair and it is often wrong. Biases are mostly learned; people develop biases for or against certain individuals, groups, or belief systems.

We can’t stop our brain from automatically operating with mental templates, however we can slow it down and challenge our thinking and behaviour. This requires honesty and vulnerability, and creates the opportunity for new ways of being and working that are more innovative and inclusive.

In-groups and out-groups

An in-group is a group with which a person identifies. By contrast, we tend not to identify with the members of an out-group. Henri Tajfel and colleagues made this concept popular during his work on social identity theory.

Our biases and lived experiences influence and shape our in-group and out-group preferences. People may for example identify with others based on, but not limited to, family norms, community connections, religion, political views, education, accent, sports teams, gender or even racial, cultural or life style similarities. As leaders, problems occur when we don’t pay attention to our biases and how they influence our behaviour towards people who are not in our in-group.

The impact of exclusion

When people feel at risk of being excluded in their workplaces – from roles, from communication, from decision making or simply from a sense of belonging - it can lead to significant personal costs. The costs to the individual may seem quite obvious – people can lose confidence in their abilities and ideas and start to feel isolated and alone. In order to avoid these very unpleasant experiences, people from marginalised groups may begin to alter aspects of their identity, in order to appear more similar to the majority of people. This important psychological phenomenon is known as 'covering'. In turn, when individuals feel forced to de-emphasise their desires, values and cultural traditions, their organisations and social groups also lose out - on their different perspectives, diverse views, creativity and wider contribution.

Leading for Inclusion means becoming as aware as you can about these aspects of exclusion so that you can:

• notice when they are showing up in your workplace
• initiate conversations about these subjects with colleagues and service users
• raise everyone's awareness about how they can contribute more positively to the creation of a more inclusive environment.

This module will help you to:

• recognise where unconscious or implicit bias is showing up in your organisational processes, interpersonal behaviours or shaping of your services
• notice how 'micro-inequalities' and 'micro-affirmations' set up in-group/out-group experiences
• understand the phenomenon of 'covering' and notice the impact on the marginalised person or group.

Continue to: How exclusion develops