ERGs and the Paradox of Awareness
As a graduate student, I spent time researching diversity groups within schools of business—specifically those serving individuals who identified within the LGBTQ+ community. My goal was designing and starting a group within my own MBA program. The particular aspect I wanted to better understand was the purpose of established programs—why they operated, who they served, what they did. Traveling to a nearby university one afternoon, I met up with Lucas, who co-led one such organization. He immediately knew what I was asking and began breaking it down for me on the whiteboard.
The framework for their group seemed clear enough. What I was missing were other people. People like me. Others who inherently knew my lived experience—at least partly. Without them, this new organization reduced to an effort poised to only educate others. In which case, I wondered if I was designing a group or merely a thoughtful workshop.
Fast forward a couple years, as I now begin helping to lead the LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG, see examples) in my office, I am reminded of this conversation with Lucas and the struggles I had when starting—not from scratch, but as a club of one. (In the case of our ERG, there are actually a few of us involved who identify as LGBTQ+. Yes, over a 100-percent increase from before! But viewed in that way perhaps detrimental to my point?) So, with little membership, what is our purpose? We have a mission statement, but what are our priorities?
In this moment, I think it starts by recognizing when the act of becoming aware of an afflicted group places further burden on that group to make and articulate their own case for the purpose of educating us of their circumstance—a phenomenon I will refer to as the paradox of awareness. It is time to be mindful of the assumed responsibility we place on any burdened, marginalized minority individual to teach us of their predicaments and the solution to their problem. (I neither say this to suggest that they have nothing to teach us nor do I say this to imply we cannot ask for their input; more on this in a future article.) Said another way, if the main acts of our ERGs are to serve allies or develop new allies (to educate colleagues or self-advocate) then what kind of resource are we being to the very group we've formed around? Does an ERG membership have a vested interest in educating others about their circumstance, culture, experience, and/or perspective? Absolutely, it does. But just like oxygen masks aboard your flight, it's important to secure yourself before assisting others—and minority groups owe it to themselves to prioritize their needs first if we truly are supportive of their well-being.
Earlier, I left off an important question: how can we attract other talented LGBTQ+ people to our firm? To the Nutmeg state? I am looking to start a new dialog to better understand all of what others are experiencing and how we can help each other to build our communities as prominent destinations for LGBTQ+ and other minority professionals and their families. I want to connect with leaders of other ERGs, especially those serving LGBTQ+ professionals. Who should I connect with in your network?
This post was original published on LinkedIn on July 29, 2020 and reposted on NeedInput.io on March 12, 2023.