DE&I Activator Series: Mental health & well-being through a DE&I lens

Virtual Event

Description

The DE&I Activator Series helps to grow a participant’s knowledge of how to activate a diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) workplace culture shift. The series offers concrete application strategies to help a workplace that is seeking to be intentionally welcoming.

This DE&I session will be presented by Kira Kimball (Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Marsh McLennan Agency) and Colleen Moran (Senior Deputy State’s Attorney at the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office).

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 U.S. adults experiences mental illness each year and 1 in 20 adults experiences serious mental illness. In the LGBTQ+ community the percent doubles. And with communities of color, there are known barriers to even reporting mental illness which limits opportunities to receive support and can lead to an increase in the severity of the illness. Many of these adults are in our workplaces. The stigma of talking about mental illness in the workplace, let alone asking for support and accommodations, is a huge societal challenge we must tackle. With culture crises coming one after another, impacting historically marginalized populations in profound ways, our workplaces must become better equipped to support workers who struggle with mental illness and create safe spaces to talk about it.

Learning Outcomes
– Learn how mental health status is part of the DE&I equation
– Realize how mental illness impacts employee engagement
– Understand the importance of psychological safety to decrease the stigma around mental illness
– Realize how societal crises can impart a trauma response from employees
– Identify available accommodations and resources