Scott Ferry, Author at The Inclusion Solution

Power to the People: We Can’t Afford to Ignore Education

Posted by Scott Ferry | Oct 17, 2024 | Features, Power to the People, Recent Posts | 0

I began my professional career as a middle school teacher in Washington, D.C., teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in a public school in a low-income neighborhood. While in graduate school, I studied the ins and outs of the public education system with a particular focus on urban schooling. Though my student teaching experience was in a rural Georgia high school, I figured that teaching in D.C. couldn’t be that much different — kids are kids, after all, and good teaching is good teaching.

By Whose Standards: A Look Back

Posted by Scott Ferry | Nov 18, 2021 | By Whose Standards, Features, Recent Posts | 0

Over the last four months, we’ve been asking the question, “By whose standards?” to begin unpacking the fraught relationship between organizational inertia — how things have always been done — and equity-centered momentum — how we imagine things could be. Equity and justice will not come easy, as the systems in place that enforce and uphold fundamentally inequitable, unjust standards are deeply entrenched in our societal norms. Deeply entrenched, though, is not the same as permanent.

By Whose Standards? The Gatekeepers of “Proper” English

Posted by Scott Ferry | Oct 14, 2021 | By Whose Standards, Features, Recent Posts | 0

The standards by which we judge communication and language skills—especially in the workplace—is completely disconnected from the lived reality of most people in the country. It is, quite frankly, absurd to discount a person’s intelligence or capabilities based on nonstandard use of English, especially in a society where periods are now considered aggressive in text messages and 80% of people use GIFs and emojis to clarify their communications. For the sake of equity, we need to move beyond the staid idea that Standard English is “correct” English; that codeswitching is the only path to effective cross-cultural communication (read: talking to white folks).

Operationalizing Justice: A Checklist for Change

Posted by Scott Ferry | Jul 8, 2021 | Features, Operationalizing Justice, Recent Posts | 0

Over the last five months, we’ve delved deep into what operationalizing justice actually looks like, answering the question we so often get as people struggle to turn thoughts and ideas into action: “This sounds good, but how do we do it?” We have put together a checklist of actions to consult as you work to center and operationalize justice across organizations. We have sequenced the areas as a recommended progression, but each person and organization is different, so feel free to find the starting place that makes sense for you.

Operationalizing Justice: Employees Can’t Be Safe Until They Feel Safe

Posted by Scott Ferry | Jan 28, 2021 | Features, Operationalizing Justice, Recent Posts | 0

The traditional workplace hierarchy often suppresses growth and change by suppressing bad news and good ideas due to employees not feeling psychologically safe. A just organization ensures that Black and POC employees are psychologically safe. Not only do leaders have to be willing to receive open, honest feedback and to not be threatened by ideas from those lower in the hierarchy — especially employees of color — they also have to cultivate a culture where everyone feels safe sharing.

Author: Scott Ferry

Power to the People: We Can’t Afford to Ignore Education

By Whose Standards: A Look Back

By Whose Standards? The Gatekeepers of “Proper” English

Operationalizing Justice: A Checklist for Change

Operationalizing Justice: Employees Can’t Be Safe Until They Feel Safe

Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy and Belonging Across Differences

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! (Second Edition)

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