Who am I & How my DEI path started
The Full Story
Identity
"Mom, Dad, what is my colour? I have to fill this form to the school."
This was my question mark during the biggest part of my life.
I was born in Brazil in the 80's.
My father was Italian and my mother is Brazilian with indigenous background. My birth certificate says I am white (in the 80's yes it was still added your colour in Brazil in your birth certificate).
The reason I was always questioning myself and constantly asking my parents what colour should I fill in tells a lot about how confusing it was to look at the mirror and see myself kind of brown but having to say I am white. I felt a fraud.
I also felt like I should not tell anyone about my indigenous family background. I was often bullied called as "india" - yes the tone was pejorative, seeking to offend me and it worked because since I born I was told that I had Italian roots therefore I should consider myself a white person therefore more prestigious.
This is how race superiority theories implanted and imposed in our society during colonisation times by eugenic scientists in particular during the 19th century impacted and still continue to impact our lives due to "normalisation" of behaviours and attitudes. In Brazil, the first convention related to strategies to start whitening the country was on 1878 - exactly 10 years before abolishing slavery... It is crucial to learn what is conditioned conscious and unconscious from the past if we want to eradicate prejudices from our lives.
Woman & Behavioural Science
I was living in Madrid, when I discovered “Lean In: Woman, Work and the way to Lead” by Sheryl Sandberg.
This specific book woke me up to my own perception as a woman, of how I perceived others and in particular on how society perceived women therefore expected us to behave or be treated.
I realised that my challenges as an ambitious woman struggling to be respected and heard were the challenges of every single woman in the world.
After reading the book, I joined the Lean In global movement where women come together in circles to help and support each other. Today as the Founder & Regional Leader of Lean In Network Bordeaux in France, I lead a community of +300 members with the same mission of LeanInOrg which is the inclusion of the intersection of woman in the workplace.
At the same period I was investing on my fascination with human behaviour by researching and educating myself in topics such as "Morality in Everyday Life" by Paul Bloom from Yale, "Become a change-maker entrepreneur" by HEC Paris, "Le Savoir-Relier: leading with sense" by Valerie Gauthier from HEC Paris (just to mention a few) which, together with my life story, has led me to the legacy of educate individuals for a more inclusive world therefore to become an international consultant and trainer on diversity and inclusion at the executive level and for top schools.
My core values
1. Inclusion | Beyond its philosophical and ethical stance, I proud myself for the human centred approach and being aware of my own unconscious bias to a more diverse and inclusive leadership approach.
2. Trust | Every decision made must be with transparency, humility and active listening. Create an environment which earns and maintains trust is essential for me.
3. Ethical behaviour | This value brings me the sense of justice, honesty, empathy, compassion, respect and responsibility to each of my services.
4. Excellence | Committed to nurturing our relationship through creative and best use of my skills to bring excellence in both the ordinary and the extraordinary.
Mission & Methodologies
As a multilingual DEI practitioner I act globally helping individuals understand their own internal and external biases. Why is understanding our own biases important?
Because they create stereotypes which influence our decision-making and that can negatively impact the careers of underrepresented people.
My approach aims to challenge perceptions, attitudes, behaviours and listening skills through empathy-led activities in order to demonstrate how all of these affect us. And they affect us in our personal life but also in the workplace so it is crucial we address them.
My methodology is a combination of various concepts that have been inspiring me along the last years:
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Authentic relating, a movement born in San Francisco in the late 1990s, consists of a set of practices and games that build skills, such as empathy and curiosity, with the goal of creating meaningful human connection. How we communicate shapes our world. Authentic Relating practices employ unique social exercises that foster personal awareness, greater empathy, emotional intelligence, relational capacity, and deep embodiment in service of greater collective freedom and radical connection.
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Liberating Structures are a disruptive innovation that can replace more controlling or constraining approaches. It is an ideal approach to addressing equity challenges and change efforts in complex systems.
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#IamRemarkable movement, a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. I am a Gold Tier Certified.
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Le Savoir-Relier: leading with sense, a methodology for better connecting with yourself or others by going through the following 4 steps for successful leadership: Introspection, Conversation, Resilience and Responsibility toward Value Creation. I am certified by HEC Paris.
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50ways to fight bias is a bias training activity created by LeanIn.org that helps people recognise and combat the biases women face at work. Participants will discuss examples of bias, share personal experiences, and learn research-backed solutions.
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Via Character Strengths methodology and test, based in positive psychology that help us better balance how we use our strengths to achieve our goals.