{"id":590,"date":"2022-02-08T11:59:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T19:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/?p=590"},"modified":"2022-02-08T12:03:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T20:03:46","slug":"mozilla-inclusion-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/mozilla-inclusion-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"Intentional allyship: Meet three of Mozilla\u2019s first Inclusion Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Mozilla, we understand that our companywide <\/i>commitment<\/i><\/a> to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requires allyship at every level \u2014 both within our Mozilla Resource Groups (<\/i>Afrozillians<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Disability@Mozilla<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Pridezilla<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Latin Pride<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Mozilla API<\/i><\/a>, and <\/i>Women of Mozilla<\/i><\/a>) and beyond. That\u2019s why we recently launched a new initiative, Inclusion Champions. The Mozillians participating in this program commit to six months of multimodal learning engagements in which they build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to promote and support DEI throughout our organization.<\/i><\/p>\n

Below, Sarah Bird (Staff Software Engineer), Nicole Bjelica (Senior Program Manager), and Jeff Klukas (Senior Staff Data Engineer) share their experiences during the early days of the inaugural Inclusion Champions program, including what they\u2019ve learned so far and the challenges and opportunities they\u2019re looking forward to \u2014 not only as their meetings continue, but long after they wind up.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why did you want to get involved in Inclusion Champions?<\/h2>\n

Sarah: <\/i><\/strong>As soon as the email came out about it, I was like, \u201cYes, I must do this.\u201d As a woman, I\u2019m part of an underrepresented group in tech; as a white woman, I\u2019m someone with a huge amount of privilege, too. I\u2019m also outspoken, and I\u2019ve raised these issues before at Mozilla. But I\u2019m an engineer, not a DEI professional. I wanted to learn to better channel those frustrations, and say things in a way that\u2019s more likely to actually bring change.<\/p>\n

It was also an opportunity to work through some of the anxious energy I feel, and I think a lot of us feel, around saying the wrong thing \u2014 to get over that awkwardness of \u201cShould I say something? How should I say it?\u201d Just stewing in that isn\u2019t constructive, and this is a safe space to grow.<\/p>\n

Nicole: <\/i><\/strong>Inclusion is a big part of my job at Mozilla\u200b\u200b \u2014 as it is for everyone, but as a program manager I\u2019m building a UX community of practice, and the biggest part of that process is defining the culture we want to have. A community is basically a hub for sharing knowledge, so it\u2019s critical that people feel comfortable and heard. The Inclusion Champions program seemed like a great way to learn some best practices that will help me foster that kind of environment, and make sure we are hearing all of the diverse voices that exist in Mozilla\u2019s UX community. I talked to my manager about joining, and she was extremely supportive, so I signed up.<\/p>\n

Jeff:<\/strong> <\/i>As I\u2019ve moved up to a more senior level within the data organization and the Engineering team, I\u2019ve started to recognize the cultural influence I have \u2014 and I\u2019ve been thinking about how to use that to promote positive change. We want this to be a welcoming environment, especially as we\u2019re onboarding new people. All people should feel like they\u2019re able to be who they really are at work. But that doesn\u2019t just happen. You have to put in some effort to build those skills and ensure you\u2019re getting the feedback you should. So I was really excited about this program as a way to focus on that work, and be with other people thinking through similar things.<\/p>\n

What kinds of activities do you do, and what have you learned?<\/h2>\n

Nicole:<\/strong> <\/i>The D&I team, who started the group, have shared some great content \u2014 they brought in a speaker to help us recognize microaggressions, we have modules where we read and reflect, and we journal about situations that we\u2019ve experienced or that might happen in the workplace, and how we can react. A lot of it is just conversation; I\u2019ve been spending most of the time listening and learning.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re a pretty large cohort \u2014 about 20 people \u2014 so I think breaking into smaller groups has been especially valuable. You get to know your colleagues better, and hear perspectives that are different from yours. We had an interesting discussion about using a Harry Potter reference in a presentation, for example. One person might decide against that, even though they\u2019re a fan, because of what the author has said about the trans community. Someone else might say that there are still themes in the books that are valuable, and they can separate the art from the artist. I appreciate that there\u2019s space for both of those people to share their thoughts, and being able to hear different perspectives has been an eye-opening experience for me.<\/p>\n

Sarah: <\/i><\/strong>It\u2019s a very safe space to ask questions \u2014 both the meetings, and our Slack channel. One example I\u2019ve shared started with a recent all-company meeting, when two men who were new to the organization introduced themselves and mentioned how tall they were. Through the lens of gender and dominance, that felt weird to me, and I started a lighthearted discussion about it on the Women of Mozilla channel. But when I brought it up in Inclusion Champions, one of our members pointed out that as a Black woman, she regularly called attention to the height of tall men in her family \u2014 because just that physical presence can lead them into harmful situations. That recontextualized the feelings I\u2019d had during the company meeting, especially given that one of the speakers was a Black man. I’d initiated a jokey conversation but then I realized everyone participating was white. I was grateful for the perspective from the inclusion champions, and that I was able to share this non-white perspective with the Women of Mozilla channel.<\/p>\n

Jeff: <\/i><\/strong>I think what\u2019s been most valuable to me is that we\u2019re all watching each other fail. In our conversations about microaggressions, for example, we\u2019ve talked about how using words like \u201ccrazy\u201d and \u201cinsane\u201d can be harmful to people who have mental illness. I\u2019ve struggled to do better on that; those words have been part of my vernacular. So it\u2019s a great relief when, even in this cohort of people who care deeply about inclusion and set aside time to learn, someone else uses that language and then calls themself out on it. It reminds me we are all going to fail and that\u2019s okay, and it sets an example for how to recover with grace. We even wrote that down \u2014 one of the first activities we did together was developing the agreements that guide our discussions, and one of them is that we will be mindful about harmful language and correct ourselves when we catch it. That\u2019s such great practice. To do better, you have to be willing to talk about doing better in the first place.<\/p>\n

Tell us a little more about the agreements the group made.<\/h2>\n

Nicole: <\/i><\/strong>They\u2019re essentially principles for how we interact \u2014 for example, practicing deep listening, really hearing what someone\u2019s saying rather than with an intent to respond. We also try to avoid interrupting. We try to use inclusive language, as Jeff mentioned. We assume best intentions and acknowledge that everyone is human and we\u2019re all learning all the time. We own the impact we have \u2014 on each other and ultimately on the organization. And we do our best to avoid assuming universal truths \u2014 we\u2019re mindful of whether we\u2019re stating opinions rather than facts, and we use \u201cI\u201d terms in those cases. I think the beauty of our agreements is that they don\u2019t say, \u201cYour values must be this.\u201d They say, \u201cThis is how we talk together and share our perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s challenging for you right now, in terms of inclusion?<\/h2>\n

Jeff: <\/i><\/strong>Something I worry about is how to effectively translate what we\u2019re accomplishing here when we\u2019re outside the confines of this space. When you fail to be inclusive or say something that\u2019s hurtful and you\u2019re a relatively senior person, you\u2019re not necessarily going to hear about that \u2014 giving constructive feedback can be difficult in any case, but especially when power dynamics are involved. So that\u2019s definitely something I want to work on through this group. The more I can develop that trust and build those communication channels, the more I set up a cycle of being able to improve.<\/p>\n

Sarah: <\/i><\/strong>Related to that, what\u2019s top of mind for me is effecting change in my seniors \u2014 not just my manager, who in my case is also in our cohort, but their managers and so on. With a peer or someone more junior, I\u2019m pretty comfortable having a one-on-one conversation and calling out an issue. I can say, \u201cHey, this happened. We can do better, and I\u2019m here to support you in that process.\u201d If someone\u2019s in a leadership role or setting the tone in a meeting, though, how do I encourage them to improve on these measures? I don\u2019t have an answer for that, but that\u2019s what I hope this group will help me learn.<\/p>\n

Nicole: <\/i><\/strong>The challenge is creating space for folks to bring their authentic selves to work every day \u2014 it\u2019s a vital part of building culture and community\u2014while also keeping those communities safe. Of course, this shows up in my personal life, too, when I\u2019m trying to build bridges between friends with divergent values. I want to make sure I do that in the right way, and it’s one of the reasons I joined this group.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also on my mind that we don\u2019t know what the state of DEI will look like 10 years from now \u2014 we don\u2019t know if we\u2019re doing this right. Hopefully, most of what we\u2019re building here will land correctly, but some things might not. I think the key is just to be thoughtful, so I can be confident that whatever work I leave behind comes from the right place.<\/p>\n

What are you looking forward to as you continue with Inclusion Champions?<\/h2>\n

Nicole:<\/strong> <\/i>I joined this group with the goal of learning to build a culture that is inclusive of all voices, but this is a journey of continuous learning \u2014 I\u2019m not going to leave with all the answers. I think what I\u2019m looking forward to most is seeing how Inclusion Champions evolves, and how our ideas develop around building stronger communities. And then what it looks like when we\u2019re going back out into Mozilla and the rest of the world to use these tools on our own.<\/p>\n

Sarah: <\/i><\/strong>Absolutely \u2014 our agreements talk about how we won\u2019t necessarily get immediate closure, and that\u2019s something I struggle with. It\u2019s hard for me to open a can of worms, and then just leave them on the floor and look at them! But it\u2019s important to learn. So I\u2019m looking forward to getting more comfortable with that, and then socializing it with other people who are like me in that way \u2014 which includes a lot of engineers, I think.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also looking forward to being sort of a ready response team as we continue to build our ability to act in the moment \u2014 that\u2019s another thing I struggle with, and I feel like a lot of people do. Right now, I\u2019m focusing on building my own skills, and learning what an appropriate response looks like in different situations. But as I become a better practitioner, I can pass that along.<\/p>\n

Jeff: <\/i><\/strong>I think this is just one part of a larger journey for each of us. Similar to what Sarah said, I\u2019m increasing my confidence and getting over the self-doubt of when and how to speak up. For that, a program like this is materially better than reading a bunch of things, because you\u2019re having conversations and developing firsthand experience with hard conversations.<\/p>\n

In terms of the group itself, we\u2019re thinking of these six months in two phases \u2014 right now, we\u2019re focused on learning and interacting, processing information together. In the second half of the program, we\u2019re going to move more into action, including deciding on a concrete contribution we want to make to Mozilla, whether that\u2019s a project like a resource library or something else. But even at this early stage, I think the very existence of the group is making a difference. Certainly that\u2019s true for those of us in the cohort, but I\u2019ve also talked with several people who saw in an email that I\u2019m participating and wondered how it\u2019s going. Just knowing that DEI work is happening at the company and that your colleagues are connected to it \u2014 that\u2019s part of how we start the conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Mozilla, we understand that our companywide commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requires allyship at every level \u2014 both within our Mozilla Resource Groups (Afrozillians, Disability@Mozilla, Pridezilla, Latin … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318942,30710],"tags":[],"coauthors":[306191],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}