On July 28th, Fiotec held a workshop on inclusive culture, in which affirmative actions in companies were presented, in addition to how we can be allies in the fight against machismo, transphobia, ableism, lgbtphobia and racism. The lecture was led by Gisele Müller, from Éssi Consultoria.

During the opening, Cristiane Sendim, Fiotec’s executive director, highlighted the importance of all employees being together for an education action in favor of citizenship. “The topic of this conversation is very important so that we can become citizens who fight for their rights and for the right of others. We must value and respect the differences. It is not just through a document that a society is made, but through practice”, she said.

Then, Marcelo Amaral, Fiotec’s administrative director also talked about the need related to the theme in work relations. “The agenda on diversity is fundamental. We must ensure the representativeness inside the organizations. When we promote the inclusion, we ensure a higher level of democracy, plurality of thoughts and sinergy among all”, he said.

At the beginning of the lecture, Giselle Müller emphasized that all prejudice begins with lack of information. “Diversity and inclusion are not new subjects. Feminist and anti-racism movements have existed for a long time and have triggered actions and public policies. Speaking of diversity is to do right thing, once all people deserve to be treated with dignity. We are 8 billion people and there is no one like you”, he stated.

Diversity is an advantage for everybody

Gisele pointed out that, in Latin America, companies perceived as diverse are more likely to overcome their peers in the industry, in addition to have commercial advantages such as:

- More creative and innovative problem-solving;
- Higher productivity;
- Higher levels of satisfaction at work;
- Stronger financial performance in metrics, including profitability;
- When people work with others who are different from them, they expand their own thinking and improve their performance.

What can I do to become a more inclusive person on a daily basis?
The workshop presented some examples of daily practices to be adopted, such as affirmative actions at work. Among those are a more inclusive communication, as the use of neutral words or sentences, focused on skills and experiences necessary for the job, and use of hiring platforms that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Another daily exercise is to exclude racist, sexist, ableist and homophobic expressions from the vocabulary. For example: “Women should respect themselves”; “Black list, black market, skin color”; “We don't have arm for that”; "You don't look gay/lesbian/bi/trans".