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inclusion

Keeping the ‘Over 50’ Set Socially Connected

August 28, 2020 by cpdigital

Let’s talk social isolation.

Have you heard of the French adventurer and scientist Michel Siffre? Back in 1972, he shut himself away for more than SIX MONTHS in a Texas cave – one of the longest self-isolation experiments in history!

via GIPHY

As reported in thescientest.com, “Meticulously documenting the effects on his mind over those 205 days, Siffre wrote that he could “barely string thoughts” together after a couple months. By the five-month mark, he was reportedly so desperate for company that he tried (unsuccessfully) to befriend a mouse. This kind of experiment, and less extreme isolation periods such as those experienced by spaceship crews or scientists working in remote Antarctic research stations, has offered glimpses of some of the cognitive and mental effects of sensory and social deprivation. People routinely report confusion, changes in personality, and episodes of anxiety and depression.”

Covid-19, with shut-downs and self-isolation and six-feet apart, has really knocked some of us for six. Social isolation, and the very harmful cognitive effects of same is a very real concern at the moment.

The 4AM Report and Keeping the ‘Over 50’ Set Socially Connected

Yes, some of us thrive by having “alone time.” And some of you – juggling work, family, kids, pets, you name it – 24/7 these past 6 months – might gnaw your right arm off for a little “social isolation.” 😆🤣😆

But long-term social isolation – especially in seniors – can have seriously deleterious results.

·   Cognitive decline and dementia.

·   Depression.

·   Increased risk of mortality.

And with a quarter of Canadian seniors living alone – that’s not great news. 😢😢😢

When this week’s 4AM Report guest began to worry about her own mom’s dwindling network of friends and contacts – she did what any self-respecting entrepreneur would do – she founded a tech company to help!

via GIPHY

Today, Charlene Nadalin is President and CEO of Amintro Inc., an online social platform  – exclusively for adults 50-plus – that promotes social inclusion.

We are SO HERE for this! 🎉💫👏❤️ (*whispers* We’re next, y’all!)

Begone, Ageism!

Ageism occurs in MOST areas of life, but especially in the tech field.

As a recent CBC.ca article reports, “The reality is, ageism is still alive and well,” said Marissa Lennox, director of Stakeholder Relations for CARP (formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons). Lennox said pervasive workplace biases are based on perceptions from over a dozen years ago, when digital tools were less user-friendly, and that “there is no evidence that the older audience is less tech-savvy.”

It’s a fantastic interview, and with 75% of older adults actively online, it’s also a kick in the pants for marketers and the like, who often forget about an entire segment of the population.

The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness

“A lot of people don’t realize the health implications, and the consequences of social isolation and loneliness. It increases the mortality rate by 30%. It increases the risk of dementia by 50%, stroke by 32%. The impact on our health care system to the tune of $117 billion spent on older adults And then there are the caregivers out there, the informal caregivers who are us, the adult children, who could be helping parents by making a phone call and checking in once a week, or swinging by and dropping the groceries off, or more extensive caring. They suffer from caregiver burnout, because that’s an allocated period of time in the day in the week, tacked on to their careers and their jobs and raising their children. Most of them are part of the sandwich generation. And what has happened in recent months with COVID-19 is it’s put social isolation and loneliness on the map for everybody. And with that, I think, empathy and a realization that while many of us are experiencing it right now, as a result of this pandemic and COVID-19 it will be temporary. However, there are many millions of members of our population and our communities for which if nothing is being done about it, it’s a permanent reality.”

Tech-Savvy Seniors are Doin’ it for Themselves!

“It’s an inaccurate perception that older adults are not texting or aren’t online. I’ve had countless conversations on this subject since starting out the path of creating [this app]. And they are actually the fastest growing segment of internet users! 75% of older adults connect to the internet through devices. And 75% have downloaded apps. So, they are very much active and engaged. They were using social media to stay connected [with friends], using it to stay connected with family, prior to COVID, and it has become even more so important to do so. And what has happened is COVID has, quite frankly, forced or inspired or motivated those who were perhaps not the early adopters. There are those who need a lot of evidence before they make that purchase. Covid-19 has inspired them to get on board and embrace technology for their wellbeing, because we don’t know how long this is going to last. And we’re going to be in this world of, you know, Bubbles and socially distancing and doing everything we need to do to remain safe. Right? I think we’re going to see large numbers and spikes in the data when it comes to technology adoption, particularly with the older adults. So, you know, the seniors perhaps in their 80s. Maybe the 84 year old grandmother or grandfather historically haven’t. But I’ll tell you, the kids and the grandchildren are making sure that they do have a tablet, they do have a smartphone, because of what has been going on with the pandemic, and not being able to go and visit grandma or grandpa!”

Marketers, Get Thee Heads Out of Thee A**es!!

“I think historically when we look at marketing and quite frankly, Hollywood and how Hollywood presents the image of an older individual – to me it’s a caricature. Age to me? Absolutely irrelevant. It is our mentality, it is our wellness, it is our spirit. And I think that, you know, we as a society have done a disservice to the aging experience, you know, the anti-aging industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. And I argue ‘What the hell is wrong with aging?’ My father didn’t make it past the age of 56, he would have loved to have made it to 76! The reality is that baby-boomers and seniors, number one, own 80% of the wealth in our financial institutions. They represent 55% of the nation’s discretionary spending power, annual expenditure online. How do I want to be treated when I’m in my 60s and when I’m in my 70s and when I’m in my 80s? I don’t want to be treated like I am invisible! I have a voice, I have an opinion. And I have a plethora – at that point – of life experiences and knowledge. And I think what we tend to forget is that with every year that we are older, represents a year of more knowledge, more experiences, I mean, the skills and the talent pool of older adults and the knowledge that they have!”

“There’s a huge marketing opportunity. You know, the baby boomer generation, it’s a 20-year period, where you have individuals hitting the age of 65. We’re just a few years into baby boomer, the first crew of the baby boomers hitting 65. We’ve got another 14 or 15 years till the last baby boomer age hits 65. And then what? You have another 20-year period now of 65 to 85-year-olds! And we’re living longer. We’re living better. We’re not retiring at 65. It’s not necessarily because of financial [reasons] (though that is a factor for many), but because they want to maintain their sense of purpose, they’ve got more to give, they have more to do. Like they’re not retiring and fiddling out their retirement planning. They’re traveling, they’re living the life of Riley, they’re having, you know, wonderful experiences. And quite frankly, as the daughter that I am, I want my mom to have the same thing!”

That’s just a snapshot of what we discussed in this episode – take a moment and listen to the entire thing if you can! And you can find us on Apple Podcasts – subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!

Plus, if you’re losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p dgital.

And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

Filed Under: Blog, Crisis Communication Resources Tagged With: ageism, elderly, inclusion, isolation, social, technology

#52 – The LGBTQ Community and Workplace Discrimination with Colin Druhan

June 24, 2020 by cpdigital

Cheers to all you woke folk (literally and figuratively!) who are doing the hard work of fighting for equality and social justice for all! 🎉✊🌈

It’s time for the 4am report! June is Pride Month here in Canada – a celebration of LGBTQ-plus people, 🏳️‍🌈rainbows 🏳️‍🌈abound, (usually) parades and parties are had (thanks, Covid) 😭, and it’s generally a month of festivity and equality.

Except when it isn’t.

Which is why we wanted to talk to this week’s guest, Colin Druhan 

The Executive Director at Pride at Work Canada, his mission is to hold people accountable when it comes to true inclusion for queer and trans people in the workplace.

The not-for-profit supports employers and their diversity and inclusion strategies, including:

🌈 Sexual orientation

🌈 Gender identity

🌈 And gender expression

This is extremely important work, because as Colin says, “You don’t change the system overnight.” 

Have a listen. Because you WILL learn something. 

About Colin

Colin joined Pride at Work Canada/Fierté au travail Canada as Executive Director in 2014. Since then, he has prioritized the extension of the organization’s reach outside of Canada’s largest cities into a wide range of communities across the country.

Originally from Cole Harbour, NS, he has lived in Toronto for fifteen years, during which time he has consistently engaged with queer, trans and 2S communities through working and volunteering with organizations like The 519, the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film & Video Festival and the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn or email him at colin.druhan@prideatwork.ca.

Read Colin’s writing for IN Magazine.

 

Filed Under: Podcasts Tagged With: discrimination, diversity, expression, gender, identity, inclusion, lgbtq, orientation, pride, rights, workplace

The LGBTQ Community and Workplace Discrimination

June 24, 2020 by cpdigital

Cheers to all you woke folk (literally and figuratively!) who are doing the hard work of fighting for equality and social justice for all!

It’s time for the 4am report! June is Pride Month here in Canada – a celebration of LGBTQ-plus people, rainbows abound, (usually) parades and parties are had (thanks, Covid), and it’s generally a month of festivity and equality.

Except when it isn’t.

Which is why we wanted to talk to this week’s guest, Colin Druhan.

The Executive Director at Pride at Work Canada, his mission is to hold people accountable when it comes to true inclusion for queer and trans people in the workplace.

The not-for-profit supports employers and their diversity and inclusion strategies, including:

🌈 Sexual orientation

🌈 Gender identity

🌈 And gender expression

This is extremely important work, because as Colin says, “You don’t change the system overnight.”

The LGBTQ Community and Workplace Discrimination 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the first 6 months of 2020 have been LIT! First, Covid-19 raged across the globe, causing no amount of pain, physically and mentally. It shattered our economies and, as death rates soared, exposed the very real inequalities that exist between BIPOC and white people.

The murder (one of many, we might add) of George Floyd triggered social unrest like we haven’t seen since the 1960’s. In the immortal words of Peter Finch in the classic film Network, people everywhere were “…mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!” Honestly if you haven’t seen this film it’s a must see.

Then, right smack dab in the middle of all of this social unrest, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “…workers cannot be fired for being gay or transgender – a blockbuster win for members of the LGBT community.”

Wait. WHAT??

Yes. That’s correct. “While workers in about half the country were protected by local laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, there was no federal law that explicitly barred LGBT workers from being fired on that basis.”

And before you get all “smug Canadian” it wasn’t until 2017 that “…Canada officially amended the Human Rights Act to outlaw employment discrimination based on gender identity and expression.”

According to research by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion:

·   30% of Canadian LGBTQ employees report workplace discrimination.

·   Of their “straight” colleagues, only 3% felt discriminated against at work.

·   And between LQBTQ and non-LGBTQ colleagues? Thirty-three percent of the first said they had witnessed discrimination, while only 21% of the second said the same.

Which brings us to today’s guest.

Pride at Work Canada

Colin Druhan is the Executive Director at Pride at Work Canada, a national, not for profit organization that supports employers and their diversity and inclusion strategies, particularly around the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

What keeps Colin up at night? Let’s let him do the talking.

“We’ve seen a lot of really bold statements from a lot of big companies over the last couple of weeks about, you know, inclusion, and trying to build better cultures. And what keeps me up at night is that we’ve seen from the past that a lot of organizations, they really want to build those cultures, but they don’t necessarily have the right tools for the job. And I worry that sometimes people aren’t going to be able to live up to those commitments that they’re making to their employees in the public.”

There are No Quick Fixes to Diversity Inclusion

“[There’ve been] a lot of statements from CEOs and really important people. And I was really pleased to see them joining a conversation that was prompted by these protests that we’re seeing all around the world, about people entering a conversation that a lot of folks have been having for a long time. The fact that there’s people who don’t feel equally included in the workplace, in society, and also an unequal application of our justice system. So, a lot of people are joining this conversation that’s kind of already been in progress. And one of the things that we know doesn’t work with diversity inclusion is quick fixes. There’s no kind of magic, silver bullet to solve these issues.”

The Supreme Court Said WHAT?

“It wasn’t what I was expecting from the current makeup of the Supreme Court of the United States. And it’s interesting that they continue to make these landmark decisions during Pride Month, they made a decision on marriage during Pride Month, a couple years ago. I think there’s some drama queen in the court that knows the kind of impact that’s going to make when they make these announcements in June!!”

“This is great, but by no means does it mean instant equality for everyone. Because one of the things that we can take from some of the critiques that people have, in the current protests that are happening, is there are laws and then there’s the application of those laws. And then there’s whether or not people have the means to kind of fight for themselves in those laws. In Ontario where I live, sexual orientation has been a protected in the Ontario Human Rights Act for a long time. But does every person who gets fired because they’re gay have the means to get a lawyer to help them without legal challenge? No. And, you know, do we still see poor employment outcomes for trans and gender non-conforming folks, gender diverse folks? Absolutely. So, it’s not a panacea that fixes everything. It’s one step on our way to full equality. And it’s one more thing, one more tool that we can use to kind of build that future that we keep talking about.”

How Are Canadian Employers Doing So Far?

“We actually just did a great piece of research with the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto – a survey of, I think it was 69 large workplaces, in Canada, around their trans inclusion policies. What are some of the practices that they’re engaging in? And we saw some movement, but a lot of the movement was superficial. People are really good at basic accommodations, a policy on non-discrimination, trying to put out the trans pride flag, that sort of thing. But we have some ways to go on some of the more fully inclusive practices around you know, health coverage for medically necessary, transition related care, really specific strategies around employee engagement, particularly around hiring, and supporting the advancement of trans and gender diverse people in the workplace.”

“Those aren’t things that aren’t fit for a fun sizzle reel, or a cool Pride ad – you don’t put them on a float at pride. So, they may be less well known amongst the business community. We wanted to shine some light on the fact that those visible things are great, but there’s a lot of invisible things that your business needs to do to really catch up with what’s needed with this community. So that’s specific to transgender diverse communities. But similarly, with sexual orientation, where you might have a ton of folks who are really visible in the organization as our leaders who identify as gay and lesbian. [But we don’t see as many] bi-people and we see a lot of “bi-phobia”. Even within queer communities. I see straight people being bi phobic. I see gay people being bi phobic. And that leads to a lot fewer bisexual people being out in the workplace. We don’t see as many bisexual leaders. You can see how complicated it gets with how many different identities we have in the community. And sometimes you need to have a strategy that’s for the whole community. And sometimes you need to really segment it based on some of the really specific life challenges of different folks within the community. And it can seem really confusing to some people outside, but we love it because we love how diverse our community is!”

And we love it too, Colin.

We hope you’ll have a listen to the entire podcast episode – find us over on Apple Podcasts – and Happy Pride, everyone!

And if you’re losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p digital.

And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: discrimination, diversity, expression, gender, identity, inclusion, lgbtq, orientation, pride, rights, workplace

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