My initial question I believe has been a great way to start this project, as it has provided me with the right motivation and mindset to make a meaningful intervention and obtain as much new knowledge as possible within a short period of time and with the lower expense possible. In this regard, creating an online event on Instagram has been a great cost-effective choice and optimal in terms of the availability of the participants. Moreover, below are some of the strengths of this first intervention:

• High availability and communiting free option for all participats
• Global reach, availability to attend from anywhere in the world
• Free – no need to pay for invites, location reservation, etcc
• Higher audience participation; average 29% higher than traditional events
• Q&A much more quick ad efficient trhough the chat

Reflection

I believe my first question had a very strong weakness as I believe it wasn’t allowing me yet to plan a meaningful intervention and make a change in the world. Although the online event has resulted in being extremely positive and reflected a high appreciation by the audience, I felt that there was something missing, and raising awareness about D&I wasn’t something that fulfilled my need to make the world a better place. In this regard, considering the findings obtained from the discussion I have tried to narrow down my options and limit myself in terms of what actions I should take next, in what environment operate, what I can propose, and most importantly investigate who are my stakeholders.

New Question Process and Action Plan

1. Consideration of the issue or uncertainty of interest
2. Research methods, secondary research – findig meaningfulness in my purpose
3. Defining the environment – and possible relatability to multiple ones.
4. Defining who are my Stakeholders – industry experts, professionals, etc..
5. Research methods, primary research, interview Idustry experts
6. Findings triangulation – testing validity and development of findings thrustworthiness
7. Ipothesys of solution provided and intervention testing
8. Feedback – New Knowledge
9. Repeat in different environment – testing
10. Feedback – New Knowledge
11. Adjustments
12. Final considrations

The strategy developed above has shown the different steps that I have considered in formulating my new question. During the elaboration of this action plan, I have tried to evaluate all the possible aspects that would influence the continuation of my project and tried to minimise weaknesses by firstly obtaining as many findings as possible from secondary research in order to acknowledge the meaningfulness of my concern and then evaluate the environment and a possible relatability to multiple markets. Moreover, findings from secondary research have been set as the ground knowledge for my primary research methods consisting in interviewing industry experts in order to obtain more qualitative data and have a much richer view of the phenomena, and plan a much more successful intervention. In relation to the intervention, I have considered feedback as the most important part at this stage which would allow me to develop my interventions further or resonate on what could be improved to obtain the result needed and repeat.

In this regard, my new question has been developed as follows: How can organisations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment?”

The Instagram live event has given me the basis for the development of my intervention, more precisely, I have considered the fashion industry as my main environment and also workplace favouritism as one of the biggest threats of workplace inclusivity. I have therefore focused on basic concepts such as Transparency and Fairness where everyone is treated fairly and evaluated transparently and where every employee is equally able to access the same opportunities.

In relation to my stakeholders, I have figured out being Senior Management or HR individuals employed in fashion businesses and also Industry experts to provide me with invaluable information for the most precise intervention possible.

New Question – Intervention Development Strategy

1. Triangulation of primary and secondary reaserach –
2. Evaluation of draft intervention
3. Contact Louis Vuitton Senior Management and Propose a first draft of my intervention
4. Feedback from Louis Vuitton Senior Management / HR
5. Draft adjustment and implementation or not adaptability.
6. Contact new Company in different environment and propose my intervention and previous findings
7. Feedback from new company – New Knowledge
8. New company intervetion implementation or not adaptability
9. Considerations

In conclusion, my current and most recent question aim to investigate “How can organisations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment” and this, as shown above in the process stage and in the development is the result of the not entire fulfillment of the previous question for the following main reasons:

1. My desire to make an impactful change and believed that raisig awareness wasnt enough
2. Findings from Instagram Live event, 230 participants discussed about inclusion in the workplace and how to improve it
3. Findings from secondary research; outligning workplace favouritism as a big threat to inclusive workplace environment
4. Findings from industry experts interview; supporting direction on improving fair and transparent assessment criterias in order to improve inclusivity
5. Desire to connect and collaborate with businesses and learn about their D&I practicies rather than keep discussing this project with non influential decision making individuals.

Current Question: “How can organizations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment?”

Knowledge Research Process:

• Secondary Research and discovery of knowledge from pre-existing literature
• Further knowledge aquisition through events, discussions or podcasts
• Primary research – Definition of samples to be interviewed and proceed with questions

Secondary Research and discovery of knowledge from pre-existing literature

My secondary research direction has been mainly dictated by the desire to investigate more about workplace inclusivity and what can be done to improve it. This was initially supported by the audience request during the previous intervention of the Instagram live event and therefore I have found it meaningful to obtain new knowledge in this area.

A very informative book for the initiation of this research has been ” Plain Favourites” by Butterman E, (2007). The author states that “People are socialized to relate to each other on the basis of race, class, and religion. As a result, a boss may unconsciously, or consciously, distance employees who don’t have the same skin colour, social class or religion” and this has supported my initial project research focusing on inclusivity, but not only, although people bring all their differences to the companies they work for, Management “must treat everyone fairly and evaluate them transparently”, as according to Idvik, (2015)

In this regard, findings from the literature suggest that Workplace favouritism is “a common thing happening in teams, and it helps to minimise or remove the cost of an organization on searching for a new employee”. Furthermore, “favouritism depicts that a candidate is given special treatment based on the several elements or factors that indirectly relay to a person’s ability in performing a job.” Ponzo and Scoppa (2011).

Moreover, according to Woods (2011), favouritism promotes bias and discrimination to some groups of people especially the minority group. Considering a workplace environment, according to Kapadia (2013), more than 70% of employees posit that favouritism makes the relationship between colleagues become strained and promote hatred toward the recipients of favouritism. It can also be stated that favouritism can harm the overall performance of the employees and reduce respect for supervisors and senior management.

Further knowledge aquisition through events, discussions or podcasts

“Voices of Inclusion – LVMH Event “

Available here: https://lvmh.fcst.tv/pride2021

In order to enrich my knowledge with new and more recent findings, I have attended a private event from LVMH called “Voices of Inclusion” where Senior Management and CEO’s of some of the most important Fashion companies in the world have participated in order to discuss the importance of Inclusion in the workplace, what are the steps that their companies are taking to promote workplace inclusivity and what are the future plans for its development. This event has been particularly influential and inspiring as it has made me feel much more motivated to continue with this project. I have felt extremely aligned with the mindset and the vision provided by the participants, which have outlined strengths of their businesses regarding inclusion and transparently reported areas of improvement and their plan for improving these aspects.

LVMH is among the most inclusive businesses in the fashion industry consisting of a group of 75 companies operating across 3 different markets and also leaders in supporting women in reaching higher positions that have previously only been occupied by men.

Participants at the event have been:

1. Jasmin Allen – SVP Moet Hennessey USA
2. Chantal Quimperlè – EVP of Human Resources and Synergies LVMH
3. Charles Leung – CEO of Maison Fred Paris
4. Mark Chaya – Ceo of Maison Francis Kurkdijian
5. Corey Smith – Head of Diversity and Inclusion LVMH USA
   

REFLECTION

This event has made me realise how Inclusivity should not be only considered for businesses purposes, but also to make the world a better place. This has sounded extremely personal to me and my dedication in pursuing this project. I have felt that my desire to make a change was also shared and acknowledged by leaders in the industry and provided me with more motivation to take meaningful actions and be supportive in improving this matter.

Moreover, some of the most interesting findings that came out have been considering Inclusivity a core aspect of their businesses in order to make businesses successful and creative. Also, safety has been an aspect that has been considered carefully in order to allow everyone to perform at their very best and be evaluated in the most transparent way. I truly believe that businesses can be diverse but lack Inclusivity and especially starting from the performance evaluation process, which if is not fair and transparent could be harmful and create toxic environments.

Primary research – Definition of samples to be interviewed and proceed with questions

My primary research has been conducted following the “Voices of Inclusion” event and I have focused on obtaining more influential findings related to my question being: “How can organizations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment?”.

During this stage, I have interrogated myself who my stakeholders were with the final desire to obtain knowledge from them. In order to be as efficient as possible, I have divided this into 2 categories, consisting of

• 1. Industry Professionals at Senior Management level
• 2. Businesses who don’t have yet in practice tools for employee performance evaluation or needing support in improving this aspect

In this regard, I have decided that my Industry professionals should have been people who are genuinely interested in this topic and can provide me with useful findings and therefore I have decided to reach out to the Voices of Inclusion participants from the LVMH event attended above and reached out to:

1. Jasmin Allen – SVP Moet Hennessey USA
2. Charles Leung – CEO of Maison Fred Paris
3. Mark Chaya – Ceo of Maison Francis Kurkdijian
4. Corey Smith – Head of Diversity and Inclusion LVMH USA

I have therefore reached out to each one of them, I connected on LinkedIn and introduced myself as a researcher looking to follow up with questions regarding the event they attended. Interestingly. Mark Chaya, has invited me to talk about this during a phone call or zoom video call instead of LinkedIn messaging to better discuss our opinions.
Corey Smith was the first person to accept my invitation and to answer my question, “Do you think a fair and transparent performance assessment can create a more inclusive workplace environment and reduce workplace favouritism?

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Instagram live event with The Fashion BleuPrint and Fashion Designer JAD.

Following my question which is “How can we raise awareness about D&I among creatives in the fashion industry in the U.K“, I have therefore contacted a fashion consultancy company in the UK called The Fashion BleuPrint which helps young creatives in the UK establish their businesses and organized a social media event with JAD, a Fashion Designer from London to discuss this matter. Organising a social media event I believe is the best way to reach as many people as possible with the least limitations in terms of availability, time, and money. The target group related to my questions are young and creative individuals in the U.K and therefore the best way to reach young creatives is online.

The Instagram event has been Live for the duration of 44min and has obtained 230 participants and 33 likes.

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“THIS IS A VALID POINT, OBSERVATION, AND A REALITY. I USE THE ANALOGY OF A PLANT WHERE A BUSINESS WANTS TO SHOW MORE THEIR “FRUITS THAN THEIR ROOTS”. WITH THIS I MEAN THAT COMPANIES WANT TO SHOW YOU THE POSITIVE SIDE, NICE WORDS SUCH AS INCLUSION, ANTI-RACISM, AND THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE REALITY AS THE ROOTS ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT AS THE FRUITS.
I ALSO THINK THAT MARKETING IS A VERY POWERFUL SIDE OF THE BUSINESS AS IT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL INSPIRED AND REPRESENTED, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY IT IS NECESSARY TO VIEW THE COMPANY’S CULTURE WHERE MOST OF THE TIME THEY PROMOTE ALWAYS THE MOST SIMILAR PEOPLE IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS.” – JAD Fashion Designer

“WELL, I THINK THAT IS JUST AN INJUSTICE, AND I ALSO BELIEVE THAT NOW THERE IS A GENERAL INEQUITY IN MOST INDUSTRIES. BUSINESSES HAVE MUCH TO DO TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY IN HIGHER POSITIONS.
THERE’S AN AUTHOR CALLED SARAH AHMED, AND SHE GIVES AN ANALOGY OF A GARMENT BELONGING TO THAT BUSINESS, THE MORE THE PEOPLE ARE SIMILAR, THE GARMENT WILL FIT EVERYONE VERY WELL LIKE A GLOVE. IF IN THAT ORGANIZATION THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENCES, THAT GARMENT WILL NOT SUIT EVERYONE AND PROBABLY WILL BREAK AT SOME POINT. THIS OPENS UP SELF-REFLECTING ASPECTS AS THE QUESTION THAT COMES TO ME IS “HOW FAR CAN I GO IN THIS ORGANIZATION UNDER THIS SITUATION?” – JAD Fashion Designer

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The Instagram live event has been a great way to raise awareness about D&I in a very short period of time and provided vital considerations for the continuation of this project.

• 233 participants
• 45min discussion
• 77% of the participants were aged from 18 to 34.
• 80% womens and 20% mens
• Majority of participants from Lodon (35%), but also from New York, Lagos and Accra.

CONSIDERATIONS

The audience was very diverse with participants from many different backgrounds, nationalities, and locations. The majority of participants were from London but also from New York, Nigeria, and Accra. The diverse audience in terms of localization leads to thinking about the importance of such an event and the effort of connecting online from different parts of the world. Moreover, according to the data obtained, young women’s seemed to be numerically way more than men’s (80% vs 20%) and this leads to understanding that this event and discussion might be much more of interest of females than males.

As it is possible to see from the picture below, participants have been actively engaging and asked questions mainly related to workplace favouritism and workplace stereotyping. Because of this discussion, It has been found that many people feel in some kind of control of their lives in their day to day activities and therefore they preferred discussing how to behave when the lack of inclusion happens in an environment that they don’t have full control, such as the workplace. Because of the very diverse audience, participants were interested in discussing workplace favouritism and desire to work with similar-looking individuals and considering this one of the most dangerous aspects threatening inclusive workplace environments.

new Question formulation

This intervention, I believe considering my sample target group has been very successful and smart in terms of reaching an objective with less time and limited resources. My initial question has been investigating “How to increase awareness about D&I among creatives in the U.K” and by hosting a worldwide online audience of 233 individuals I believe this can be considered achieved.

Moreover, the discussion has provided more useful considerations which have shaped the direction of this study. Participants at the live event have seen a necessity to improve businesses in this aspect as it is believed to not be sufficient and most of the time still not given the right importance. I consider it much more urgent at this time to focus on how to create much more inclusive workplace environments and tackle major issues such as workplace favouritism.

According to Suzanne Rankin, CEO of Steering Group, we all have “a natural inclination, without realising it, to treat people in different ways depending on how like us they are. If someone looks and sounds like you, if you have a similar background, you are much more likely to be positive towards them. If someone is different, then the chances are that you may treat them differently without being aware of it”. This has been widely discussed and supported during the live event and I believe that continuing in this direction, this project would grow and elevate its importance by providing insightful findings to businesses and professionals.

The most updated question at this point now reads:

“How can organisations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment?”

1^st INTERVENTION : Louis Vuitton Monthly Employee Performance Evaluation

Considering the new knowledge obtained from the literature review I have therefore shifted my strategy and tried to find a way on supporting companies in their employee performance evaluation tools in order to provide them with accurate, transparent, fair, and consistent employee performance evaluations.

My strategy, therefore, has been characterized by these main points:

• Benefit from my employability status to connect with current company or sister companies on a more trusted level and propose thihs initiative.
• Explanatioin of meaningfulness of my research in the current period and society
• Summmary of benefits for the businesses who apply transparent evaluation tools
• Availability to support and maintain confidentiality with internal results, policies and practicies if required.

In order to explain these points better, I have thought that by being employed by the largest Luxury Fashion Brands in the World, Louis Vuitton, and the largest Luxury Fashion Group, LVMH I could use my relationships and almost 5 years of work history as a good starting point for the development of my project.

By working as a Client Coordinator at Louis Vuitton Store in Selfridges, London for almost 5 years, I am very knowledgeable of my company’s Identity, Culture, Mission, and Vision, and therefore I believe that by proposing to elaborate team and individual performance evaluation respecting the principles of Fairness and Transparency, it would definitely help the company in creating a more inclusive workplace environment, and ultimately, evaluate if this proposition could potentially lead to a successful answer of my initial question: “How can organizations increase fair performance assessment and create a more inclusive workplace environment?”

MY TEAM AND EMPLOYEE EVALUATION – 8 TEAM MEMBERS

I have therefore put in practice my first intervention in Louis Vuitton – Menswear Department and Selfridges in London ( starting from April 2021 ) consisting of a detailed monthly performance of a group of 8 team members with the main purpose of evaluating transparently and fairly each employee and allowing them to be able to review at any time their progress and achievements, their areas of development and action plans for the following months. In this regard, I have emphasized the two main benefits for the employees; Transparency and Fairness in the evaluation process and adequate recognition to those with merit and constructive feedback for those not meeting the required criteria.

This performance evaluation was needed in my organization for the following main reasons:

• Missing of an evaluation tool reagrding CRM activities and Client Development.
• Missing of a tool that could historycally show employee engagement and achievements of company’s KPI’s.
• Missing of a tool that could celebrate successes and support team members in their development openly, fairly and transparently without the risk of unconscious bias.
• Employees can be more aware of their hystorical performance evaluation and evaluate their achievements in a more clearer and transparent way.

In the picture below, it is possible to see the whole 8 team members that I have been reviewing and providing feedback regarding their performance. As it is possible to see, I have been providing in-detail and tailored feedback to each team member and this has been considered extremely positive for the team members’ understanding of the Company’s requirements which have constantly been updated and their progression.

Moreover, from the picture below, it is possible to see a clear and transparent evaluation of the team performance based on Full-Time team members and Part-Time team members, in order to investigate any possible relationship of the terms of employment with the results obtained. In this regard, it has been considered that if the time spent in the workplace has any implication on the employee’s knowledge about procedures and how to achieve their KPIs. As it is possible to see on the right side of the picture surprisingly, Part-Time team members have achieved a higher percentage of their monthly targets resulting in 113% for Client’s Outreaches and 116% average wardrobes. Differently, Full-Time team members, have achieved 63% of Client’s Outreaches and 55% average wardrobing. The average between the two groups then falls into 75% average client’s Outreaches and 70% average wardrobing as an overall Team Result.

REFLECTION:

_{TRANSPARENT EVALUATION MAKES THE DIFFERENCE}

The implementation of this tool for Louis Vuitton has certainly started with lots of enthusiasm and motivation to make something positive for my colleagues and Louis Vuitton itself. The fact that I have been in the company for a long time has certainly helped me to present my idea to Senior Management and obtain a successful response on an initial trial and on an eventual development of the project to a larger scale of team members including different Departments and with the aim to be developed and implemented in other Louis Vuitton stores in London.

I have found myself being very analytical and concise while evaluating my colleagues’ performances and also caring for their development and the right recognition for their efforts. Moreover, I have discovered that although I never had the opportunity before in my career to manage a team, I have been a great and supportive acting manager and received many great feedback from my colleagues for the way I was able to manage this project and the relationship with them.

The relationship with my colleagues has been the most rewarding outcome from this intervention as my communication skills have been challenged and developed in order to deal with different situations, some where I need to acknowledge and celebrate individual successes, some where further training was needed to develop their performances and some where I must have also shown leadership in my area in order to gain my team’s respect.

This project has been developed to currently 46 Team members and because of the large amount of information and work, I have been assisted by another team member which I have explained and trained the reason for this project and the way to proceed even without me in charge.

During this intervention, I have felt sometimes very stressed and out of my comfort zone but viewing the benefits that it was bringing to the business and my colleagues has motivated me to continue and develop it further to different departments and ask for support and delegating work to another member. Also, the fact that a worldwide recognized brand such as Louis Vuitton has implemented my idea and valued my intervention has also made me feel much more fulfilled and proud of myself.

The beginning of an uncertain journey.

My initial brainstorming started from a topic that I have always been interested in and also feared to face. Growing and being an adult means also finding our place in society and understanding the world around us. Personally, for a long time, I have felt out of my own place, and perhaps, unconsciously treated differently from my peers or adults around me. The uncertainty that has grown in me has brought me to constantly seek a new challenge, a sort of thinking outside of the box, surprise the people around me, and seek some kind of revenge by being as good as they can’t ignore me. In this unit 1, it has been pretty straightforward my deep desire to investigate the concept of Diversity and Inclusion.

In the picture above, I have drafted my first thoughts coming my mind when thinking about Diversity and Inclusion, it is pretty clear that at this stage this project is still on an Unknown and Uncertain stage, involving questions and considering this a process to discover new knowledge and break new grounds, not just an academic project. Within this study, my aim is to dare, inspire and make a change.

During my initial research, I have consolidated my understanding of this concept and realized what Diversity is and that Inclusion has always been an uncertainty for Human Race. My first findings have explored how different factors have impacted our existence as people easily get judged because of their skin color, their gender, age, appearance, and size, and despite what initiatives to promote inclusion our civilized societies and strong economies have done, there is still lots of improvements needed to make this world a better place for everyone.

In order to proceed with my secondary research analysis, I have initially clarified the concept of Diversity and Inclusion and therefore questioned myself about its importance ad what are the factors that negatively impact its application.

Diversity definition:

In literature, there are many, and perhaps confusing definitions related to Diversity, however, the following have been considered more relevant for this project. According to Wellner, (2000) “Diversity can encompass many different human characteristics such as race, age, creed, national origin, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and therefore it is representing a multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people”. Moreover a more recent definition has been given, by Deloitte (2015) where over 3500 survey respondents were millennials and considering Diversity as: ” the variety of perspectives working together to solve business problems” and ” offering roles and opportunities to all qualified candidates regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age or religious affiliation” In other words, younger generations frame diversity as a means to a business outcome.

Inclusion definition:

Hodkinson, (2011) defines Inclusion as a “universal human right. The aim of inclusion is to embrace all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance (removal of barriers)” Moreover, according to Deloitte (2015) survey, Millenials consider inclusion mainly in the workplace as: “the place where people come together to accomplish one goal, being part of the process, where business relationships are formed because of daily interaction among team members and having open lines of communication, transparency, and strategic initiatives communicated to employees by executives.”

Why do Diversity and Inclusion matter?

• 1- Reduce Discrimination and Racism: If people are introduced to or become more aware of a different culture, race, gender in a diverse environment or society. You tend to become less discriminating because of your new world experience. (Diversity.social. 2021)
• Better Business Reputation and higher customer engagement: Companies that are dedicated to building and promoting diversity in the workplace are seen as good, more human and socially responsible organizations. (Diversity.social. 2021)
• Human connection: World Wide Vision, localized Experience.
• Productivity. People have different characteristics and backgrounds, they are also more likely to have a variety of different skills and experiences. (AMP.GlobalYouth. 2021)

What are the issues related to diversity?

• Racism discrimination: Assigning employees of a certain race different job duties, Prejudice and Stereotyping; attributing the same characteristics to all members of a group, regardless of individual differences, Racial Profiling (Ontario Human Rights Commission. 2021)
• Ageism discrimination: Not Hiring due to Age, Being Laid Off due to Age • Forcing an employee to take early retirement, Reducing or denying certain benefits. (Fenton, 2021)
• Sexualism discrimination: Gender Gap, for ex. wage and career progression, Restrictions on clothing, Female infanticide and genital mutilation. (Project, 2021)
• Sizeism discrimination: Discrimination based on body shape, such as disdain towards overweight or underweight, Consideration of “normal weight” as right weight. (The Guardian. 2021)

Industry examples of Discrimination and lack of Inclusion

These are just some examples of lawsuits against worldwide leading businesses regarding Diversity and Inclusion. What really is concerning is that based on the examples provided above, discrimination is not limited to certain industries, companies, environments, or even cultures. The companies mentioned above are giants in the market they operate and therefore expanded internationally in the fashion industry, and large-scale distribution of goods and services, and this makes me realise the necessity and importance of discussing this topic and the affirmation of my project question.

Research Question:

How can we raise awareness about Diversity and Inclusion among creatives in the Fashion Industry in the U.K?

In relation to my second intervention, most of the feedback has come from Ms. Li Wenjia, being the EMEA Director of VOWOW who has since the beginning been in contact with me on planning the Shooting Campaign first meeting and afterward organizing the following meetings for the implementation of the Performance Evaluation Review Guidelines showed on my previous post.

Ms. Li has been a great communicator and attentive listener to what my propositions were and how these could benefit VOWOW. I believe that her ability to value my ideas and active listening skills have been very useful in allowing me to comfortably express myself in the best way. This has also made me think that collaborative environments must firstly promote a welcoming and safe environment where everyone feels free and empowered to express their idea without fear of judgment or lower self-confidence.

Reflection

Although Ms. Li has certainly a more different background than me, in terms of not only career-wise but also nationality, and I have felt that our communication level and ideas have been working together to get the best result for VOWOW and the Team. In this regard, as it is shown from the email, Ms. Li has always shown appreciation for her team and for myself, considering us as resources to her business. I believe her Leadership and Managerial Skills have been a winning aspect to consider in relation to the already Inclusive environment had before my intervention. Moreover, my intervention has supported Ms. Li in establishing concrete guidelines and KPI’s for the performance evaluation of her team and this is certainly something needed when companies are experiencing growth similar to VOWOW.

From this collaboration, I am happy to have been helpful in making a positive change in the company procedure of VOWOW and allowed them to easily implement their performance evaluation tools. I have also appreciated being in a workplace collaborative environment with lots of new team members and extremely diverse. This has allowed me to always think that diversity makes everyone richer, the company, the people around us, and ultimately us, by realising that there is nothing more beautiful than acknowledging, valuing, and being acknowledged back for the pure reason of showing the person we are.

Although the given name for this study is ” My Industry Project”, this research is made for the people. Ordinary human beings who same as me, have for some reason left their comfort zone and somehow integrated into different societies and discovered on themselves that Diversity and Inclusion do not always follow each other.

My initial brainstorming has began then thinking about this topic, but understanding the world around me and from personal experiences still brings me uncertainty and drives me to make a change. This research has started with the BoU project and will develop consequently depending on responses obtained from research testing, interventions, and action plans for the future implementation in society.

According to Wellner, (2000) Diversity represents “a multitude of individual differences and similarities that exists among people and it can represent many different characteristics such as race, age, national origin, gender, and sexual orientation.”

Moreover, Inclusion, according to Hodkinson (2011) “is seen as a universal Human Right with the aim to embrace all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other need and giving them equal rights and access and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance)