Gina is the General Counsel and the Director of Human Resources for the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).
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While I hadn’t known what I was getting into when I signed up to attend Comic-Con last summer, it sure wasn’t what I was expecting. The only word that described the feeling permeating the atmosphere was “joy.”
To be clear, as a middle-aged lawyer who worked in HR, I fell far outside what I imagined would be the profile of the typical Comic-Con attendee. I didn’t know most of the superheroes, and I couldn’t debate the differences between the Marvel and DC universes. But my companion that day—my nephew—loved those things, and Comic-Con offered at least book stalls and people-watching, both of which were totally in my wheelhouse.
Just queueing up outside the convention hall was an experience worth the price of admission for me. Han Solo and Short Round stepped to the side to let Wonder Woman precede them through the gates. Superman held up the line, posed with hands on hips, his square chin jutting forward, a photographer snapping his photo from multiple angles. The environment arranged itself into the kind of chaos that normally leads to short tempers and a supreme lack of patience. Thousands crammed into the space, which predictably led to long lines and a shortage of available chairs when rest was needed. I braced myself; someone was sure to lob an insult or start an argument.
But there was no judgment here: no gawking, no sniping. Instead, something incredible happened: There was a palpably happy vibe.
While Comic-Con's sole purpose isn't ensuring those who are traditionally marginalized have a voice, I marveled at how the experience embraced diversity in a way that we HR professionals often struggle to achieve. Sure, Comic-Con has nothing to do with salary, revenue or achieving business goals and is thus far lower on the Richter scale measuring stressful environments. However, was it possible that the sheer simplicity of the experience itself might lay bare some HR insights—things made visible exactly because of the lower stakes?
Through this new lens, I realized that those like me—who follow DE&I checklists and create instruction sheets and roll out trainings—could perhaps learn from attendees who seemed to have naturally developed not just an inclusive environment but one that embraced diversity of all kinds.
Lesson 1: Listen to all the diverse voices in the workplace.
It’s easy to fall into the pattern of thinking you have to control interactions when you are the one whose days are filled ensuring personnel rules are followed and mandatory trainings are finished. The more compliance-based culture is, the more compelled we are to control behaviors and enforce rules. HR employees are the experts when it comes to those rules.
But at Comic-Con, I felt like the least expert person there, so of course I couldn’t take a lead in monitoring interactions. Because I didn’t have to lead, I had breathing room and I could listen and observe. What I saw was that the attendees themselves were instinctively doing an incredible job of making their fellow attendees feel comfortable and welcome. Maybe I needed to challenge myself to stop talking, stop directing and listen to all the groups represented in my organization.
Lesson 2: Be bold about messaging to create a safe space.
An organization cannot succeed if individuals are not free to be their authentic selves at work, and that requires building a workplace culture that supports that authenticity. Yet most of us draft a non-harassment policy and tuck it into a handbook we ask employees to read once a year.
Conversely, attendees walking into Comic-Con passed through an entryway where a large sign reading “Anti-harassment” stood. This sign, for the Chicago Comic-Con, signaled that “...anyone can report harassment to event staff/security at any time. If someone’s behavior has made you uncomfortable, or if you witness harassment happening to someone else, you should immediately contact event staff/security. If necessary, security or event staff will contact local law enforcement, provide escort, offer a safe place, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment.”
Non-harassment messaging had been baked into the culture of this event, which is something HR leaders can take note of. That was evident in the way the attendees respectfully approached each other. How can you create a safe space and bake psychological safety into your company culture?
Lesson 3: Celebrate the complexity of the human personality.
Companies have so many layers of diversity. Comic-Con was no different: There were those who were costumed and those who were not.
The costumes represented everything from Disney movie characters to George Lucas movie characters: traditional superheroes and villains; anime and manga characters; a Cinderella, tottering on ill-fitting glass slippers, waving at Wonder Woman. There was even someone there costumed as a giant No. 2 pencil; apparently, based on the compliments being tossed his way, he was aiming to be someone known as “Eraserhead.” This diversity was celebrated.
HR leaders have the ability to welcome diversity into the workplace. It certainly starts with activities like celebrating diversity months like Black History Month in February or Women's History Month in March. Create a SharePoint site and invite staff to add resources to share with their co-workers to develop an appreciation of different ethnicities, cultures, genders, etc. When we celebrate our differences, we invite our staff to look at diversity training and initiatives in new ways.
We are all multidimensional individuals, the sum of all our parts. Inclusion efforts may be stronger if we all remember to celebrate the whole individual.
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