Am I being unwoke?

Would these experts help me to get over my bias towards known shoplifters, customers taking price labels off and telling us they were on the cheap rail 🤦🏼‍♀️
I won’t mention the regular drunk we have.

FarNorth

Here's something that is woke and not only a waste of money but actually harmful as it makes life more difficult for people with sight problems.

That crossing could send someone with Alzheimer’s into a complete meltdown, unable to move: I’ve seen it happen.
Spitting nails 😡
If I lived in Reading I’d be very tempted to go out in the early hours with a can black spray paint.

BlueBelle

I ve worked for the same charity for 9 years and the only training I ve ever done is an online lifting advise course annually takes about 15 minutes
The cat identity thing is a load of rubbish and I m afraid they should have a saucer of milk for their lunch

Yes....if people want to be this stupid, they can do it without my input or donations lol 🙄

As a paid member of staff of a charity, a volunteer at that charity and a hospital volunteer I've been on lots of courses on all manner of things, some done in house, so no extra charge, some done by the local cvo, some by the local law centre, some by kindly people who offer free places, some by specialist solicitors
Every time I've done a first aid course something has changed and I have learned how to do things the most up to date way, the same applies to all the other courses, I have always learned something new even if I've done a training before
I recently did a trainjng on unconscious bias run by someone outside the organization and there were others from different places, and it was really good, we all learned from each other. Yes we all have unconscious biases but some know they have and are very careful to learn and others deny that they have.
Its not just a matter of being in a volunteer team which has a Muslim volunteer, a volunteer in a wheelchair, a black teenager, a single mum, a man from a rough estate, that sort of thing, it's being open to learning from the people, or their needs you are likely to come into contact with, or people that need your services but don't come along because they are worried that maybe they'll be looked down on or misunderstood, or that people won't understand that they need different food as they haven't got a cooker cos they are in emergency accommodation. Maybe none of the posters have someone who looks like them, all the photos of families have Dads but their family has been abandoned by the dad, simple things like that
Go along and learn something new, I'm sure they won't force you to share pro ouns, but if someone uses different ones to the ones you think they ought to, it's not a big deal to call them by the ones that they prefer. Think how you'd feel if after divorce people insisted on writing to you as Mrs Fred Bloggs instead of Mrs or ms Anne Bloggs or indeed Ms Anne Maidenname. It's just courtesy really making someone feel like they have been listened to
I'm sure no one on the course will identify as a cat, but you could take a packet of dreamies just in case

Nicely put, Elegran.

I would say that it matters in what spirit the course is offered. If I were told that I was required to attend a course to correct my bias against inclusiveness, I would feel I had been proved unworthy and sent to expiate my sins - ( like the guilt trips of manipulative religion, where we are all automatically found guilty of original sin and must confess that we are miserable sinners. Only then, when we are prostrate before the throne, will Big Brother relent and intercede for us to be allowed to participate in the perfect glory that is Total Inclusivity, when all rebellious thoughts are annihilated)

But if the course is presented as an explanation of the difficult personal journeys being experienced by "some of our valued colleagues" which might need a bit of forbearance from fellow workers while everyone adjusts to working beside each other, I would be enlisted on their side. The pronoun changes, avoidance of crass mentions of disabilities, and so on would then follow to point out where some awareness is needed of the sensitivity required, and how much they would be helped by it for a putative real person working there, or using the facilities rather than a litigious theoretical being who was likely to report any mistakes to the inclusion police.

Good for you Saggi (today 05:42)! Some time ago we applied for a bridging loan from our bank and were asked to produce passports. We refused as we had been with the same branch (since closed, of course) for 30 years and were known to all the staff. Fortunately the member of staff processing the loan saw sense and we didn’t have to go elsewhere. Had we needed to go to somewhere where we weren’t known, of course we would have taken our passports!

This was courses for both employees in the Education Sector and volunteers. the emphasis was not on political correctness but on understanding "where others come from".

NotSpaghetti

Lathyrus - good post.

Equality and Inclusivity I think has to be addressed by any organisation receiving funding from the government, directly or indirecly.
I'm pretty sure it was brought in this way in 2013 after the Equality Act 2010 was passed so I don't believe it's new "woke" thing. I know from experience it was at first an uphill struggle to get some people to take that on board. It is much wider than many may think and builds legal protection into the workplace which has to be a good thing.

I have done "tickbox" training on all sorts of things - there is nearly always something that can be discussed with the team or a colleague afterwards, even if you feel that the particular training given was poor.

I think people should not really be complaining about training where the intention is to "raise awareness".
We may all be diverse and inclusive here on Gransnet () - but as someone who is a volunteer and who once managed a team of volunteers, I do know they are a mixed bag.
Making (some) training compulsory for everyone whether an employee or volunteer is surely good practice?

I agree. And I think it's all about the quality of the training. As a Community Education Officer in the 1990's I ran diversity courses - at that time it was focussed on disability and cultural awareness. I ran it by getting different people in from those groups to present and do Q and A sessions.

We all do have unconscious biases. We are indeed a mixed bag. there is always something to learn. But like I said, it's how it's done. Informative, benign, can actually be very interesting.

For goodness sake this Woke thing is just absolute madness .

No one is ever 'guilty' of unconscious bias, nor is it something to be sad about. It is a natural part of the human condition, that teaches us to be cautious of the unknown in case it is a danger to us.

Humankind would probably not have survived without it. We must just make a conscious attempt to know that it exists and do all we can, personally, to treat everyone fairly and with an open mind, not easy, but always apologise if you do get it wrong.

Totally agree with Dickens.

Sadly I think we are all “guilty” of unconscious bias at times and with the equality laws in place it s quite important to fully understand Diversity and Inclusion - I do however struggle with large Charities employing large numbers of expensive staff. If you don’t feel comfortable then look for another voluntary role

Lathyrus - good post.

Equality and Inclusivity I think has to be addressed by any organisation receiving funding from the government, directly or indirecly.
I'm pretty sure it was brought in this way in 2013 after the Equality Act 2010 was passed so I don't believe it's new "woke" thing. I know from experience it was at first an uphill struggle to get some people to take that on board. It is much wider than many may think and builds legal protection into the workplace which has to be a good thing.

I have done "tickbox" training on all sorts of things - there is nearly always something that can be discussed with the team or a colleague afterwards, even if you feel that the particular training given was poor.

I think people should not really be complaining about training where the intention is to "raise awareness".
We may all be diverse and inclusive here on Gransnet () - but as someone who is a volunteer and who once managed a team of volunteers, I do know they are a mixed bag.
Making (some) training compulsory for everyone whether an employee or volunteer is surely good practice?

Here's something that is woke and not only a waste of money but actually harmful as it makes life more difficult for people with sight problems.

I have been asked countless times to show official documents to prove I am who I am and have no problem with it. It's to ensure people are who they claim to be. It's standard practise.

I was working for a MAJOR supermarket chain years ago ( I retired in 2015)… and we were all asked to ‘attend’ an equality and diversity course ….I refused as I’d been working for them for 20 years. Then a few months later I was asked to bring into shop proof of whom I was was 🤷🏻‍♀️…. apparently everybody had to do this to prove they had the ‘right to work ‘ in this country . I explained I was born here ….worked here in this shop for 20 years and indeed they had been paying me all that time , and that I had no passport OR driving licence to ‘ prove’ my identity. So was told to get a passport to remain employed by them! I refused and said would they please let me know when they wanted me to leave the company. I never heard another bleep from them….the quite sensible manager ticked the box to say I’d been ‘checked out’ and that was that! I think the problem of getting some other idiot to get outa bed at 4.30 am and be at work at 5.30 am to open shop at 6 am was just too daunting a task!
You have to stand up to these official nobody’s and say “no”

I will continue volunteering with them for the time being but will be asking questions about why this training has come about.

I'd wait till after you've done the training to question it. You may find it useful, after all.

Yes we can always find common sense reasons to not have our biases challenged. Its no skin off your nose, why not do the course. The charity wants to make sure that all its volunteers understand the issues and the unconscious bias which we all suffer from. Your heart is in the right place. You want to help. Wouldnt it be Great to get a better understanding so you dont inadvertantly add to a vulnerable person's hurt

Merylstreep
Just because you have great diversity in your shop does no necessarily mean that nobody in it has any bias, conscious or not.
I have had chats with lots of different people with different backgrounds and have come to the conclusion that if you are white, able-bodied and heterosexual (as I.am) and brought up in this country you cannot escape having bias.
A lot of these courses, as people have said, are cr*p. I go along with them because there might be some nugget in there, something that had not occurred to me. I have a lot to learn.

I do unto others as I would be done by. It seems you have to walk on egg shells in case you inadvertently say the wrong thing now. Was going to look for voluntary work now I’m feeling better but think I would be too worried in case someone thought I was not woke enough. The whole woke thing has become threatening. If I were Namdad I would leave.
Perhaps that’s why three charity shops by me are closed half the time as they can’t keep staff.

PS I was once challenged for offering a student black or white coffee. I was told to say ‘with or without milk’. How bloomin’ absurd. Needless to say it was a white middle class person who told me, not one of my lovely Asian students who I got on with very well.

Finally I have nothing against white middle class people, I think I am one myself. 🤔

I wouldn’t attend as I am sure I would challenge the wokeness of it all. I feel they would be trying to indoctrinate me. So whatever happened I would be dismissed.

It’s a sad old world imo and it will only get worse.

Dickens

If you treat all fellow human beings as human beings, regardless of status, abilities, sex, gender, ethnicity or age, and deal them the same respect and allow them the same dignity you'd hope to be dealt yourself... isn't that sufficient?

Unfortunately that is not the way some people see it. I, like you, used to believe that the best way I could behave was to treat everyone equally with respect. Now that is not enough. We have to treat people differently depending on who they are and how they identify. This is proving a recipe for disaster.

Charities do have to follow the law

This training and others could be very well mandatory if they want to keep the status as non profits