BAM For All: Ariffa Bevin

BAM For All is a new interview series featuring outstanding leaders in HR and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), many of whom are within the tech world.

BAM has made a long-term commitment to DEI trainings, education, and implementations and we are pushing to make the same standard across the PR world as well as Silicon Valley.

In this interview, BAM's Head of People, Jill Veglahn, sits down (via Zoom) with Ariffa Bevin, the Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Unite Us, to discuss all things DEI. Jill talks to Ariffa about what her favorite quotes are, what equity looks like in the workplace, and what three questions every company should ask itself when engaging in DEI work. We hear what she recommends to folx looking to initiate a DEI program within their workspace.

Q: Tell us about yourself.

Ariffa Bevin:

My name is Ariffa Bevin. My pronouns are she, her, and hers, and I am the manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Unite Us. I oversee our internal DEI initiatives that add to our team’s culture and awareness. This includes coordinating workshops, trainings, and resource development and support. I also work closely with several of our teams to ensure that the work we do and the strategies we plan are implemented and executed with DEI — particularly equity — in mind.

From an external perspective, I help to collaborate and partner with organizations to advance these efforts in the community, and work to help Unite Us be a thought leader in this work of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I say all the time that I want Unite Us to be seen as an example, not as perfection in DEI work. And, to that point, this work itself would definitely not be as successful as its been at Unite Us without the amazing team and leadership that is supporting the work along the way.

Q: What’s your favorite quote?

Ariffa Bevin:

The first [quote] that came to mind was one I came across recently by actor Stephen Frye. In summarizing a quote by Oscar Wilde he said that, "We are not nouns. We are verbs." Oscar Wilde was discussing how we must not limit ourselves when we're talking about our careers, and basically, who we are. And for me, it really spoke to the unlimited potential that we all have. This is a reminder to explore what we love to do and what gives us joy. It also serves as a reminder for me to not forget there are so many other amazing things that I love to do and should continue doing.

It’s tied to another quote that I love by Angela Davis, which is, “We have to talk about liberating our minds, as well as liberating society.” So, we have to really, truly feel and believe that we are limitless. We are limitless beings that can do anything and everything. 

Q: What does inclusion mean to you?

Ariffa Bevin:

When I think of inclusion, I think about the setting, the environment. It's about the feeling. How does someone feel about the environment? How do they feel about the setting? What are their thoughts? What do they think of it? When I think of inclusion, I think about the person, and how they are affected by the environment.

When I'm talking about DEI, I say, "It's fantastic and great that you can have an organization that represents different individuals from different backgrounds," but, if those folks are not feeling like they're being heard, or valued, belong, or welcomed, then how can they be included? They are not going to be – unless they are a part of the conversation. When I think of inclusion, I really think of the individual.

And, then, it also goes back to the organization, as well, in terms of: What is the organization doing? Are they including these folks at the table, in the conversation? There is a fantastic quote that was said in a former workshop I attended: “Nothing about us, without us.” What this quote says is that it's not possible to make impactful change, and have conversations about change without including the folks that the change is about. That has really stuck with me.

“It's not possible to make impactful change...without including the folks that the change is about."

Q: What does "equity" mean to you?

Ariffa Bevin:

"Equity" is definitely broad. You could be talking about health equity, equitable compensation, equity as it pertains to environmental justice, and so on. Equity, to me, is that piece of DEI that is so strongly linked to the action side of things. Firstly, equity recognizes that there are differences; there are barriers that exist. Recognizing this is the first step, then you have to do the work to actually correct and address the inequities.

Equity, to me, has these two parts; recognizing it and doing the work to address it. Equity is not just simply treating everyone the same, it is acknowledging that differences exist and addressing them.

One example of an action is to put a specific metric in place. Suppose we wanted to diversify our team by saying that we want 50% of our tech team to be women. Now you have a metric, you have a specific goal that you actually want to achieve.

In order to get there you have to ask questions such as; what are we going to have to do? What are the job boards that we need to post on? Do we need to allot extra time to make sure these jobs are getting posted in the right place? Because that takes extra time: finding the right site and posting outside of your standard job board, or your typical go-to avenue that may simply send out an email blast. If you are intentionally trying to make a change, then you have to account for the time that it takes to make that change.

If we identify a gap — whether it be in gender or race and ethnicity — we set aside time to intentionally post on specific job boards to make sure that we are working towards a diverse candidate pool. Start with the metric (the goal) and then ask yourself, "What do I have to put in place to make sure that I am being intentional about this, and not just waiting for it to happen? What are the steps that I have to put in place? What is the exact amount of time that I have to do this, and what can I commit to?"

“Equity is not just simply treating everyone the same, it is acknowledging that differences exist, and addressing them.”

Q: What is one question, one thing, or comment you wish people would stop saying or using? 

Ariffa Bevin:

Using words like, "diverse candidate" or "diverse team member." When looking to increase representation of non-white team members, or maybe you're looking to have more women represented on your team, it's best to just state exactly what it is that you need. Are you looking for more representation of folks in the BIPOC community? Do you need better representation of women in your organization? What is it exactly that you are looking for? 

By using the word "diverse" in lieu of Black, Indigenous, or person of color, you're ultimately saying that folks who don't identify as that are the norm. It is really about being specific to what you're looking for and understanding that someone can come from a different background, or have a diverse set of experiences, and that it is not correct to say that they, themselves as an individual person, are diverse.

Q: How did you get into the DEI space?

Ariffa Bevin:

It started in my role as a community health worker, and that evolved into me eventually managing that program for the community-based organization where I worked. Doing that first really allowed me to understand the social determinants of health, and how that ties into diversity and equity from the perspective of the boots-on-the-ground work. I further learned how to strategize from an operational perspective on how to continue making the work impactful and successful.

From there, I was given the opportunity to work for a health plan and got even more of an understanding from that perspective the disparities and inequities that exist in healthcare. I was able to engage in conversations with hospitals and community partners to really talk about the disparities, and help them to understand/recognize what they were. During that time, I led internal DEI initiatives within the organization that touched on health literacy, cultural competency, and equity. And that work eventually led me to Unite Us, where I am now.

Q: What do you suggest to an organization who wants to get started, but is on a shoestring budget?

Ariffa Bevin:

Three questions come to mind:

1. 1. “Who are your team members?"
2. Whether it's via survey or pulling data from your HR tool, knowing who your team members are is so important in order to know how to move this work forward. Gender, race, ethnicity, level of leadership in the organization are all key bits of data. 
3. 2. “What do your team members need?”
4. It's important for DEI work to be driven by what your team members need in order to construct impactful DEI initiatives. Asking what your team needs shows you care enough to ask them what they're looking for and to earn their buy-in. In asking what your team members are looking for, you may notice additional needs that are not explicitly stated. For example, if the results of a needs assessment or an inclusion survey reflect challenges with communication or engagement between team members of various backgrounds or cultures, then perhaps a cultural competency training or microaggression workshop is needed. A deep dive into the data itself can really guide the direction of where the company should move.
5. 3. “How does your team feel?”
6. Do they feel psychologically safe to have DEI-related conversations? Psychological safety is so important. Finding a way to anonymously gauge how your team feels about the workplace as it is, is a really great indicator for the future. Anonymous surveys are great for this. Once you know how the team feels, you need to ask, “What can we do to improve upon where we currently stand?” and “How do we make our team members feel more included?” Or, if you’re doing a great job, ask yourselves “How do we continue to do a great job?”

Finally, you have to have leadership support, which means the team needs to see the support of leaders within the organization. Really specify what that looks like; be sure leaders participate in these conversations, attend workshops, ask a question, or voice their support on certain initiatives. Support from various levels within the leadership team is so key and helps to make this work easier, and so much more impactful for the entire organization.

“You have to have leadership support...be sure leaders participate in these conversations, ask a question, or voice their support on certain initiatives..."