278: Deborah Levine—How To Help Society Truly Become Inclusive?

Hear what you can do to end hate and foster inclusivity 

Deborah Levine is an amazing woman. How excited I was to share her story with our listeners. Many people today are talking about the need to build a more accepting, diverse and inclusive society, not just in their business but all around them in their communities. How do you do that? And how can you make the value of diversity become a cultural norm that is embraced? Listen to Deborah tell you about her own journey, and how that has caused her to focus on these themes in her personal and professional life. Here is your chance to learn from a true star in the growing  movement to transform our society and our culture so we can build better lives together.

Watch and listen to our conversation here

D Levine video

Some of the topics Deborah and I discuss include:

  • WOMEN LEADERS: Lessons from a Personal Journey. Deborah is deeply involved in the movement to help women overcome the obstacles in their pathways. Hear how her efforts to increase awareness of things like unconscious bias and the invisibility factor help women and the world we live in break through the hurdles and build a better society.
  • How to FOSTER INCLUSION and UPEND HATE. We dig deep into ways people can counteract hate in their communities and in the workplace. Deborah suggests creating anti-hate councils that would use a 3-step sequential process to build skills that counteract hate. This process is especially relevant today, given the omnipresence of hate groups online, their ability to influence cultural norms, and their negative impact on diverse communities which are targeted by these groups.

Deborah LevineMore about Deborah Levine

Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the American Diversity Report, an award-winning author of 15 books, a Forbes Magazine Diversity And Inclusion Trailblazer, and a Designer of Cognitive Diversity using emotion metrics, neuro-communication and decision-optimization, Deborah Levine has an amazing story of a life dedicated to empowering women and giving them a voice.

Despite a near-death experience working in Uzbekistan, Deborah has 33 years’ experience as a changemaker in challenging times. These efforts include creating a women’s sub-committee of the DuPage Interfaith Resource Network, serving on the all-female executive committee of the Oklahoma Say No to Hate Coalition, founding the Women’s Council of Diversity, and creating the Women GroundBreakers Storytelling public event for Women’s History Month. She is also highly revered for her innovative Matrix Model Management System, an interactive tool kit which increases emotional intelligence around race, ethnicity, gender, generation and religion.

A pioneer in the field of religious diversity, Deborah coordinated the 1990 National Workshop on Christians and Jews, spoke at the 100th anniversary of World Parliament of Religions, and served as consultant to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. She has also served as executive director for Jewish Federations in Illinois and Tennessee and director of community relations for the Tulsa Jewish Federation after the Oklahoma City bombing. Her published books include Religious Diversity in our SchoolsReligious Diversity at Work and When Hate Groups March  Down Main Street: Engaging a Community Response.

Deborah’s grandfather was one of Bermuda’s Founding 400 and she is part of the only Jewish family on the island for four generations. You can connect with Deborah through LinkedIn, Twitter, the American Diversity Report website and her website DeborahLevine.com, or you can email her at deborah@americandiversityreport.com.

To learn more about achieving equity in our society, check out these podcasts:

Want to join the movement for equity in the workplace?

Plan to attend the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) third Annual Summit: Empowering Through Gender and DiversitySept. 21st and 22nd. A powerhouse lineup from the WBC Community will discuss topics ranging from building equity and diversity to increasing the number of women-led institutional funds, share how men are aligning with women to support the changing workplace, and demonstrate how women are succeeding in the technology sector. Details here. Register now!

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