Today we’d like to introduce you to Martha Caldwell.
Martha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m in my sixties now and I’ve had the benefit of watching three generations come of age. I’ve seen some remarkable changes, and I’ve been through some remarkable changes myself. I came of age in the South during the era of segregation, and I didn’t even know a person of color until I was in sixth-grade. That’s when our school was integrated and I met Ella Webster, a Black girl who contradicted all the stereotypes. It was a journey for me to come to understand how limited my thinking had been as a result of racism.
As a teenager, I struggled with attention issues, depression, and boredom. I got pregnant when I was in the eleventh grade and dropped out of school. I worked odd jobs and attended college mostly at night and struggled to support my kids. After I got my degree, I worked in sales and finance, but it was a toxic environment for a woman. I was already working 60-hour weeks when my boss said to me, “Martha, I’m not sexist, but if you want to make it in this business, you’re going to have to work twice as long and twice as hard as any man.” What he didn’t know was that I was pregnant with my third child at the time. That’s when I pivoted into teaching. I needed a schedule that allowed me to spend more time with my kids. Yet I found my heart there. That’s where I learned how to push levers of transformation and growth.
I taught autobiographical writing to adolescents for many years, so I get how powerful storytelling is. Sometimes the kids’ stories broke my heart. Year after year, the faces in my classroom changed, but the stories stayed the same. Black and Latine kids told stories about their intelligence being underestimated by teachers, hearing their classmates use racial slurs, store clerks following them around in stores. Girls wrote about being excluded from sports, teased about their bodies, and trying to hold on to their confidence. Boys wrote about the pressure of trying to appear tough and in control. Gay kids grappled with blatant homophobia. While my work affirmed core components of their identities, it wasn’t enough. They were growing up in a system that harmed them and limited their potential. I needed to make a bigger impact.
In 2012, I co-founded iChange Collaborative with Oman Frame, and what we’ve learned over the past decade is that the patterns of experience our students faced in school are just as prevalent in the workplace. We’ve become diversity, equity, and inclusion experts because we know the stories. We teach the necessary content, of course, but it’s the stories people tell in our workshops that truly move the needle forward. THE key DEI skill is building relationships, and telling stories is the fastest path to relationships. It’s relationships that inspire innovation and high performance.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion work is challenging and not for the faint of heart. This work is a marathon, not a sprint.
First of all, the demands of running a business are relentless. I’m still working sixty-hour weeks (and more) but the work is rewarding and purposeful. Our work is high level and we are making an impact.
Second, diversity, equity, and inclusion work is challenging because it is emotional for the people we serve in our programs. There is so much emotional energy around people’s identity experiences, and until we recognize this fact and process through the emotions, we’re destined to reproduce the problems.
Third, when you’re dealing with systems of unfairness and in the business of repairing relationships, you can sometimes struggle with compassion fatigue. The value of self-care in this particular line of work cannot be overemphasized, and on our team, we are intentional about taking care of ourselves and each other.
Fourth, inclusive leadership is counter-cultural by its very nature. It’s not a top-down, commands and control leadership style. The people most impacted by DEI problems are the most capable of solving them, but in today’s world, those people are rarely sitting at the table where the decisions are made. And often, the people with the power to make decisions don’t understand the investment of time and energy required.
It can be difficult to get leaders engaged with DEI topics, and yet we are seeing great progress. It’s super rewarding to see the culture of an organization shift as more and more people buy into the value proposition of DEI and step up to lead the way. It’s rewarding to see positive and productive change happening with individuals and with teams. It’s great to see people who once felt discouraged about their jobs begin to take pride in the organizations they work with.
For me, I love hearing people say that we deliver the best DEI training they’ve ever had. That kind of feedback keeps me motivated to deliver the best possible programs.
We’ve been impressed with iChange Collaborative, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We’re majority BIPOC and woman-owned business, and we operate as a diverse collaborative of inclusivity experts.
Our team has been working in the diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting field for over 10 years. We have business clients in the fields of law, energy, media, and technology, as well as clients in the education and nonprofit sectors.
Our approach focuses on how diversity, equity, and inclusivity make us smarter, more creative, more innovative, more intelligent, and more prosperous. We lead people to recognize genius and cultivate collective intelligence. We help leaders understand how diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives can be leveraged to inspire innovative solutions.
Our services include: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Planning, Inclusivity Workshops, Inclusive Leadership Development, Coaching, Facilitation, and Community Support Services.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.
ichangecollaborative.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ichangecollab/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ TheIChangeCollaborative
