Building on the success of last year’s DE&I Symposium, which demonstrated the powerful connection between DE&I and wellbeing, at this year’s MAD World we’re bringing together leaders to foster the collaboration that’s needed to create inclusive workplaces where all employees can thrive.
One of the most hotly anticipated sessions of this DE&I stream this year is the ‘fireside chat’ with ebay’s Senior Manager, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Estelle Jackson, about creating and celebrating neuroinclusion. With approximately 15% of the UK population being neurodivergent, not enough employers are embracing neurodiversity and therefore not reaping the rewards from doing so.
This chat will be faciliated by the Bipolar Businessman, Thomas Duncan Bell, and cover themes such as challenges neurodiverse individuals face and fostering strategies which embrace neuroinclusion.
We caught up with Estelle ahead of her appearance at MAD World about all things DE&I.
What is your remit?
If I wrote my job description, it would be very long, but in a nutshell, my job at ebay is to make sure that everyone has a voice that is heard and valued. That can mean many things, including education on all things Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), creating action plans to track progress on DEI topics, working with our Communities of Inclusion (COIs) (which other companies might call Employee Resource Groups) and helping drive measurable impact.
My role is global, so I’m lucky enough to work with lots of different countries. As you can imagine, no two days are the same! It’s the best part of my job. I love hearing about what’s happening around the world and see how diverse our cultures are in all of our sites. I work in a team of six, spread across the globe.
Can you give me an example of a global task you might do?
My job is to pick up on biases, be mindful of cultural sensitivity and ensure that communications are understandable across our sites globally. This sometimes means I’ve had to rewrite scripts so they are more culturally aware.
This morning, I was asked to consult on a video that the Learning & Development team has put together. I reviewed it from a cultural sensitivity lens to make sure that the words, tone, and body language would make sense around the world, which was a great start to my day.
Then I did some data review on one of our global sites to help them start to think about their DEI action planning, which involves setting goals to drive positive change in their organisations.
And then I wrote a workshop on the Impact of Allyship to deliver to employees across the globe around the 7 types of allies, how to show up in the spirit of allyship, and facts about what allyship is and is not.
In short, I work to make sure that we implement global awareness with a local lens.
How important is data and how do you use it?
Very important. A lot of the work I do is gathering data and using it to tell a story.
We’ve just rolled out a project called Self-ID. It’s a voluntary disclosure program that allows employees to share their demographic information in a secure platform. Self-ID empowers employees to share their identity on their terms. Its aggregated data will help support the employee experience and identify gaps and opportunities to build a stronger sense of belonging.
What kinds of insights or feedback have you got from employees?
One of the first things I heard from employees in our United in PRIDE COI last year was our trans community saying they felt overlooked.
As a result of their input, I led the creation of our Gender Expression and Identity Standard, which is a global way of standardising support. It includes practical guidance for managers and colleagues who want to support people going through gender transition, shares how trans or gender-nonconforming employees can do things like update the gender on their ID, and includes benefits information. This has become a powerful way of demonstrating our commitment to inclusion. It’s not just about supporting events during Pride season but having systemic process and policy change to practically demonstrate our commitment to inclusion. It’s year-round, and it’s for all employees.
You’re talking about neurodivergence at MAD World. Can you tell me any insights you have had about your neurodivergent community?
In previous surveys, neurodivergent colleagues were saying things like ‘I don’t feel like I can talk to my manager about the fact I have ADHD. I mask and hide it.’
Or ‘I struggle to concentrate in a loud work environment, and now that we’re returning to the office in a post-Covid world, it’s affecting my work and mental health’. Or ‘I want to record meetings because I’ve got ADHD and want to be able to confirm I’ve got all the relevant information, but my manager doesn’t feel comfortable recording meetings.’
Then you’ve got people that disclose in the survey, but are masking their neurodivergence in front of colleagues. There are a lot of challenges neurodivergent employees can experience.
What have you done on the back of your insights to improve work/life for neurodivergent colleagues?
I’m currently creating a Global Neurodivergence Standard that should be in place by the end of the year to help people understand the different types of neurodivergence, how to best support or manage neurodivergent employees, and what employee benefits are relevant to them.
People are becoming more comfortable talking about neurodivergence; we’re seeing probably a 10% increase each month in the number of employees joining our ‘Minds of All Kinds’ Slack channel and asking more questions about how to support colleagues, friends and family who are part of the neurodivergent community.
One thing we’ve already improved is our benefits package for getting a neurodevelopmental assessment in the UK. Many companies don’t cover neurodivergent benefits at all, so we were doing better than that, but there was a long wait for care, you had to pay for the benefit and wait to be reimbursed, and it was just stressful. I know, because I had to take my 16-year-old daughter through the process.
As a result, I went to our benefits department and asked how I could help them improve this for our employees. We’ve now reviewed our policy, made sure people don’t need to pay anything themselves, included medication in the benefit, and made the process easier.
Tell me more about neurodivergence and the office…
I was involved in the project team in the UK looking at site logistics. We have got a number of neurodivergent people who are very vocal about how they feel coming back to the office post COVID.
They are on a busy office floor, where there’s loud music, people shouting and phones ringing and they tell us they can’t get any work done and, consequently, are burning out. Conversely, at home they are hyper focused and can be extremely productive.
So, I’ve said that if we’re going to encourage our teammates back to the office, we need to think about how we set these offices up for different needs. For example, we may need to create ‘focus areas’ where people can go where there is no noise, no phones, no music – no distractions. Then we need creativity zones where there is music, people can collaborate and talk, use their phones, get energy out with a ping pong table. We’re trying to make this approach global.
But we also have to recognise that even that may not work for some of our neurodivergent employees. In those exceptional cases, we need policies and procedures around exemptions. Now, via our People teams globally, a person can be exempt from the return-to-office rule because they have a medical condition and need to be able to focus at home.
You sound passionate about neurodivergence. Where does that come from?
Both my daughters are neurodivergent, so is my partner, and my brother has epilepsy. I am surrounded by a world of neurodivergence, and I’m passionate about valuing uniqueness and individuality.
You mentioned working closely with your benefits department. To what extent do you think benefits can influence culture?
Massively. There are a couple of initiatives I’ve worked with the benefits team to roll out and I’m always asking them questions. Having a great partner in your HR, benefits, legal and facilities teams hugely benefits the work you can achieve and the changes you can achieve in an organisation.
What are the characteristics that you need to thrive in your job?
You have to be stubborn! Empathetic. Goal driven. Motivated. And have sensitive curiosity.
I’m not afraid to ask difficult questions and I’m prepared for difficult answers, and I’m OK with being uncomfortable a lot of the time. In this job, you’re going to hear examples of where things are not going right. But you have the opportunity to fix things, which is amazing.
In the spirit of sensitive curiosity, I often ask questions like: ‘how could you have done that differently?’ I want to encourage that person to think about it so next time they’re in a situation they can respond differently.
That sounds like coaching. Would you say coaching is part of your job?
Yes. It’s not officially in my job description but, especially our senior leaders, will come to me and say ‘I’ve got this situation, can we talk it through?’ which is great! To be a true partner to the business and have people come to me for advice and coaching shows the impact DEI has in our business and the work leaders are willing to put in to getting out of their comfort zones.
Education is a huge part of my role and letting people know its ok to change your mind. We’re not always going to agree, but open your mind up to different perspectives, learn how to play devil’s advocate and encourage people to bring their authentically amazing selves to the workplace.
The DE&I Summit at MAD World is an event driving excellence in building equitable, inclusive, thriving workplaces. As well as Ebay’s Jackson, speakers include Pernille Hagild, Global Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, IKEA, Dr Patrick Ismon, Head of EDI, RSPCA and Sharlene John, Head of DEI, Recruitment & Onboarding, Selfridges.
MAD World is on 17th October 2024, and will bring together speakers and attendees from across sectors and with a range of job titles for five tracks of leading-edge content that showcase best practice and provide insights and inspiration for all those looking to achieve maximum engagement with initiatives, optimise investment, stay one step ahead and really make a difference.
The stellar lineup of speakers includes: Professor Dame Carol Black GBE FRCP FMed Sci; Peter Cheese, CEO, CIPD, Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, Chief Executive, The Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), Dhavani Bishop, Head of Group Colleague Health & Wellbeing, Tesco, Kirstin Furber, People Director, Channel 4, Dr Clare Fernandes, Chief Medical Officer, BBC, Christian van Stolk, Executive Vice President, RAND Europe, Andrew Gibbons, Group Head of Wellbeing, Recognition and Hybrid Working, HSBC, Karen Brookes, Chief People Officer, Sir Robert McAlpine, Jaimy Fairclough, Wellbeing Specialist – People Division, Sainsbury’s, Dr Femi Oduneye, Vice President Health, Shell International B.V. and many more. You can find out more and register to attend here.
