March is Women’s History Month, and the theme this year is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
To celebrate the women in the learning and development field and multiple education spaces, we reached out to internal and external partners and thought leaders to talk to them about their professional lives and how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have impacted their careers.
At ansrsource, we believe in the power of DEIAB … Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging … to educate, elevate, and enrich people’s lives. We are grateful to the women who chose to share their experiences with us.
We hope you enjoy learning about the women we spoke with as much as we loved speaking with them.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Vani Narayana
Communication & Marketing, ansrsource
Q. If you consider yourself a DEI advocate or activist, what inspired you to do this work? Can you share a personal story or experience that fueled your passion for this cause? Have you had role models or mentors who have influenced you in this work?
Growing up Indian and White in the US, I often felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. When I started to get to know more mixed race people, I found that we often had a lot in common and could relate in ways I hadn’t been able to relate to other people. This process of trying to figure out my identity and where I belong made me want to help others to feel included and supported as well.
Q. Whether or not you consider yourself and advocate or activist, has your professional life intersected with or been impacted by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs? If so, how?
My entire career has been grounded in being an advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I worked for 19 years in student affairs in higher education, mostly in multicultural affairs or diversity programming. When I came to ansrsource, I led the team that built the Inclusion Institute and now am building a course to co-facilitate virtually (and provide an asynchronous version) on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace. DEI is my passion and it is so rewarding to see how programs and trainings impact the experiences of folks who hold minoritized identities and make them feel like they can be more authentic in their workplaces.
Q. Is there a person doing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work currently who inspires you?
So many people, but I just read Saket Soni’s book The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America. He is very inspiring to me.
Q. If you could recommend one resource to people who want to learn more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (book, podcast, article, documentary, movie, etc.), what would it be?
I would recommend listening to the podcast Maintenance Phase (and if you like that, read Aubrey Gordon’s 2 books and see her movie Your Fat Friend). Antifat bias does not get a lot of attention in DEI work, but it is so widespread and impacts people in profound ways. This podcast examines the wellness industry and the harm it causes, how difficult it is for most people to lose weight, how we blame and shame fat people thinking it will somehow make them healthier but we instead just cause trauma, and how weight is not an indicator of health. I cannot recommend this podcast enough, it has changed so much about how I think and my behaviors towards others and myself.
About Vani:
Vani Narayana has worked with ansrsource since 2019 in a variety of roles. Currently she is traveling the world with her 2 kids and working on Semester at Sea. She did her undergraduate work in Psychology at Colorado College, master’s program at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, and now lives in Colorado Springs with her kids and 2 tiny dogs, Hammy and Bevo.
