“Systemic discrimination makes a lot of good people, 'Otherwise Good People', the talented people I work with – members, donors, supporters of the organization – through no fault of their own, complicit in discriminatory behavior and practices. That's how insidious this is.”
In this episode, Shanaaz Gokool, human rights activist and former CEO, courageously shares her personal story of discrimination, and gives practical ways that we can effect change.
In this episode
We talk about:
How failing to share power, leads to failure of governance
Two things that are necessary for racism to continue (i.e. what not to do)
What happens when “Otherwise Good People” try to avoid taking sides (hint – there’s no such thing)
Why anti-discrimination is the Board of Directors’ responsibility, not just HR’s; and what Boards can do differently
The kind of discrimination story we need right now
Three tips for victims of workplace discrimination
Guest bio and references:
Shanaaz Gokool is a life-long human rights activist and non-profit discrimination disruptor. She has been inspired to do social justice work primarily because of the rampant racism she experienced and witnessed growing up in Halifax-Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
She has held leadership roles in the private and non-profit sectors and is an emerging governance expert on workplace discrimination.
As the former CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC), she ushered in a new national movement supporting assisted dying and other end-of-life issues re-framed as human rights issues. Under her leadership, DWDC emerged as a key player in Canada on assisted dying.
She currently has a wrongful dismissal, systemic racism and discrimination lawsuit pending against her former employer.
You can contact and follow her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shanaaz-gokool
Links to Shanaaz's legal filings:
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Episode Transcript
Please note: the transcripts attempt to stay true to the essence of each conversation, while maintaining clarity and readability. As a result, certain "filler" words, and nuances of tone, emotion and emphasis will be missing.
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Music Credits for this Episode
Intro Music:
What Words Can't Describe, by Vlad Gluschenko
License: CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
Outro Music:
Beautiful Modern Rock Pop Guitar All Goodness Background Music, by Royalty Free Music
License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
