Peggy Sue, center, at an anti-war protest in 1991

Hi, I’m Peggy Sue, the founder of CIC.

I was a wee nerd intern back in 1999 at a tiny software shop in San Francisco, and in the decades since I’ve navigated my way through full time senior tech positions at a multiple startups.  During my career I have noticed something.  

It’s a critical something.

Employees rarely stay at a company when they don’t feel like they “fit in.” 

• I have seen folks who couldn’t come to company happy hours decide to switch companies because the “in crowd” who partied at those same happy hours get all the juicy projects.

• I’ve had colleagues who have struggled to connect and make friends at work because they don’t understand some of the idioms that native English speakers use.

• I know folks left out of offsites because they were unable to participate in certain kinds of physical activities.

In 2015, using Frameshift Consulting source materials I created an inclusion-focused workshop at my unicorn startup and for several years I taught it at various U.S. company locations.  When I pivoted to a second unicorn in January of 2019, with Caitlin O’Dowd’s help I tailored my signature Ally Skills workshop to address the racism surrounding the George Floyd murder and the Black Lives Matter protests, to help colleagues address some of the intense racial conversations as a result.

I did all this on a volunteer basis because valuable marginalized people, people who were my friends, were leaving the workplace and indeed leaving tech entirely because they didn’t feel welcome.

• There are multiple individuals who signed on to my previous company because I helped create gender inclusive restroom signage as a result of my Ally Skills workshop.

• Dozens of people who have taken my signature workshop have told me that now they feel prepared to help create a more welcoming environment for others.

Now it’s 2022 and I started Culture Impact Consulting because inclusion matters. At CIC we believe that all businesses can create an atmosphere where everyone can feel like they belong. We focus on teaching the basics of how to take one’s privilege and use it to create an inclusive, welcoming atmosphere for marginalized people. If your employees who are Black or Indigenous or women or Hispanic or queer or members of other marginalized groups aren’t feeling welcome, we can help.

Does it matter if marginalized people leave my company when they feel unwelcome?

YES.

• When all team members have similar backgrounds, edge cases slip by.

• We all know that too much similarity can kill innovation.

• In order to build a business that serves everyone, the teams building that business need to be diverse.

Peggy Sue, third from right, skating with the DC Rollergirls at DC Pride in 2012

If you want to create an atmosphere in your company where marginalized people feel welcome, Culture Impact Consulting can help.