Commercial Integrator June 2022 - 51

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regard. She says, " My passion is building
a culture of inclusion in organizations and
companies [worldwide]. We all represent
the society we live in and work in. Therefore,
the onus is on the organization to
recognize the breadth of society and the
opportunities [that entails]. "
Joyce notes that the AV workforce is
constantly looking for innovations and embracing
opportunities. Our industry would
do well to harness that spirit of vibrancy, she
argues. Joyce says, " This leads to innovation,
which leads to openness. [And that] lends
itself to an inclusive culture. "
Weaving together Lloyd and Joyce's
insights, fostering a good company culture
is about creating a platform that acknowledges
the various backgrounds of every
individual within the organization, while
also ensuring that diverse opportunities are
available to all.
Creating an Inclusive Culture
Steinhardt, AV design associate at SMW, has
always been an advocate for fostering an
inclusive culture. Drawing from her own experiences
with sensory processing disorder
and neurodiversity, Steinhardt explains, " It
can often be challenging and scary to speak
up in an environment that does not provide
the safe space to do so. " Dunbar, director of
AV services at LyncVerse Technologies, adds
commercialintegrator.com
'It can often be
challenging and scary
to speak up in an
environment that does
not provide the safe
space to do so.'
- Jenn Steinhardt, SMW
that an organization must have a strategy
in place if it's going to have an inclusive,
safe company culture. " It's one thing to say
I support so and so from this background, "
she explains. " However, there has to be
a strategy behind the words being said. "
Effectuating that strategy, Dunbar says, will
drive our industry to greater heights by enabling
us to capitalize on the talent we have
within our organizations.
This leads to the issue of attracting and
recruiting that very talent in the first place.
For many years, the commercial AV industry
has struggled with recruitment - especially
with diverse recruitment. Our industry
continues to miss out on richly diverse
talent simply due to this lack of awareness.
Drawing on her own experiences, Dunbar
explains, " ...[W]omen like me were not even
aware of the AV work we were doing [back
then]. " She expresses her wish to see AV-related
curriculum brought to the forefront in
schools and for STEM majors. That, Dunbar
says, " ...will enable more women to be
more successful in the industry. " She credits
the AVIXA Women's Council and the AVIXA
Diversity Council, both of which advocate
for awareness of AV and implementation of
DEI strategies, for driving welcome changes.
Joyce picks up on the Diversity Council's
efforts, bringing up initiatives such as the
" Industry Pledge " (also an AVIXA initiative)
and the online " AV Meets Food " events.
What's more, she cites the Women's Council
in India as a prime example of women supporting
each other in inclusive safe spaces
where CTS study groups emerged as great
successes. According to Joyce, these efforts
serve multiple purposes - from familiarizing
people with unconscious bias and
educating people about neurodiversity as a
competitive advantage for your company, to
developing materials for websites to make
JUNE 2022 Commercial Integrator
51
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Commercial Integrator June 2022

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