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Next Meeting
April 14, 2022
10:00–11:00 a.m. EDT

Issue 3

March 18, 2022

Chair, Inspector General Sandra D. Bruce, U.S. Department of Education

Vice Chair, Inspector General Jay Lerner, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

OIGs Represented on the Work Group

AmeriCorps, AbilityOne, AOC, CIGIE, CNS, DHS, DIA, DNI, DOA, DOC, DOD, DOE, DOI, DOJ, DOL, DOT, ED, EEOC, FCA, FDIC, FEC, FRB & CFPB, GSA, HHS, HUD, NARA, NASA, NEA, NEH, NGA, NRO, NSA, NSF, PBGC, PRAC, SBA, SEC, SIGTARP, Smithsonian, SSA, State, USAID, USDA, USPS, VA

For more information about the work group mission, members, and resources, check out the CIGIE Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Work Group website.

Message from the Chair & Vice Chair

Welcome to another issue of The Ally—your source for information on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the Inspector General community! Before we get into this month’s news, we wanted to first acknowledge the great programming IGs put together to commemorate Black History Month, from the CIGIE Black History Month panel discussion to the events individual OIGs held throughout the month on Black History—some for the very first time! These events not only help to educate and inform staff but help to foster a stronger team culture and model more inclusion and diversity in the workplace. These actions empower employees, and ultimately, the entire organization.

As you know, DEIA is a journey, not a destination. Although some OIGs may be further ahead on their DEIA journey than others, what we have witnessed over the last year is that we are all on the DEIA path and that is progress! As an example, our DEIA Work Group is growing, with 45 Inspectors General now actively participating. Our events are attracting more and more OIG staff each month. We are seeing OIGs employ our #SEED initiative: Support-Engage-Educate-Data—four steps we can all take to help mature DEIA throughout the CIGIE community. And we know OIGs are anxiously awaiting the release of our DEIA Roadmap. This Roadmap—written by and for OIG staff—will be a great resource for all OIGs, regardless of where they are on the DEIA path, as it will provide useful information on framing DEIA discussions, incorporating DEIA concepts into actions and initiatives, and enhancing DEIA awareness and competencies throughout the CIGIE community. We are on track to issue the Roadmap in April.

It’s exciting to see and hear the enthusiasm and genuine interest in DEIA throughout the OIG community. We appreciate all of the positive feedback and great information that OIG staff are sharing with us. This includes some interesting DEIA-related statistics that we wanted to share with you. We’ll call it “did you know?”

• Did you know that currently in the United States, 5 generations of people are working alongside one another.
• Did you know that by 2030,
  • women will represent 51 percent of the global workforce;
  • minorities will represent 54 percent of the U.S. population;
  • 37 billion things will be connected by technology (e.g., a car, home, and wearable accessories); and
  • more than 40 percent of the workforce will work more remotely, flexibly, and part-time due to the digital society.

These are interesting statistics no doubt, but they do more than just make us say “wow.” They show us that changes in the workplace are coming and coming soon. That’s why the actions we take now to make our workplaces more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible are critical to our future. And a key aspect of ensuring our actions are successful is allyship. One way to interpret “allyship” is when a person from a privileged group works in conjunction with a marginalized group to help remove systems that challenge their basic rights, equal access, and ability to thrive in society. Allies recognize their own privilege and use it to influence inclusion and call out or challenge behavior perpetuating bias and systematic oppression. Allyship was one of our topics of discussion at our DEIA Work Group meeting. As noted at our meeting, everyone can be an ally—white women can be actionable allies to people of color, men can be allies to women, cisgender straight people can be allies to the LGBTQIA+ community, nondisabled people can be allies to people with disabilities, economically privileged people can be allies to those who are not, and so on. In this issue of The Ally, you’ll get the thoughts and perspectives of what it means to be an ally from several Inspectors General. You will also read about our other events held in February, some upcoming plans for celebrating Women’s History Month (March), and a fun and engaging article on reverse mentoring! Thank you all again for your support for DEIA and for allowing us the opportunity to lead this work group for CIGIE. We look forward to seeing you at our next event! Sandra and Jay

Our Voices: Hearing from Our Community

ALLYship is for ALL of Us

Jay Lerner, Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Why do I want to be an Ally? Frankly it’s a question that we should ask ourselves and examine.

For me, there have been many influences on my personal journey: My parents brought me up to reach out to others with respect, empathy, appreciation, curiosity, and humility, and they instilled a strong moral compass to try to make the world a better place. I grew up with three sisters, and I always saw them as equals. It would break my heart if they did not have the same opportunities as me to pursue their goals and aspirations. I wish the same for my eight nieces and nephews, as well as for my six grand-nieces: for each of them to dream and reach their full potential.

I have also been fortunate to have had opportunities to visit numerous countries around the globe—each with its own distinct and diverse culture, history, arts, customs, lexicon, norms, practices, and on and on. As a result, I have come to appreciate the rich texture interwoven into the tapestry of humankind.

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. Bishop Desmond Tutu

Watching the events of spring/summer 2020 unfold, I felt impelled to do something more. So I was honored when Sandra Bruce asked me to assist with the new CIGIE work group on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. I shared the following perspective with my Office:

[W]e are a kaleidoscope of heterogeneity where everyone is valued, respected, and appreciated. . . . We should be proud of the different views, talents, backgrounds, expertise, and abilities that we have in our Office. These represent the values and character of the OIG. . . .

Diversity and inclusiveness remain as cornerstones of our OIG workplace. Our strengths come from the experience, perspectives, and dedication of every person in the Office.

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation. Mahatma Gandhi 

As Federal employees, we have taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . [and to] bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” This historic document guarantees that no person shall be deprived of rights “without due process of law” and “equal protection of the laws.” These words form the very foundation of our ideals and institutions, as well as the underpinnings of the independent oversight role of the IG Community, on behalf of the American people.

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our community has a unique opportunity to uphold these principles and values: to hold ourselves to the highest standards and to lead by example. ALLYship is for ALL of us.

Why do you want to be an Ally?

Work Group Happenings February Meeting: Accessibility and Black History Month At our February work group meeting, Angela Perez, Visual Communication Specialist from the U.S. Department of Transportation OIG, shared information on the topic of accessibility. Accessibility affects everything, from the documents and digital products we create to hiring and facility considerations. Federal agencies must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which means agencies must develop, procure, maintain, and use information and communications technology that is accessible to people with disabilities. Comparable access must be given to everyone, unless undue burden is imposed on the agency. Key Takeaways on Accessibility Accessibility means focusing on ensuring things are easily used or accessed by people with disabilities, but accessibility benefits everyone. Accessibility remediation is the process of eliminating accessibility barriers for people with disabilities. If we start with a foundation of accessibility in mind, rather than trying to add it at the end of a project, remediation is easier to accomplish. Some accessibility best practices: Don’t rely on color as the only way to convey a message. For example, add labels or patterns on a chart or graph to help people with color blindness understand your meaning. Provide transcripts to audio and video materials. Consider your audience and the best reading level. Want to know more about it? Check out her slides, which include a helpful list of trainings and online tools.

In February, we also celebrated Black History month with three inspirational leaders: Sandra D. Bruce, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Education; Hannibal “Mike” Ware, Inspector General, Small Business Administration; and Cardell Richardson, Inspector General, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

As the only African American, Senate-confirmed female Inspector General, Inspector General Bruce is an example of Black history today. She reminded us that we should treat everyone as if they have something to share because their voice matters.

IG Ware never saw his career path through a lens of race because he was surrounded by Black excellence growing up in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But as one of the two Black Senate-confirmed IGs in the community for many years, he did often come up against people who did not expect him to be in the leadership position he held; for example, being questioned when he parked in a spot reserved for the Inspector General.

IG Richardson reminded us that leadership is all about relationships, and it’s important to respect the people that you lead: “mission first, people always.” He encouraged diversity in the workplace because “the more you know, the more you understand.”

March Meeting: What it Means to Be an Ally

At our March work group meeting, we discussed what it means to be an ally.

Key Takeaways on Allyship

• Jay Lerner, Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said allyship means being aware of your own biases, having empathy and educating yourself by “listening to learn,” take action by showing up and standing up, and lifting others to build a community.
• Paul Martin, Inspector General, NASA said that he comes to allyship as a learner with an understanding that very few good ideas come from the top-down. He sees the future of allyship as building a positive structure and knocking down barriers as they are encountered.
• Michael Missal, Inspector General, Veterans Affairs said allyship is about actions: supporting colleagues, educating the community, and ensuring a welcoming, inclusive, and positive office environment.

Education and Awareness

Reverse Mentoring

Jina Hwang, Counsel to the Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

How would you go about solving this math problem?

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 = ____

The answer is ultimately simple and definitive (see below), but the various approaches one might take in reaching this solution are illuminating.

Based on our office’s informal poll, the most common approaches were to add 1 to 2 to 3 and so on, or to start with 10 and add backward.

Some of the more unconventional approaches yielded a faster response time. For instance, adding 10 to 1, 9 to 2, and so on to establish 5 sets of 11. Others relied on Alexa, Siri, or a cell phone calculator.

These varied approaches to a simple exercise demonstrate diversity of thought in action.

What happens when an organization decides to intentionally elevate the sometimes overlooked approaches and perspectives of its employees, like the various solutions to the math problem? That’s exactly what our OIG set out to do in a reverse mentoring project we launched in January to celebrate National Mentoring Month.

We paired junior employees—as mentors—with senior officials, including Inspector General Mark Bialek and Deputy Inspector General Fred Gibson—as mentees. The end result energized not only the organization’s leadership but enhanced junior employees’ engagement and feeling of inclusion in the organization.

Mark Bialek said of his participation in the reverse mentoring program, “I could not have been more pleased with the results of my reverse mentoring experience. The shifted dynamic of being in the role of a mentee, rather than that of a mentor, enabled me to listen differently and obtain unique organizational insights and background.” 

For our reverse mentoring program, we paired 15 junior employee mentors with 13 senior leadership mentees (Mark and Fred each had two mentors). We followed one simple rule in establishing the pairs: mentors and mentees could not be in a direct reporting relationship. We also matched mentors with mentees from different parts of the organization.

During the first week in January, we hosted a “Launch and Learn” during which participants learned of their pairings and the program’s ground rules and expectations. Launch and Learn attendees also viewed this brief TED Talk on reverse mentoring.

During the second and third weeks in January, reverse mentor pairs met for two 1-hour-long sessions. We provided suggested discussion topics for senior mentees to raise with their junior mentors to help initiate and facilitate discussions. For example:

What have been the attributes of the best people you have ever worked with, or worked for?

What knowledge/skills do you possess that you feel are most underutilized at the OIG?

What is something that makes you excited to come to work each day?

Once conversations started, however, reverse mentorship pairs found that the discussions developed organically.

During the final week of January, we closed our reverse mentoring program and National Mentoring Month with a wrap-up meeting. The meeting discussion centered around the power of recognizing and connecting with others not only on their readily identifiable characteristics, but also on the diverse experiences that shape their perspectives.

The discussion prompts for the wrap-up meeting were intentionally tailored to first spotlight and elevate junior employees’ perspectives as mentor, prior to soliciting senior leadership mentees’ insights. By leading the discussion, mentors played a proactive role in setting the tone and tenor of the conversation. The discussion prompts were as follows: 

• Mentors, what impact do you think you had on your mentee?
• Mentors, what connected you more than you initially expected?
• Mentors/mentees: How do these newfound connections impact our working environment? 

The responses by both mentors and mentees were overwhelmingly positive. Two of our office’s newest employees, Trang Do and Michael Rivera, teamed up to mentor the Inspector General. Trang Do shared that “[a]s one of the most junior employees on our staff, it was an invigorating experience to mentor someone in the highest level of leadership. Having Mark truly listen and consider my views and experiences has left me with a firm belief that leadership ‘walks the walk’ with their commitment to diversifying the organization.”  Michael Rivera said that he “really appreciated the opportunity to ‘mentor’ Mark. Participating in the mentoring sessions strengthened my belief that even as a junior employee, my perspective matters, I can add value to the organization, and senior leadership is willing to listen.”

Based on the participants’ responses and interests from other employees, we will be continuing the reverse mentoring program with new pairings throughout the year.

(The answer is 55!)

Upcoming Observances

Women’s History Month

True or false? March is Women's History Month because of these significant dates in women's history:

• March 8 is International Women's Day.
• On March 13, 1913, the Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., took place, where more than 8,000 women gathered to demand a constitutional amendment guaranteeing their right to vote.
• On March 22, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in the Senate.

False. Though the dates above are accurate and important, Women's History Month, as we know it today, developed incrementally. International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, became International Women’s Week in 1980, courtesy of President Jimmy Carter. Seven years later, with the passing of Public Law 100-9 in 1987, and since then, the celebration of Women’s History has been declared a month-long celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history, and society. 

Irish-American Heritage Month

On February 28, 2022, President Biden proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month to honor the journey and contributions of Irish Americans who helped shape the U.S. and define what it means to be American. The proclamation has been made annually by the White House since 1991, and this year the President wrote about how his and others’ Irish ancestral story of strength and perseverance through adversity helped shape and define the “soul of our Nation.”

Irish-American Heritage Month is celebrated in March due to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), which was observed as a religious day by Irish American immigrants and continues to be widely celebrated. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is mainly celebrated as a secular cultural day. Many U.S. cities celebrate with a parade, and, remarkably, this tradition has spread to many other countries. Tokyo has hosted a St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1992.

Interesting Facts about Irish Americans

• Nine signatories from the Declaration of Independence were Irish, as were over 20 of Washington’s generals and the first man to hold a commission in the United States Navy.
• The Medal of Honor, which is the U.S. military's highest honor for valor, has been awarded to 253 Irish-born men—more awardees than from any other nation.
• Over 30 million, or 9.2 percent, of U.S. residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2019.

Upcoming Events

Women's History Month Celebration

March 29, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. EDT

Please join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month and resilient women in CIGIE. 

According to subject matter experts, seven integral and interrelated components make up RESILIENCE: Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, Contribution, Coping, and Control. We’ll hear from a panel of Inspectors General as they talk about how these components of resilience are part of their personal stories and what Women’s History Month means to them. 

These women are shaping the CIGIE community—find out what has shaped their lives.

Watch the event live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/855dEvBGQZo

We welcome questions from the community! Please submit questions to Dorona Chappelle at dorona.chappelle@ed.gov by the end of the day on March 25 so we may consider them for discussion.

FEATURING:

Allison C. Lerner, IG, National Science Foundation and Chair of CIGIE
Sandra Bruce, IG, Department of Education
Rae Oliver Davis, IG, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Phyllis Fong, IG, Department of Agriculture
Christi Grimm, IG, Department of Health and Human Services
Peg Gustafson, IG, Department of Commerce
Cathy Helm, IG, Smithsonian Institution
Deb Jeffrey, IG, Americorps
Wendy Laguarda, IG, Farm Credit Administration
Carol Ochoa, IG, General Services Administration
Parisa Salehi, IG, Export-Import Bank

Plus: Special video presentation with messages from IGs across the community!

In Case You Missed It

Some of these books were mentioned at the last February DEIA meeting; a couple of others are just good reads:

• The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies; Scott E. Page 
• The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy; Scott E. Page 
• From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans; John Hope Franklin
• The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America;
  Ibram X. Kendi

We want to hear from you!

Share your stories with us! Everyone in the OIG community is encouraged to submit photos, stories, or ideas for future issues. Contact The Ally team at dorona.chappelle@ed.gov with your submissions, ideas, or feedback! Submissions for our next issue are due May 6.

Newsletter staff: Traci L. Taylor, DOI OIG; Katie Balestra, DOI OIG; Nancy Brown, HHS OIG; Mari Farthing, ED OIG; Adelle Harris, DOE OIG; Jina Hwang, FRB/CFPB OIG; Nicole Matthis, State OIG; Jillisa Hope Milner, ED OIG.