Meet Dominique Brewer – U.S. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lead at Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Get to know Takeda’s pledge to corporate responsibility here.
What makes DE&I work so challenging?
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) work is deeply personal. The emotionally charged topics that fall under the umbrella of diversity, equity and inclusion often elicit strong emotions in us all. Although there are many learned responses for managing discomfort, you can’t easily reconcile emotions with responses. We all have work to do in engaging more emotional intelligence in the face of discomfort. The Inclusion Drives Innovation program allows us to receive individual learning aligned with what’s currently happening in society. Within the United States, many individuals have never considered the impact of identity and race within a broader environment. This is where we need to begin our journey.
As an Inclusion Drives Innovation alum, what sets this professional development program apart?
Inclusion Drives innovation creates a psychologically safe space, which can be hard to find. I appreciated that program facilitators, She+ Geeks Out, greeted participants by sharing a fundamental baseline that engaged attendees of all levels. By considering how the emotional components of the learning materials might affect participants differently, attendees also received fact-based information to better understand the basic concepts of identity.
As the new U.S. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead at Takeda, what do you want people to know about learning journeys?
We all have biases. Inclusion Drives innovation helps participants become aware of their biases, so they can better understand the impact on others. As we think about how to represent people of different identities and fueled with a baseline introduction to our societal history, we have the opportunity to open doors and create space for trust, courage, and comfort with people we meet for the first time. DE&I learning journeys extend beyond this program to influence all facets of our lives, even if you are not actively involved in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.