Denmark’s monoculture traces back many centuries. Danes feel like equals – considered by many Danes as one of the best facets of Danish culture. No powerful hierarchies. No one – irrespective of fame or fortune – is seen as ‘special’. And Danes are world champions in trust: We trust each other, and trust that we will leave each other’s business alone. You do your thing – I do mine.

So when it comes to talking about differences, Danes are not world champions. Far from it!

Even though many companies have realised that diversity is good for both innovation and the bottom line, actually bringing diversity into play is lagging behind.

Our monoculture has meant that Danes are not used to discussing differences at the workplace. On the contrary, we are raised to not notice them.

Some Danes may say: "You are free to do what you want, whether you are a woman, or a person of colour, or have reduced work capacity, or come from another country or are young or old. But do we really need to make a big fuss about it? And all that new stuff about bias, privilege blindness, cancel culture and microaggressions – no need to talk about that, things are fine here with us and we all get on well together."

Other Danes are beginning to recognize the importance of discussing these issues, but might choose silence instead out of fear for saying the wrong thing.

And that’s a shame.

Because differences don’t go away just because we don’t talk about them.

In fact, differences are guaranteed to become more difficult to deal with if we try to ignore them. And we miss out on the opportunities for innovation and new perspectives brought to light by our differences. Most important of all, we’ll have a hard time achieving our goal of creating the inclusive culture we want, where there really are equal opportunities for everyone and where everyone feel a sense of belonging and are able to contribute on an equal footing.

At the workshop Diversity and Inclusion Unplugged: Having Authentic Conversations at Work you'll take the first step in discussing our differences – and if you have already made a start, it will help you take another important step.

The workshop will be led by Signe Biering, who, in addition to being trained as a lawyer, leadership coach and business therapist, also has 20 years of experience as a diplomat stationed in Africa, Asia and the Middle East in her baggage (read more about Signe here).

At her workshops, Signe seeks to create an environment that will ensure a truly open-hearted discussion, where everyone feels comfortable being curious, asking questions and joining in.

In the video below, you can meet Signe Biering, who will lead the workshop Diversity and Inclusion Unplugged: Having Authentic Conversations at Work.

If you prefer to watch the video directly on Vimeo, please click here.