People Helping People

Jen O’Ryan from Double Tall discussed diversity and inclusion as it relates to the LGBTQ community. Double Tall provides service as a consulting firm for strategy, design, and implementation. Jen also placed her knowledge in her book “Inclusive AF: A Field Guide for ‘Accidental’ Diversity Experts”, which explains how to cultivate a more welcoming workplace. When first working with companies, Jen revealed that most approach Double Tall for consulting on unconscious bias. Jen shared that people tend to get stuck in their own worldview. Companies start the program, and realize the there is much more to the picture than what they thought. Jen explained that expanding the worldview of someone can be  “a little mind blowing.” She further expressed that she is careful not to package LGBTQ+ experiences as a monolith, but as many experiences of different people in the community with similar aspects. It’s the type of learning that once you “see it”, you can’t “un-see it”. Before getting into consulting, Jen spent