by Janice Nakano

Aldridge Pite, LLP

USFN Member (AK, CA, FL, GA, HI, ID, NY, OR, UT, WA)

USFN’s Diversity and Inclusion committee periodically spotlights professionals promoting diversity and enacting education and initiatives within the industry. Karyne Nguyen, assistant vice president, corporate social responsibility for Mr. Cooper Group, describes her approach to understanding different cultural perspectives, how to remove bias from day-to-day work and bringing positive change to the workplace.

Can you share some examples of how you championed diversity in the workplace and/or in your personal life?

My workplace diversity and inclusion journey began at the grassroots through Mr. Cooper’s Cooper Resource Teams, commonly referred to as employee resource groups (ERGs).  ERGs are voluntary, employee-led teams formed around various identities and dimensions of diversity, serving as a resource for their team members and a company or organization.

The Asians in Motion resource team launched in 2017 and I immediately got involved, first serving as the Vice President and I currently serve as the President.  In this role, I lead the team alongside my Officer Committee; we execute programs that support the Asian American community and encourage colleagues to become allies for the community.  Being a part of the team and serving in this role has been a truly incredible journey.  It has provided me an avenue to embrace my Asian roots from Vietnam, share my culture, and share the vast amount of traditions and experiences signified by other Asian cultures.  With over 40 countries and more than 50 languages represented within the Asian continent, there is so much to learn and it has been an honor to be a part of sharing the Asian community with colleagues.

I further seek to champion diversity and inclusion by supporting all of our resource teams and the communities of people they support; I am genuinely interested in learning the perspectives of my colleagues, even if I may not necessarily identify as part of that community.  For example, we have a Working Parents Group resource team and I always enjoy attending their programs and learning about their experiences; while I am not a parent, it continually helps me to learn about their points-of-view and empathize.  In my personal life, I carry over these actions and strive to learn about different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives by attending online webinars and in-person community events where possible.

How would you advocate for diversity education and diversity initiatives with individuals who don’t see its value?

For people who do not see its value, I continue to keep the lines of conversation open and emphasize that diversity and inclusion work is something each person can make a commitment towards.  Often times you hear that diversity education and initiatives feel exclusive or a person may feel if they don’t “fit in” to a certain identity, they will not be welcome or are not sure what it has to do with them – it’s certainly the opposite!  While many initiatives are focused on communities that are historically under-represented or under-served, we need everyone to be a part of the journey, more specifically those that are part of the historically dominant communities.  Allyship is an integral part of diversity and inclusion; allies are people that take time to learn about others’ experiences (including doing their own research) and are prepared to use that knowledge to speak up and advocate for others that may not always be heard.  Participating in diversity education can admittedly be uncomfortable, but it is founded in bringing positive change for the future of our workplaces and society – and, for that, the work is worth it.

How would you handle a situation in which someone made a sexist, racist homophobic or otherwise prejudiced remark? Would that response differ based on the environment, like work vs. social settings?

When a prejudiced remark is made, it is important to be an upstander and not disregard it – not saying anything will cause those comments to be normalized and accepted.  In both workplace and social settings, I strive to lead with mutual respect and have a mature dialogue.

In a workplace setting, if I feel comfortable with the person, I would attempt to personally address it in a way that is respectful of everyone involved.  For example, approach the person who made the remark in a private setting versus calling them out in front of others, explaining how I and others feel when a comment is made; from there, it is the hope that the person is receptive to having a constructive conversation. If I am not as familiar with or comfortable with the person, I’d try to find an ally that supports me in speaking up – they may be able to bring up the concern with me.

In a social setting with those I am familiar with, I usually take a similar approach unless it is a small group where everyone is comfortable in having this type of conversation.  Otherwise, I prefer a private conversation instead of a group setting – a group setting can cause a person to feel attacked, which I try to avoid or minimize.  In a social setting with strangers, it may feel less comfortable to speak up, but I would as long as I feel safe – people seldom regret speaking up for what is right.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

Are you actively engaged in a group or organization that promotes diversity? If yes, please share if you’d like to.

I currently work in Mr. Cooper’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, after holding roles in servicing and compliance for many years.  By getting involved in D&I through our employee resource groups, I discovered my passion for working with people and have found a lot of purpose in making a difference for our team members and their experience at the company.

In my role as a D&I practitioner, I am involved in a few committees and groups where I enjoy learning and conversing with other professionals dedicated to D&I.  This includes:

• CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion Financial Services Community Group: CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion is a pledge, in which CEOs commit to advancing diversity and inclusion at their companies.Our CEO, Jay Bray, signed the commitment in 2019 and the Mr. Cooper D&I team co-chairs the Financial Services Community Group.This is an active group of D&I practitioners that has conversations about best practices, challenges, and how we can continue to advance the D&I mission within our companies.
  
  
• Ascend North Texas: Ascend is the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian membership organization for business professionals in North Texas.Especially during the pandemic, they have hosted an array of virtual programs that continue to bring together Asian Americans and all backgrounds to share their experiences and learn from one another.Following the social justice issues in 2020, they hosted a great, collaborative session on solidarity where employees from various companies came together to discuss and exchange thoughts about how we continue to respond to social justice and promote equity.

How would you ensure you are inclusive of everyone’s viewpoints and what is your approach to understanding different cultural viewpoints?

To be inclusive of more viewpoints, it is important to provide ways for people to have a voice – keeping in mind that not all people are prone to immediately “speak up” and be the loudest voice in the room.  This is especially relevant when a team is solving a business problem or working on a solution together.  To be inclusive, provide various ways for people to share their opinion and provide them an opportunity to digest the information when it’s possible – an example of this is distributing meeting materials in advance, for attendees to review before a meeting.  Some people may choose to share thoughts in writing, others are prepared to speak up in a meeting, and others may share an opinion after a meeting.  Regardless of the method, being mindful of different methods of thinking does well to promote inclusivity when operating in a team environment.

My approach to understanding different cultural perspectives is having the curiosity to learn about other people and simply asking questions – don’t be afraid to ask questions in a respectful way, instead of assuming.  While the words may not always come out correctly, if you speak with humility, the other person will usually understand.  This is especially relevant around the winter season when people may be celebrating various holidays tied to their faith or culture.  Rather than assuming that people are celebrating a prevalent U.S. holiday like Christmas, I love the idea of simply asking: “What do you celebrate around this time of year?”  It creates a baseline to learn about and connect with the person – you may learn something new about another holiday, or simply learn that people are not celebrating anything in particular.

How do you go about ensuring you are removing bias from your day to day work?

To remove or at least mitigate bias from your day-to-day work, you should first learn about the biases that you have – and, trust me, we all have them!  Bias is a tendency to think in favor or against a person and it can render both positive and negative outcomes.   There are more than 150 documented biases that operate because our brain is taking short-cuts to process information.  I highly recommend exploring and taking Harvard’s Implicit Association Tests, which are highly researched and cover a multitude of topics such as age, gender, disabilities, and race.  The tests reveal the biases that may exist in our lives and are a starting point to learn how to counteract those biases.

Once you know your biases, the best and most simple advice I have heard is to slow down and do not always trust your gut; gut instincts are often shrouded in bias and pre-determined thoughts.  Before doing an action, consider why you are thinking the way you are, the reasons behind it, and ask yourself if a bias is operating.
 

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October 2020 e-Update