The word “education” is derived from the Latin word “educare”.

It means to draw out, or to call

forth what is already present as a possibility. The phrase “what is already present as a possibility”
may be the essence of all that is really meant by “human resources” in the realm of the modern
workplace.

In today’s world, just about anything seems possible. And in today’s workplace world, the
presence of individuals who represent the entire rainbow of human diversity is beyond
possibility…it is a certainty.

The best tool that organizations have at their disposal to ensure inclusion of all members of a
diverse workforce is education.

The Programs

Common Ground is the leading education resource for employee education regarding sexual
orientation in the workplace, gender identity and a “now for something completely different”
take on gender roles at work. and domestic partner benefits.

Sexual Orientation Education

The three main areas of focus of any Common Ground course for sexual orientation in the
workplace are:

• Creating safe and cooperative working environments to ensure maximum productivity

• Demonstrating, in a cost effective manner, that every employee is valued equally
• Making available information about sexual orientation that increases each participant’s
knowledge of the subject that positively affects each person’s behavior in the workplace.

Every education program developed and delivered by Common Ground is based on two
fundamental principles:

• Education does not equal endorsement

• It is behavior - not beliefs - that we try to positively affect.

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Gender Identity in the Workplace

Transgender people are making themselves known and felt as a force in the workplace in such
numbers as has never been experienced before in the workplace. It’s estimated that at least 1000
people undergo full transition from one sex to the other each year; more and more, these
transitions take place while the individual is gainfully employed.

In this course, we explain gender dysphoria and transgender people in all their manifestations –
we explore the causes of transsexualism (which is the ultimate status for a transgender person
and the one that most affects workplace relationships), treatment options, transitioning on the job
and the ways in which a transition affects the individual and other members of the workforce.
Most importantly, we provide legal, moral and ethical solutions to the challenges that employers
face when working with transgender employees and other employees too.

When an employee transitions, the best way for an organization to work with him / her and with
everyone else – internal or external to the organization – is by having a well-thought out,
proactive transition plan. Common Ground’s education programs in this area of workplace
diversity more often than not come to encompass the development of one, as well as laying the
foundation for a truly inclusive, healthy, safe and continually productive workplace for all its
members.

Click here for a sample outline

Gender Roles at Work – Affinity, not Conflict

Why gender “affinities”? Affinity means a similarity or likeness that connects persons or things;
a feeling of identification with somebody or something. Also, in biology--a similarity in structure
between groups that may suggest a common origin. In the best workplace scenario, colleagues
are able to find ways to identify with one another—i.e., forge productive affinities. The resulting
increase in flexibility and resilience, along with reduced conflict, are good for business. It is
possible to recognize & honor socially important differences while putting a stronger emphasis
on finding common ground. At its worst, a “the sexes are separate species” approach effectively
restricts people to gender boxes, so that only a narrow range of their full capabilities can be
tapped. Most basically, the separate species approach hold that that men and women are different
in particular and immutable ways, so that that they are incapable of stepping into each other’s
traditional roles. For instance, in this view, men are supposedly incapable of being fully
functional parents or of expressing their emotions effectively. Women, by contrast, are
supposedly incapable of attaining “genius” (as opposed to middle-of-the road competence) in art,
science, business, or any other pursuit. A “gender affinities” approach means deciding not to
validate or contribute to that divisiveness and the hostility it tends to generate.

Heady stuff…interesting and compelling. Our classes take people into realms of gender role at
work that they have likely never visited before and the results of having done so are startlingly
positive.

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The Process
Common Ground’s offerings, regardless of topic or content, all benefit from a process of
Curriculum Development that is both concise and comprehensive.

The elements of our Curriculum Development efforts occur in close coordination and
cooperation with our clients, and all are focused on ensuring that the program(s) we design and
deliver will garner the desired results. These elements are:

• Assessment of the client’s requirements and environment

• Focus groups designed from the assessment tool conclusions to get the best
• Possible overview of organizational culture
• Piloting of the proposed curricula
• Professional facilitation of the final program to senior management and select others
• Constant evaluation and adjustment of the program as necessary

A typical curriculum design, development and delivery project will include all of these steps to a
greater or lesser degree. In other words, the assessment may be done in conjunction with the
focus groups instead of as a separate preparatory step; or professional facilitation to senior
management or administration might occur at the same time as in-house trainers are being
brought up to speed on the programs.

Delivery Specialists

Common Ground offers on-site education on any of the diversity topics that we cover. These
education programs are workshop in nature – engaging and participatory.

We offer programs that are “classic half-days” or 3.5 hours of content in a 4-hour space; 4.5
hours in a 5-hour space or 6.5 hours (including a lunch period which is sometimes a working
lunch) in a full-day model. Our programs are usually best attended by up to 40 participants in
each section, but nothing we do live is “off the shelf” or “vanilla” content. Every Common
Ground education class is designed for the organization with whom we are working.

Pricing:

Because of the intently customized nature of everything that we do, there is also no “one size fits
all” pricing for our programming. Please contact us for more information about our programs
and pricing.

Other Options Abound!

Common Ground offers a number of other-than-live-facilitation options to your organization. We

can…

• Offer seminars to smaller groups on a focused topic or set of topics within our areas of
expertise. These can be live and/or also made available through teleconference or video-
conference
• Design webinars on any of the topics within our areas of expertise and then work with
your information technology organization to port them to your intranet

• Offer live classes that are video-taped and then edited for video-tape distribution or DVD
distribution. This option requires production elements that Common Ground would do in
conjunction with your organization.

• A fully realized action plan, including “boot camp” and implementation strategies for the
long-term for Train the Trainer in any of the programming we offer.
Since 1994, Common Ground has consulted to dozens of organizations - Fortune 10 to
10-person startups - on issues related to workplace diversity as concern sexual
orientation, gender identity and DP Benefits. We have expanded these to encompass
gender role at work, successful integration of religion/spirituality, and more flushed out
strategies for ERGs and in the realm of Executive Coaching.

Employee Networks' Implementation & Action Plans

Employee groups of any kind allow people with similar interests or characteristics to
interact with others who are like them. In the case of a gay employee, the existence of
such groups helps the individual simply feel that he or she is not alone. Feeling like 'the
only one' is a depressing condition common to many gay people in the workplace. In so
far as the organization is concerned, such ERGs leverage the commitment to diversity for
revenue gain. HR managers can help gay employees start a support group; more
importantly, they can provide crucial organizational support.

To facilitate these results, Common Ground has developed a uniquely effective

Employee Resource Group Progress Paradigm that is used to clarify the goals, mission
and methodology of Employee Resource Networks. In brief, the Paradigm:

• Helps the ERG clarify its mission and goals

• Couples the mission and goals with strategies to actually attain them
• Creates a measurable, but fluid, timeline to keep ERGs from getting stuck or
traveling down an incorrect path for too long

Please contact us for more details.

Gender Identity in the Workplace: Transition Planning, Education and

Communication

More companies and organizations than at any other time in history find themselves with
an employee (or employees) who choose to undergo sex reassignment due to their status
as transsexual people. And many more are finding themselves asked to accommodate
instances of gender identity expression that approach, but don’t include, sex
reassignment. This is a growing area of workplace diversity that is also taking form in
public policy whereby thirteen of the twenty states that protect us as citizens on the basis
of sexual orientation also extend those protections, particularly to the workplace, to
transgender people.

Organizations usually find themselves in reactive, rather than proactive, mode upon
finding out an employee is transgender and wishes to express as thus, or transsexual and
undergoing or planning transition. Common Ground can assist with education, transition
planning, and communication of programs and policies to your entire workforce or
whatever subset of it you choose. Our methods include live facilitation, written resources