Ep 5 - Rahimeh Ramezany | Honoring Religious Identities in the Workplace Latina Leading Diversity

Featured on This Episode
Religion - it's a topic of conversation many outright avoid in the workplace but doing so only continues to build barriers instead of bridges in your company's culture. Rahimeh Ramezany, founder of her own consulting agency for diversity, equity, inclusion, and intercultural services, has brought that topic of conversation to the forefront of the work world. She specializes in helping organizations embrace Muslim and other religious identities on the job, using her master's in intercultural communication to guide DEI conversations for several years now.

What led her to this career path? Rahimeh said her family background played a major role in her decision since she was born to an Iranian immigrant father and a white American mother. She had many days where she felt like she didn’t quite fit in, an experience which led her to study and pursue cultural communications.

In her own experience, many non-Muslims rarely take the opportunity to get to know a Muslim. Even when they do, they will make their one interaction as a template for every Muslim, a habit which can prevent people from truly getting to know their neighbors and coworkers. She pointed out that faith and spiritual preferences are practiced in different ways by people in the same group. If people take the time to educate themselves, they can better create an inclusive environment for their workplace.

Here are a few of the highlights from this important and insightful conversation.

Highlights on This Episode

Rahimah shares personal experiences from moments when she felt marginalized, even by other Muslims, and how she learned to have meaningful conversations in those situations
We discuss how it’s ok to give yourself the time to sit in uncomfortable situations until you have the language to speak to and address those situations
We talk about how companies can honor religious holidays and be inclusive in celebrations for all faiths
We share ideas about best practices and considerations for dietary restrictions for various faiths at work events or conferences
We dive into how to talk through religious diversity in the workplace and how religious identity should be included in DEI conversations
We highlight ways companies can be more inclusive in their hiring

Follow Rahimeh Ramezany for more educational thoughts and webinars on a wide array of DEI topics.

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