Category: #CDNdiversity

Written by Rayhan Azmat, CCDI UnConference 2026 keynote speaker 

 

I see a shift in perception happen most clearly when people encounter my story for the first time. By the end of the conversation, they are often surprised by how much their original assumptions have changed. 

That quiet recalibration is what this is really about. 

At the beginning of a keynote, people see what is immediately visible. A wheelchair. A narrative that feels familiar before a single word is spoken. But as the story unfolds, something changes. What people respond to is not inspiration in the abstract. It is recognition. The realization that what they thought they understood at first glance was incomplete. 

Not because the facts changed. 

But because the story widened. 

That shift feels immediate to the audience. 

Living it was different. 

It began much earlier, more than two decades ago, with a rare muscle condition that forced me to adapt long before I had language for what I was doing. Day by day, I learned how to work around limitations and keep going, even when the future felt uncertain. 

For a long time, adapting was simply part of daily life. It was not something I framed as resilience or strength. It was just what was required. Plans shifted. Approaches adjusted. Progress came through consistency rather than certainty.  

Only much later did I understand how formative that experience had been. 

 

Perspective under pressure 

Like so many organizations, the first months of the pandemic collapsed certainty overnight. Revenue disappeared. Operations shut down. Long-range plans became obsolete almost instantly. The only thing everyone knew was that the old playbooks no longer applied. 

As the leader responsible for financial planning, my role was not simply to react. It was to help the organization see a path forward when no clear one existed. That meant building scenarios in real time. Revising budgets repeatedly. Communicating uncomfortable truths clearly and calmly. Sitting in rooms with senior leaders, not to predict the future, because none of us could, but to decide how we would navigate it together. 

What mattered most in those moments was not just technical skill. It was perspective. 

The ability to stay steady under pressure. To hold multiple possible outcomes at once. To lead with clarity even when certainty was unavailable. 

What I did not fully appreciate at the time was how much my own lived experience had prepared me for that environment. 

Years of adapting had quietly built a different kind of resilience. Navigating change was not new. Staying calm when the ground shifts was not theoretical. It was practiced. 

That perspective did not replace the experience of others around the table, many of whom had navigated crises of their own. It complemented it. Different paths, different challenges, shared responsibility. Together, those varied experiences became a strength. 

 

When stories widen 

The conversations after keynotes often follow a similar pattern. Many come from parents of children with visible challenges who connect the change I speak about on stage to the change shaping their own lives. 

They describe how fully their lives have become oriented around managing what is directly in front of them: Appointments. Systems. Barriers. Logistics. In that constant effort, they admit they have stopped imagining what might come next. 

Not because they lack belief or love. 

But because the system surrounding them makes it hard to picture anything else. 

What stays with me most is when they say this was the first time they were able to see their child beyond the immediate challenge. To imagine a full life. Contribution. A future defined by more than what needs managing. 

That moment is not about me. 

It is about what happens when perspective shifts, when the story widens just enough to allow possibility back in. 

 

What we miss when we don’t see beyond 

When I roll into a room, part of my story is immediately visible. Before I speak, before I contribute, before I demonstrate anything I am capable of, a narrative has already begun. Not out of malice, but out of habit. 

What is less obvious is how often the same thing happens when nothing is visible at all. 

Most people carry challenges that never announce themselves. Pressure to provide. Fear of failure. Health concerns. Caring responsibilities. Doubt about whether they truly belong. None of it appears on a résumé. None of it shows up in a meeting invite. 

And yet, those unseen stories shape how people show up just as much as the visible ones do. 

The difference is simple. When a challenge is visible, it risks becoming the headline. When it is invisible, it is often ignored, even though the weight is just as real to the person carrying it. 

Seeing beyond is not about focusing on difference. It is about resisting the urge to let any single detail, visible or not, define the whole person. 

 

Where opportunity is quietly shaped 

In professional settings, assumptions tend to form early. Sometimes they are subtle. Sometimes they are well intentioned. But once they settle in, they quietly shape opportunity. Who is trusted. Who is stretched. Who is invited into the room when decisions are being made. 

Seeing beyond is the deliberate choice to interrupt that instinct early. 

Not to lower the bar. 

But to sharpen it. 

Looking back, what I am most aware of is this: I delivered results because I was given the opportunity to do so.  

The value I was able to contribute did not come from being helped. It came from being trusted. 

At key moments, people chose not to let assumptions stand in for understanding. They did not rush to conclusions about what I could or could not do. They asked. They listened. They focused on capability instead of constraint. 

That choice mattered. 

Because when we see beyond surface narratives, we do not offer charity. We unlock contribution. 

And when enough of us do that, we are not just changing one person’s path. 

We are reshaping the story we all share. 

 

Rayhan Azmat is a vice president and senior finance executive at a public company, and a keynote speaker focused on leadership, resilience, and navigating change. 

 

As we begin 2026, many organizations are deep in strategic planning mode. Conversations about the year ahead often circle around innovation, AI adoption, new technologies, shifting markets, customer expectations, and the need to adapt quickly. This time of year naturally invites practitioners and leaders to reflect on where growth is needed most and on what will help organizations stay relevant, resilient and future-ready.

But amid these forward-looking questions, there is a quieter yet powerful truth emerging from decades of research: the strongest innovators tend to be organizations with a strong learning culture. Studies show that innovation is not driven by technology or strategy alone, it is driven by cultures where people learn continuously, share knowledge openly, feel safe to challenge assumptions, and are encouraged to experiment and adapt.[1]

This raises an important point of reflection as we prepare for 2026: If innovation depends so heavily on learning culture, then what conditions allow learning itself to thrive?

As we explore these dynamics, many of us begin to notice an interesting intersection.

The qualities that strengthen learning cultures are also at the core of DEIA practices, such as psychological safety, shared power, equitable participation, accessibility, cultural humility, and openness to diverse perspectives. This invites a deeper consideration, one that reframes the conversation entirely:

What if DEIA is the learning culture that innovation requires?

This is where the conversation shifts.

 

The innovation secret hiding in plain sight: Organizational learning

Organizational scholars have long studied the relationship between learning and innovation. Research describes learning organizations as environments where experimentation, reflection, and continuous improvement are expected.[2] In learning cultures, people build and share knowledge in ways that help organizations respond to change more effectively than their competitors.

A 2023 study reinforces the connection that psychological safety, collectivism, and lower power distance (meaning individuals feel comfortable to contribute and question decisions) were strong predictors of innovation.[3] Innovation emerged not primarily from expertise, but from the relational conditions that allowed people to contribute, challenge, and co-create.

What becomes clear across these findings is that innovation is not only technical, it is also cultural, relational, and deeply human.

These proven drivers of innovation naturally invite us to consider how closely they align with the principles emphasized in DEIA.

 

Why the best innovators are also the most inclusive

If DEIA is the learning culture innovation needs, it may be helpful to explore where these two conversations intersect.

Innovation research consistently points to conditions such as:

• Trust
• Psychological safety
• Equitable participation
• Shared power
• Cognitive and cultural diversity
• Accessible systems
• Openness to challenge

These are not DEIA findings; they are innovation findings. Yet, they mirror, almost precisely, the conditions DEIA seeks to cultivate. Practitioners and organizations are encouraged to consider,

• If innovation requires risk-taking, what enables people to take risks safely?
• If innovation thrives when power distance is low, how do organizations redistribute influence?
• If innovation benefits from diverse thinking, how do we ensure those perspectives are welcomed and valued?
• If innovation relies on learning, how do we make learning accessible and shared?

Here we notice a natural alignment between what innovation research demands and what DEIA practice can strengthen.

 

Who gets to learn? The question that determines innovation success

Innovation often fails not because people lack ideas, but because learning is selective and limited to those who already have voice or psychological safety. Research suggests:

• Strong learning cultures are 92% more likely to innovate, 37% more productive and 46% more likely to be first to market with new products.[4]
• Historically, organizations with diverse management teams earn 19 percentage points more revenue from innovation, with these teams generating 45% of their total revenue from innovation compared to just 26% for less diverse teams.[5]
• A 2024 study revealed that psychological safety drives employee innovation primarily through improved communication and information-sharing behaviors.[6]
• Teams with higher psychological safety show stronger learning and higher productivity, meaning they work and grow better together.[7]

These are innovation statistics that naturally raise considerations around DEIA, not as ideology, but as a relational framework that supports healthier learning conditions.

 

The six conditions that turn learning into innovation

Every organization talks about learning, but few pause to consider what actually makes learning possible in the first place. Learning is more than simply absorbing information, it’s about having the conditions that make curiosity feel safe, meaningful, and shared. It’s the environment around the learning, not only the learning itself, that shapes how innovation stays active, agile and present.

People tend to learn more openly and more consistently when they feel:

• safe to experiment
• included in the conversation
• valued for their insights
• able to challenge norms
• supported by relational trust
• not punished for failure

These needs are quite simple, but they have a very powerful effect. When these conditions are present, learning becomes something people actually want to do, not something they feel they must do.

What often gets overlooked is that learning is shaped by tone, trust, and belonging, as well as the everyday cues people receive about whether it’s safe to stretch beyond what they know.

This is where DEIA can offer something meaningful, not a prescription, but a way of paying attention to the experiences that either open learning up or quietly shut it down. DEIA practices can help organizations notice subtle dynamics (e.g., who feels heard, who hesitates, who participates fully) that ultimately influence whether learning cultures flourish or falter.

You are invited to consider what becomes possible when learning cultures are shaped with deliberate attention to equity, belonging, accessibility, and diverse voices.

 

The 2026 innovation question: are your people ready to learn differently?

As organizations and practitioners set their priorities for 2026, the conversation about innovation’s role within organizational learning culture is only going to grow louder. Keep in mind, however, that the act of simply adopting new learning tools or building new pathways is not enough to drive that innovation to succeed. Its success depends on whether people are ready to learn, adapt, and work in new ways. Technology can open the door, but a strong learning culture determines whether anyone walks through it.

This is where a deeper opportunity emerges. Innovation thrives when people feel equipped and willing to learn differently. Learning thrives when the environment supports curiosity, safety, voice, and shared understanding. And these conditions closely mirror many of the values that DEIA brings into an organization: values that enhance connection, awareness, access, and equitable participation. Looking ahead, leaders and practitioners may want to pause and consider three key areas that can shape how innovation and learning intersect in 2026.

1. Supporting people to learn differently

Are we supporting our teams, not just with new tools, but with the confidence, space, and encouragement to learn in new ways? Innovation requires people to try unfamiliar approaches, ask questions, experiment, and reevaluate old habits. Support means giving people the conditions, time, psychological safety and shared understanding, that make new learning possible.

2. Expanding who gets to participate in innovation

Are we broadening the circle so more people can meaningfully contribute ideas, insights, and perspectives? Innovation accelerates when participation widens. DEIA aligned practices can help ensure that more voices, lived experiences, and diverse forms of knowledge are included in shaping new pathways. Expanding participation strengthens creativity, problem-solving, and long-term capacity for innovation.

3. Building trust through a strong foundational learning culture

Are we cultivating the trust, safety, and shared cultural practices that help innovation take root and stay durable? Trust is what turns learning into action. Without it, new ideas stall. With it, people take risks, they collaborate, and they stretch. A strong learning culture grounded in safety, belonging, access, and mutual respect lays the long-term foundation that keeps innovation alive and sustainable.

 

Ready or not: why 2026 belongs to organizations that learn differently

As you settle into 2026, the invitation is simple: pause and consider not just how your organization will innovate, but what conditions will enable individuals to be willing and able to learn in new ways. Innovation grows where learning is shared, where people feel safe enough to stretch, and where diverse voices can shape the path forward. If this conversation has done anything, let it spark the realization that preparing people and building the strong learning culture they need may be the most future-ready move you make in 2026.

by Miriam Chiasson

Did you know that May 6 is International No Diet Day? It was first observed in 1992 when British feminist Mary Evans Young, who had struggled with body image and eating disorders her entire life, invited her friends to a picnic to “Ditch that Diet”. Evans Young was dedicated to making the event an international holiday. The very next year in 1993, women in various countries joined in to celebrate what quickly became International No Diet Day. It is now a global movement, and an integral part of the National Eating Disorders Association’s campaigns.[i]

International No Diet Day aims to challenge diet culture, celebrate body diversity, and encourage people to shift their focus away from dieting and shaming themselves towards other things that can improve their lives in different ways. also provides a great opportunity to reflect on how diet culture manifests in our workplaces. Workplaces are microcosms of our society, and dominant narratives are therefore present. Diet culture is no exception.

Diet culture is a societal notion according to which fatness is always bad and unhealthy, and one’s weight should be a constant focus. It insists that:

• People must control their bodies, particularly their food intake, by constantly being aware of and feeling guilty about their eating habits,
• Eating habits and foods are either always good or always bad,
• The individual is always responsible if weight loss attempts fail, because they must not be doing it right or trying hard enough.[ii]

However, reality is much more complex (check out CCDI’s blog post on diet culture myths), and diet culture can in fact be detrimental to our wellbeing.

Diet culture shows up in the workplace in different ways. Some ways are very direct, with discrimination in hiring, a pay gap between fat people and -sized people that affects fat women disproportionately, bullying, and harsher discipline. Some are more subtle.[iii] Here are some examples of how weight stigma and diet culture manifest in the everyday life of workplaces.

Diet talk at work

For fat people, diet talk at work can be a tricky situation to navigate. In fact, some fat people feel uncomfortable eating in front of others. They might face comments about their food choices that reinforce diet culture and weight stigma, or hear such comments directed at others and even at the speakers themselves.

Fat people might face comments like:

• “Are you sure you should be eating that?”, implying that their food choices are unhealthy and that, because they are fat, they should not eat unhealthy foods.
• “Are you trying to slim down? Good for you!”, suggesting that there are correct food choices, and that these choices are necessarily made to control or reduce one’s weight.
• “You’re resisting temptation, that’s great!”, if a fat person decides to not partake in treats to celebrate birthdays or project milestones, which suggests that it is commendable to avoid eating certain foods viewed as bad.

Straight-sized people might also hear these comments. Then, the implication remains that fatness is bad, and we should do what we can to avoiding becoming fat. These comments marginalize fat employees and reinforce toxic diet culture tenets in the workplace.[iv]

Let’s remember that there are no universally bad foods. All food provides nutrients. We may choose to eat because it is enjoyable. Eating can also be a social behaviour, such as sharing a meal with friends or coworkers, taking part in a celebration, or feeling a connection to our heritage and loved ones. There are many valid reasons to eat all sorts of food.

Also, other people’s eating habits are none of our business. We should simply avoid commenting on what others are eating or not eating. Moreover, diet talk can be triggering for folks recovering from disordered eating. We might cause more harm than good with diet talk.

Avoiding diet talk contributes to a more inclusive workplace, where everyone feels safe to make the dietary choices that fit their own needs.

Comments on coworkers’ appearance and changes in weight

In addition to diet talk, the workplace is rife with comments on coworkers’ appearance and changes in weight, particularly weight loss. Coworkers who lost weight are praised, celebrated, and hailed as examples to follow. Others might express jealousy or bemoan their own failed attempts to lose weight and ask the coworkers who lost weight what their “secret” is.

While people may not comment on someone’s weight gain to them directly, people might talk about them in their absence. They might use euphemisms like, “She’s a little plumper than before,” or question their eating habits, like “Looks like he’s been pretty indulgent lately.” Well-meaning coworkers may suggest weight loss tips to their “plumper” friends. Not-so-well-meaning coworkers may engage in harassment or bullying.

Whether they are compliments or jeers, well-meaning or not, subtle or overt, and whether they are directed at fat people or straight-sized people, such comments reinforce diet culture and weight stigma in the workplace. They create environments where fat employees may feel inferior, ashamed and less-than.

Let’s remember that we don’t know about other people’s health or what they are going through. Thin people are not necessarily healthy and weight loss is not necessarily a good thing. Fat people are not necessarily unhealthy and weight gain is not necessarily a bad thing. Also, many elements impact someone’s weight beyond eating and exercise habits. For example:

• Someone may be struggling with disordered eating or may be recovering from disordered eating. Comments about weight may encourage people to continue or deepen their disordered eating, or cause feelings of shame, guilt, or thoughts of relapse for people in recovery.
• Someone may be dealing with an illness causing weight loss or weight gain. For example, treatments for cancer can cause weight loss, and entering remission may cause weight gain.
• Someone may be facing personal struggles, such as loss of a loved one, a breakup or financial difficulties, which may impact their mental and physical health, including changes in weight.

Finally, our coworkers’ appearance and changes in weight are not ours to comment on or ascribe moral value to. If we want to compliment our coworkers, let’s compliment something over which they have control, such as their achievements or their character. Looking beyond appearance can help us connect with others at deeper, more meaningful levels.[v]

Competitiveness around health and wellness

Another way diet culture manifests in the workplace is with an atmosphere of competitiveness around health and wellness. Diet culture moralizes health and weight and encourages us to judge ourselves and others based on weight. This leads us to make assumptions about our coworkers and to compare ourselves with others. While we may not always voice these assumptions and comparisons, they nevertheless impact our perceptions of others and of ourselves, and our behaviours.

Employers sometimes reinforce this atmosphere of competitiveness and judgement. Many employers offer workplace wellness programs as part of their benefits package. These programs can include free gym passes or exercise classes, meal plans or wellness challenges. These programs are sometimes presented in a prescriptive manner, by not only encouraging people to participate, but also by insisting people should participate and that failing to participate is shameful.

Wellness challenges particularly feed competitive and judgemental attitudes. These challenges can include:

• weight loss challenges, where individuals or teams compete to lose the most weight or meet a weight loss goal.
• fitness challenges, where people must go to a number of fitness classes or exercise for a certain number of hours.
• healthy eating challenges, where people must make recipes or eat certain foods perceived as healthy.

There may even be prizes for those who meet the goals of the challenges or perform the best. These competitions reinforce the idea that there are winners and losers when it comes to health and health-promoting behaviours.

Competitiveness may lead to people making others feel guilty for skipping a fitness class or eating certain foods, praising others for skipping lunch, bragging about diets and exercise habits, or one-upping others with their knowledge of foods or fitness. These behaviours bring a sense of superiority for some and inferiority for others.[vi]

However, health is not a competition. looks different for different people at different times, and different people need different things to enhance their health. Diet culture creates expectations to partake in certain behaviours that may not be healthy for everyone. Comparing ourselves to others based on these expectations does not account for these individual differences and is therefore counterproductive. Competitiveness and judgement do not contribute to a healthy and inclusive workplace.

Strategies to respond to manifestations of diet culture in the workplace

International No Diet Day is a great occasion to learn more about diet culture, reflect on how it impacts our workplaces, and think about strategies to respond to these impacts. There are individual strategies and team strategies that we can adopt.

When individuals are faced with diet talk and comments based on weight stigma, it can be destabilizing, and we might not know how to respond in the moment. It is important to identify our own boundaries to reduce the harm that we might experience because of weight stigma. It is okay to be direct and request that people not make such comments, to change the subject entirely or to remove oneself from the situation. Individuals must treat themselves with compassion and recognize that shame and guilt are undeserved and unproductive.

Individuals can also reach out to potential allies for support. Allies can help shut down diet talk and harmful comments and speak up so that people directly affected do not have to. Allies can listen to their colleagues’ experiences and validate them. Allies can also contribute to educating the whole team about weight stigma, the unnoticed harm and the behaviours to avoid in order to foster an inclusive work culture.[vii]

Employers play an important role. Leaders should listen to their employees’ concerns and work towards making workplaces safer for people of all sizes. Employers can encourage people to have lunch together, not alone at their desks. This can help foster safety around eating, allow staff to take a break and nourish themselves, and develop connections and friendships beyond assumptions brought about by diet culture.[viii]

Diet culture is pervasive. Its tenets are things we take for granted and are often not aware of. We need to educate ourselves and give ourselves permission to move past expectations and rules that do not contribute to our wellbeing. Unlearning diet culture is lifelong work. As we celebrate International No Diet Day, let’s remember that it is not our place to comment on the eating habits, health and size of others, that health looks different for everybody, and that health is not a competition. We can all contribute to a more inclusive work environment for everyone of all sizes.

Tags #CDNdiversity