Gemma Greaves, Co-Founder of Nurture and Cabal, has urged the creative industries to embrace the truth that every single person, regardless of role, can build a culture of belonging.
Gemma Greaves, Co-Founder of Nurture and Cabal, has urged individuals to take personal responsibility for building a culture of belonging in organisations, communities and beyond.
Speaking at Creative Equals’ RISE conference, she explained that there are three things we can all do, regardless of level or role in an organisation, to drive a sense of belonging.
“Everyone can take one bold step towards creating belonging,” she explained, underlining the importance of making space to ensure that colleagues and clients alike feel truly seen and heard. Secondly, she urged the audience to start a ‘conversation that really matters.’
The third reminder was of the importance of taking the time to reach out and honestly connect. She explained: “Take the time to connect with someone who is different from you and truly listen with empathy and vulnerability.”
Everyone can take one bold step towards creating belonging.
Gemma Greaves, Co-Founder of Nurture and Cabal
Greaves was speaking after a powerful ‘Fishbowl’, a concept born out of her drive to create a safe space within events where the audience can have a seat at the table to speak and to share.
The event marked the fourth Fishbowl Greaves has hosted at Rise, and with over 340 attendees, it marks her biggest event yet. Fishbowls have historically been used in coaching circles to create a space where people can share things that are often left unsaid. Creating that space at events has allowed for people to step forward, share and lean into the uncomfortable.
“The biggest barrier to belonging is silence,” said Greaves. This is why she is so passionate about creating safe spaces to break that silence. “Together we can drive change,” she added.
The Fishbowl successfully lifted the lid on the multifaceted ways in which belonging, or not belonging, impacts both businesses and society.
Joe Jenkins, Executive Director of Social Impact at The Children’s Society, shared the challenges facing children today. “There is a crisis of belonging amongst young people today,” he explained. “They are not feeling safe, they are not feeling good about themselves. In the UK 250,000 children are currently on waiting lists for mental health support.”
Contributors also touched on the challenge through the individual lens, with one mother asking how to better expand her son’s horizons to who he can be, beyond the limits of stereotypes. Stereotypes which continue to suffocate and demonise Trans women who continue to strive to be themselves in media ecosystems which drive profits from making their very right to exist a topic for an increasingly polarised political debate.
The truth that you cannot have belonging without equity was another topic for conversation. The transformative impact of a leader’s grace in the face of grief and loss served as a powerful reminder of the importance of real belonging.
As Greaves shared, belonging is a universal human need, one which demands greater allyship. “We all need to ask: How can I amplify the voices of others and create better representation?” she added.
By having the empathy to understand the sharp edges of what exclusion feels like, we can all contribute to building an industry where everyone feels they belong.
Photo Credit: Bronac McNeill
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