You might think this is a far-fetched situation, but what do you know about what's really happening at some of the most progressive corporate training seminars these days?
Episode 45: Real Diversity for the Executive in Training
Two attractive women enter a conference room. There's a small table in there and three chairs. There's also a couch in the back of the room. They close the door behind them.
"Hi, I'm Gretchen." Gretchen has long legs and wears a professional blouse and skirt that comes up above the knees. She looks about 25.
"I'm Hana." They shake hands. Hana isn't as tall. Her skirt is much shorter but still professional. The skirt and blouse fit very tightly. There's an awkward pause as they look at the couch. Then Hana sits at the table. They said we've got 45-60 minutes for this breakout."
Gretchen sits, too. "Uh-huh. What's your role with your company Hana?"
"Our company has employee diversity councils. I'm the president of the women's council. But our company's trying to get a handle on LGBT and I don't know anything about it, so that's why I volunteered to come to this conference and learn more. What about you?"
"That's the same reason I'm here. I'm the Chief Diversity Manager at my site. I'm in charge of planning and tracking diversity training. No one at our company knows much about LGBT issues, and we want to do more hiring in that community. So I was asked to learn more at this seminar. This isn't what I expected."
There's another awkward silence when the door opens. A beautiful, young woman enters wearing a string bikini and a woman's watch. "Hi, I'm Candace. I'm one of the conference facilitators. I'm here to check on your progress." The other women don't say anything. "I see you haven't really gotten started yet. Is this a new experience for you?" They both nod. "Feeling a bit uncomfortable?" They nod again. "That's to be expected. Let me help you out with an icebreaker."
Gretchen says "You seem very young to be a facilitator."
"I just finished my sophomore year in college. I'm majoring in diversity and learning and development. I assisted at this conference last summer and was trained to be a facilitator. Does that help?" The women nod again. "Good, then I want you to stand and face each other." They do so.
She looks at Hana. "Are you Gretchen or Hana?"
"Hana."
"Look at Gretchen there. Tell her what physical feature about her you admire."
Hana scans over Gretchen's body. "Gretchen, you have wonderful, long legs."
Candace asks "Gretchen, please remove your skirt so we can see your legs better, and tell us what do you think of your legs."
Gretchen takes a deep breath. She slides her shoes off and drops her skirt. She picks it up and folds it neatly, and puts it over a chair. She's wearing boy short panties. "All of my boyfriends have liked my legs, and I agree that they're very good looking."
"That was a good choice, Hana. Now it's your turn, Gretchen. Tell Hana what physical feature you admire about her."
Hana spins slowly to give Gretchen a look at her body and smiles.
"Hana, you have a lovely small waist and a flat stomach."
Candace tells Hana "Hana, please remove your blouse so we can see you better, and tell us what you think about your stomach and waist."
Candace takes off her blouse and beams proudly. She's wearing a nearly transparent bra. She folds her blouse and puts it on the chair over Gretchen's skirt. "Well, I work out a lot, so I'm very proud of my figure."
"Now it's your turn again, Hana."
Hana is examining Gretchen's body. This time Gretchen spins around slowly. "I'm impressed by your thigh gap."
Candace tells Gretchen "stand and let us get a good view of your thigh gap. What do you think of it?"
Gretchen looks down kind of embarrassed. "Well, I don't know what to say. It's not like I do any special dieting to have it. I feel like it offends lots of people now and I read people criticizing thigh gap on the internet, but I used to be proud of it that I was in good shape."
Hana jumps in "Don't believe them. You look so sexy. I think most people who complain are just envious."
Gretchen straightens up, raises her chin, and smiles. "Do I get another turn?"
"Sure. Tell Hana what you admire."