Safe(r) spaces: The Importance of Creating Safe Space When Discussing Diversity, Equity, inclusion And Belonging
Let’s be honest: the conversations that matter most about identity, injustice, and inclusion are the ones we are often least prepared to have. Why? Because they make us feel exposed, vulnerable, defensive, and unsafe. No space is ever 100% safe, but with skill, intention, and care, we can create safer spaces that invite honesty, hold discomfort, and fuel growth.
What a safer space actually is
A safer space is where people feel emotionally secure enough to share, question, express their messy thinking, challenge beliefs and narratives, and be challenged without fear of humiliation or retaliation. In DEIB work, it is the difference between “we hosted the session” and “people actually spoke up.”
Why It Matters
It encourages real talk, not performance: When people feel safer, they move beyond pleasantries and speak from lived experience. That is where real insight and real transformation live.
It encourages the voices that need to be heard: Marginalised groups are often highly aware of risk in spaces where they are outnumbered or disempowered. A safer space signals that you belong here and your voice matters. Of course this doesnt eliminate the risk, but it can mitigate it.
It helps us sit with discomfort without shutting down: DEIB conversations bring up pain, history, privilege, and shame. Safer spaces help us stay with the discomfort long enough to learn from it, not escape it.
The role of the facilitator
Your job is to set up, maintain, and deepen safety so real learning can happen. Sometimes that means going off script, pausing content, or naming power dynamics, emotions and behaviours in the room that we can feel, but don’t name becasue it is scary or awkwardd. Loyalty must be to the integrity of the space, not only the client’s/leader’s agenda. That judgement call is the craft.
The emotional field
Every space that is created for discussion has an energetic or emotional field. It is the feeling in the room created by everything said AND unsaid. Great facilitation is less about what is said and more about how you tune the room, read the field, and respond. It’s about running to the monster, the things that scare us in the room. It’s challenging dismissive behaviour. It’s naming the emotions in the room, like frustration or sadness. It’s knowing when to pause and ask people to take a breath.
Want help making your next session a safer space?
This is what I do. My keynotes, workshops, and leadership intensives do not shy away from hard conversations. I create the space to have them with care and impact.
3-step process to safer spaces: set up. maintain. deepen.
Set up
Name purpose, boundaries, and how we will engage
Share your positionality and limitations (i.e. “I’m new at doing this, so I may get some things wrong, ok?” or “I dont feel qualified to do this, but I want to try”)
Make the room say “you matter” through design, access, and welcome. This involves making the space feel good. Its being conscious os lighting and the importance of natural light. Its removing desks. Its allowing people to be comfortable.
Maintain
Protect the group from derailment and bad-faith takes
Call in first, which poses questions about why people hold a belief, rather than calling people out for that belief. However, sometimes call outs are needed.
Don’t be afraid of silence. Do not rush to fix emotions or to fill empty space. Sit in the discomfort of silence and trust the in that space is learning, reflection, even a fear and discomfort that is essential for a good facilitation.
Deepen
Name power and rank when it shows up (i.e. how when a leader speaks first, people go silent afterward). This gives people the permission to then enter and challenge, or just to comment.
Invite feeling language, not only opinion, thoughts or comments - “how are we feeling right now?”
Stretch tolerance for discomfort without tipping into harm
Why safety is a skill, not a slogan
You cannot declare safety. You earn it by how you show up, how you hold conflict, and what you do when harm happens. Virtual or in person, the work is the same. Read the field. Adjust the container. End early if the room is tired. Safety is maintenance.
This post resonating with you? I speak on psychological safety, bias, and building inclusive teams with real tools and zero fluff. Bring me in for your next leadership or DEIB event
What success looks like
For me, the goal is learning, not instant change. Change is not linear. If people leave more self-aware, more curious, and more equipped to notice their reflexes, the session worked. Even if people left feeling like ‘ok, that wasnt as scary as I thought’, this is a win. Why? Because it means that they are more likely to show up to a future DEIB session and that is important.
Who gets to do this work
Qualifications help, but courage, humility, and practice matter more. You will learn by doing. You will get it wrong. You will evolve. That is part of the work. Do not let you ‘lack of qualification or knowing’ prevent you from opening spaces to talk about ourselves.
