Unspoken racial inequalities often hinder organizational collaboration and success. Between Race and a Hard Place: Leaders Talking Race at Work, a daylong event presented by the YWCA of the City of New York, will provide an action plan for those who need to lead on race-related challenges and keep unspoken biases from inhibiting professional mobility.

The one-day workshop is a forum for corporations and nonprofit organizations to discuss issues surrounding race, power, leadership, and decision making in the workplace. Attendees will better understand institutional racism and how it undermines effective leadership, and will gain the tools needed to be fair leaders when dealing with race in the workplace.

“We can’t know how race matters to our work unless we make it discussable,” says Dr. Tamara Buckley, workshop facilitator and author of The Color Bind: Talking (And Not) About Race at Work. “At this event, we will share an approach to talking about race that leaders can take back to their organizations.”

“For those of us who are white and in leadership roles, we need more opportunity to talk about race with safety and candor and respect,” added co-facilitator Chuck Shelton, managing director at Greatheart Leader Labs and author of Leadership 101 For White Men. “How can racial differences help us learn more and lead better? This event will provide the chance to take inclusion to a new level.”

Targeted to C-suite-level executives, the YW sees this workshop as an important first step in creating dialogue and developing an understanding of institutional obstacles and racial disparities in the workplace. What will come of it is actionable goals and racial consciousness.

“In our present global economy, any successful enterprise is one that truly recognizes the value of varying perspectives, approaches, and skill sets. The YW was the first organization with a national footprint to establish an interracial charter to guide its operations. We are honoring that charter on the local level by giving professionals the platform and opportunity to discuss institutional racism in a safe space where solutions and not judgment prevail,” says Dr. Danielle Moss Lee, chief executive officer of the YWCA of the City of New York.

The workshop will be hosted by John Jay College, 524 W. 59th Street, New York, NY 10019, on April 17, 2014 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT.

Register for the event here, or learn about other programs from the YMCA of the City of New York.