When I speak with people and the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) comes up, sometimes I hear “I don’t get it”.  When I say “Tell me more”, they say “Shouldn’t we all be treating each other as human beings instead of highlighting our differences?”

While I can identify with this, I also understand that this is a complex topic, one which we may see as simple in the here and now, but which has much history and potential pain associated with it.  Some of the history is ingrained in our culture, second nature to us and which we may be blind to.  Nevertheless, it is still at play and impacting many people.

Learning about these topics is difficult to do in isolation because we are creatures that generalize. We are often oblivious to what we are generalizing about.  In addition, there is an overwhelming amount of resources on these topics.  So, where does one start?  Here are some ideas:

  1. Think of other people in your world who may be marginalized.  Think about what it might be like for them in your context – eg, work, community group, club.  That is a good start.  
  2. Enter into conversation with others who are interested in learning more from one another about diversity, equity and inclusion, bias, and intersectionality.  Here is where we start to get curious, gain understanding, and bring to light new information that we can choose to act on.
  3. Start or join a book club whose purpose is to read about and explore these topics together.
  4. Look at ways of being more inclusive and equitable within your own sphere of control or influence.

What other ideas do you have about increasing understanding about D, E & I?  I would love to hear from you.  Just contact me at https://sparksuccess.com/contact/

Yours in learning,

Jamie

Copyright@2020   Spark Success   All Rights Reserved