Inclusivity is intentional, not sentimental
“All are welcome here” isn’t good enough in 2018
“You can tell me I’m welcome,” said an African American woman at a workshop I recently attended, “but you know what speaks louder than your words? The pictures in your year book and on your website. The images you use to tell your story, to tell who you are. If I don’t see people who look like me, you’ve just told me exactly how welcome I will be.”
We are on the door step of 2018 and I hope that somewhere close to 100% of educational institutions consider themselves open and welcoming organizations that value inclusivity. I also hope that somewhere close to all us can recognize that we have a lot of work to do in order to go beyond valuing inclusivity and to actually become more inclusive.
A good first move in taking this step is to acknowledge that a big part of our collective shortcoming is rooted in our misguided collective assumption that we were already being inclusive simply by stating that we are inclusive. We’ve attended Diversity, Equity and Inclusion workshops. We’ve spoken out against hate and intolerance. We’ve hung fliers on the doors literally stating, “All are welcome here.”
The problem is that in isolation, each of these are feel-good sentiments, not intentional actions to bring about change. They are the equivalent of a bake sale that signals to the community that we care, but that stops short of diving into the really hard, really messy work of bringing about change.
“You can tell me I’m welcome,” said an African American woman at a workshop I recently attended, “but you know what speaks louder than your words? The pictures in your year book and on your website. The images you use to tell your story, to tell who you are. If I don’t see people who look like me, you’ve just told me exactly how welcome I will be.”
This was in response to a white female executive director who had stood to ask the room for advice on hiring. “We know we need to be more diverse and more inclusive and we want to be. But how do we get them to apply?”
What I took away, and what I hope this executive director and others in the room learned, was that inclusion is not a sentiment. Inclusion is not an aspiration that is realized through proclaiming our hopes. Inclusion is an intention that must then be acted upon. Inclusion requires us to post openings and opportunities beyond the traditional silos. Inclusion requires us to stop asking people who are already part of our organizations, “Does anybody know someone who would be a good fit?”
Inclusion requires us to step outside of our own bubbles and venture into physical and virtual spaces and situations where we might be uncomfortable. It requires us to enter humbly, to be respectful guests and to invite them to bring their experiences, background knowledge, perspectives and storytelling to our organizations. Inclusion requires us to convince others that unless and until they join and help to shape our journey, it is falling far short of where it needs to go.
