Diversity is everyone’s business. It is business as well as a moral duty to be inclusive in the world but especially in the workplace. We have a duty to make everyone feel comfortable and to strive to end ethnocentrism, racism, sexism, ableism and hetero-sexism. To be in the world we must not pass moral judgments on each other – the world is huge enough to incorporate all kinds of people. Judge not lest ye be judged! Seek first to understand before being understood. If someone is different or does things differently, instead of passing ignorant judgment based on assumptions, talk to the person and get an understanding of what is behind their particular behaviour. Maybe that knowledge may give you a better appreciation of that’s person behaviour.
Just today I bumped into a temporarily disabled person – she fell and broke her ankle and had to have surgery – she was riding a scooter. She said she had to get something because she was tired of hearing her husband sigh whenever she needed to go somewhere. She spoke about the difficulties in getting in and out of building and the washrooms. She attended an event without thinking and when she arrived at the location she discovered stairs and had to ask several people where the ramp was because there were no clear signs. She said it was a good lesson on how we take things for granted and never really understood the life of a disabled person. Now she has a great appreciation of the difficulties people with varying disabilities face. We all do not have to break our legs to understand but can e empathetic with people who are different no matter what our beliefs. No one died and made us God on earth. Let God be the judge of those you so quickly want to judge and discard.
Promoting diversity can be problematic for some people, especially Caucasian. Some people of minority backgrounds seem to think that diversity is their corner – that a white person cannot understand or truly promote diversity and if they do it’s only because they are interested in a job. This is an unfair assessment.
Throughout history there have always been Caucasian people who were passionate about civil liberties who were willing to fight for people’s rights to say and be even if they did not personally agree with it. Caucasian people can be a great ally in promoting diversity and inclusion.
Here are a few myths about a Caucasian diversity co-worker:
a) A white person cannot be a diversity officer because they are not ethnic
We are all ethnic people;
b) A white person cannot understand what a minority person goes through and
therefore not qualified to speak on their behalf
- Do you have to be poor to speak out against poverty?
c) Diversity issue is a job for a white person and a life and death for a minority
Many people choose jobs because they believe in what they do – we cannot judge a person’s motive without proof;
d) Diversity is only a lucrative job for the white person
It is also a job opportunity and business opportunity for many ethnic minority people as well;
e) White person is inherently racist will gravitate towards his own kind when it comes to equity and fairness in the workplace.Give the person a fair chance;
f) How can a person speak of diversity at the office but in his private life all his friends are white, he lives in a white neighborhood and send his children to ivory league schools?
It is also what minority people do when they climb the ladder but they still reach back and fight for the rights of those they left behind
h) White people say one thing in front of your face and something elsebehind your backs, they can’t be trusted.
The same can be said for minority people as well. Most white people are honest and straightforward. We have to be open-minded about advocacy for inclusion. This is a huge task that minority people alone can never accomplish. There is need for allies, trust and a commitment to work together, learn from mistakes and move forward in harmony. No one is perfect.
