Diversity & Inclusivity
There would be, very few organizations, if any, where you might not have heard of this term. Irrespective of the degree of diversity, and then, the degree of inclusivity, for each aspect of diversity, the intent is to foster multitude of perspectives and enrich human experiences across the board.
Its strange at outset, on the need to emphasize inclusivity, exclusively, despite existing emphasis on diversity. Its not so difficult, if we pause and ponder a few minutes, to acknowledge the auto response engrained, the prejudice, the stigma, the descrimination on the basis of ones lifestyle, belief, disability, color, social status, ethnic origin etc.
Self Awareness
While the intent and efforts at organizational levels could at best be appreciable, the deeper impact is possible when individuals take these opportunity to connect with their own prejudices, notions, descrimationations etc. to become aware of it, acknowledge it and take time and concious efforts to improve upon understanding the other side(s). Such an indepth reflection in a safe environment to address them would be fantastic to breed true expansion of one self.
Human Library: A Concept
Not long ago, I came across an initative, started two decades ago, called Human Library ! This, in the true sense of the word, is a library “of people”. They host events where readers can borrow “human beings” serving as “open books” and have conversations they would otherwise normally not have access to. Every “human book”, represent a group in our society that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination. Human Library works to create a safe framework for personal conversations that can help to challenge prejudice, get help to bring down discrimination, prevent conflicts and contribute to greater human cohesion across social, religious and ethnic divisions. Perhaps one key element they have to offer, is the “Human Books” up for a dialogue, where taboo topics can be discussed openly without condemnation. A place, where people, who would otherwise never talk, find room for conversation.
Let it sink for a while! Take a pause! Reflect!
Extending to daily interactions
Now, this is a powerful concept. This if adopted could take inclusivity to whole new level for an individual. What if we were to extend this concept. Adding our learnings on mindfulness and active listening along with self curated conciously planned interactions (with an open mind) could be a way to work on our own biases, with the very people where such responses are trigerred in us. What if we could often plan these interventions and spend time to improve upon our pavlovian responses, even without a explicit library “of the People”. What if all those whom we interact, we are successful in giving that safe environment, where they could talk about and be the book from such a library of sorts. What if we too take time to open up, at least where we feel safe and try sharing our true feelings and vulnerabilities, just as a human book perhaps would do. What if our interactions day to day could then become reading, reflecting and exchanging of the sorts…of any human we are interacting with. Imagine the experiences we would compound upon!
Further Questions & Conclusion
Would we, then understand every other perspective? Would we be better understood then we are now? When and how much would we assert on our opinion? When and how much would we accept others? Would it be easy to bring a balance between so varied perspectives to keep the focus on collective purpose of the group?
Irrespecitve of these questions..one thing is certain, we would be able to do most of the above better then what we are able to do it today! We surely would be more diverse, more inclusive and it would bring more peace to oursleves and others with each passing interaction!
Call to Action
How do you appreciate diversity and inclusivity? Eager to read your comments @LinkedIn!