An old colleague and friend connected with me recently to talk about International Men’s Day that falls on November 19th. She is currently the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Leader of one of the large global accounting/consulting firms in India. Coming from her, a lady, seeking ideas to do something on Men’s Day struck me as very refreshing and set me thinking about what D&I is about. To top that, I am a regular on #wakeupspeakup run by Vandana Poria and Aman Zaidi – and they ran an hour-long thought-provoking webinar on diversity.
This two + two made five. During the webinar, one of the participants made a significant observation about D&I. “Diversity” and “Inclusion” are two different things. In fact, it was pointed out that given the connotation of the two terms, the nomenclature should be “Inclusion & Diversity”. I agree with this contention.
Gender Diversity is on top of everybody’s mind space and for good reason. It is visible and everybody gets it. These very reasons make gender diversity the end all for D&I posters that don the corporate hallways. If one takes a closer look, diversity goes far beyond gender. Yes, gender is important – but then so is racial and ability diversity, and that usually gets missed. Let us take an example. If a choice was to be made between a woman of an “accepted” colour and a racially different man possessing the same competency how do you choose?
Since pictures speak a thousand words lets look at two pictures below:
Both photos are a wonderful depiction of diversity but what do you think is missing? As you think through it, for me the picture on the top is appealing and certainly brings out a compelling image of diversity. The second picture, to my mind, though less colourful is more meaningful since it captures a much larger essence of diversity. Gender, race, abilities, preferences are all covered here. Many of the corporates tend to choose the first picture for several reasons. First, it goes well aesthetically. Second, that is the KRA of most D&I people – to achieve the right gender diversity and that is where all the focus goes. Diversity is not about just pressing a button; it requires a much deeper thought – and a lot of empathy! Thankfully, there are many who get this right.
I imbibed a value system from a firm I was integrally involved with and made it my own. Putting oneself in the other’s shoes. Over time, I understood the underlying empathy that stands out in this statement. You can only feel the pain of somebody else if you step into that person’s shoes. Only a differently abled person, for example, understands what she or he is going through. Have you, for instance, consciously interacted with a hearing-impaired colleague or have you avoided that person because you do not know how to handle a conversation with them? That is what brings me to the importance of INCLUSION. When you open your mind to INCLUSION, DIVERSITY follows! Several corporates I know of make contributions towards social welfare and think that they have done their bit. Looking inward, however, is a different story. People with disabilities are treated as part of a ‘social program’ or a poster to showcase to the world that they are a diverse organisation. The real organisations extend equal opportunities to all so that the most competent and capable person gets the job.
If I change the first picture to this,
self-explanatory isn’t it? So, what do we do about International Men’s Day on November 19th? Recognising this day is not against the spirit of diversity. On the contrary, it gives the diversity drive a greater fillip. It is a day to recognise the health and well-being of men and to appreciate them for what they do. This recognition completes the cycle of INCLUSION. I applaud my friend who thought of doing just that, so kudos to her.
The slogan I would gun for is – “INCLUDE EVERYONE – CATALYSE DIVERSITY!
