THE WORD INCLUSION MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE
I have a confession. As a Diversity equity and inclusion consultant, the word "Inclusion" makes me uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable because it stresses the point that someone or a specific group holds the authority to include. And by the same mean to exclude.
It is essential to DEI's work to question the norms, including the foundation on which our profession is built. Our politics should not come from accommodating the privileged to the detriment of the marginalized. Instead, it comes from marginalized people healing and striving. Our integrity as DEI consultants depends on that.
Being comfortable with the word inclusion means that we may ignore that the real issue has never been about inclusion; the real issue is about exclusion. Therefore, the question shouldn't be about who needs to be included but rather who has been excluded, and I am not playing with words here.
DEI's work is transformational. It is not about finding ways to compose with or restore a system already at fault. Instead, it is about questioning systems and norms that create exclusion in the first place to create new paths.
The approach to my work starts from a foundation to which everybody intrinsically belongs. We do not have to look alike to belong. We belong regardless of our differences.
So how do we ensure we treat belonging as a right rather than a favor people or companies offer to the underprivileged?
This is when the actual conversation starts.
“Be you and the world will adjust.”
— Rachel-Diane EPOUPA
