Читать книгу Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies - Dr. Shirley Davis - Страница 27

Loss and fear are often at the core of people’s feelings around DEI practices. It’s the fear that those who benefit from majority-favoring practices and white privilege will lose out on success. But these fears are unfounded. Actually, one workplace leader I know stated that “fear of the unknown could be standing in the way of the success of DEI practices.” One thing to note is that diverse employees recognize that their white counterparts aren’t responsible for the years of inequity experienced by people of color and other underrepresented categories of people, but these white counterparts can be allies to help dismantle those inequitable systems. However, everyone has to recognize that everyone has to participate in the conversation about DEI (that means including white men).

All people experience fear; it impacts everyone, and therefore everyone needs to be engaged in the DEI conversation. Women, people of color, disabled people, and the LGBTQIA+ community fear mistreatment, prejudice, and continued marginalization. White men, especially, fear living and working in a society where they’re no longer the majority. Millennials fear not being respected because of their age. This aspect of humanity can serve as a connection point to help level the playing field in the workplace.

Belief in these many isms and phobias influence our biases in our everyday life, including the workplace. Recognizing and understanding these beliefs is an important step in our DEI journey so that we become aware of what not to do and what to do more effectively.