Diversity is more than a skin color, Inclusion is more than a checkbox

It is only when we acknowledge diversity and inclusion to be more than just skin color that we can identify the glaring need to create a safe place for all our friends and colleagues to be heard, accepted and recognized for their unique identities, perspectives and talents.

I sat there stunned into silence, my hand clutching a wrinkled paper cup half full with lukewarm coffee, as I absorbed story after story shared by fellow women of color in the workplace.

In a brightly lit conference room full of people enraptured with the woman at the podium, a distinguished black woman in a grey suit began to tell her story. “Have you ever been asked by clients to get them a coffee because they thought you were the admin? I am the SVP of Sales for an enterprise software company. Let me tell you my story….” A similarly sophisticated-looking Indian woman in a navy suit recounted her experiences as the stories continued. “I have been in Senior Management for over a decade. Little did I know I would see the day when I would be abruptly interrupted mid-sentence so my boss could answer the question — especially since my “boss” was actually a direct report of mine…”

My mind reeled with doubt and anxiety as I envisioned my prospects as a very young Indian girl, a first generation immigrant with big dreams in the North-American land of opportunity. Suddenly, the positivity that had so fueled my optimistic outlook seemed to drain out of my very being. I took stock of the women in the room once again, staring keenly at their faces as if to check my state of consciousness in that moment. C-Suite executives, Board Members, SVPs — every woman with an astonishing story of her own struggle against discrimination, rejection, glass ceilings and more.

Today, I find myself empathizing, due to my own experiences, with the recollections of those larger-than-life women that have occupied the recesses of my memory since the event all those years ago. Brilliant women blowing with all their might on the faint embers of change, calling corporate society to carry the torch of inclusion with empathy and acceptance only to find that their voices are drowned out by mere, unsubstantial noise of tolerance and patronization.

Almost 10 years later, the statistics portray a picture of change that has been painfully gradual and almost insignificant in contrast to the barrage of trending hashtags of diversity and inclusion we have been subjected to on corporate social media over the recent years.

Source: https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/

And yet again, we are shocked to our very core and hurled into the devastating realization that all the voices that came before us, cracking under the pressure of choked-back tears threatening to fall, both female and male, made little difference to the fundamental building blocks of the reasoning for equality, rather a lack thereof, in our society.

So, as I sat in the quietness of my home these last few days, struggling to digest the catastrophic effects of recent events, I started to wonder how I, as a part of the global business community, can rally to change our world to the advantage of our future generations. Not just as a woman but as a gravely underrepresented minority in corporate society, how can I, in my own small way, fan the flames of positive change that ultimately engulf the tyranny of discrimination and segregation?

And finally, a dim realization started glowing, gradually increasing in intensity, in the back of my mind. A realization that is it time to unabashedly celebrate each human’s right to the uniqueness of character, culture, individualism and dignity — rights innately instilled in us, masterpieces made in the likeness of God. As this thought settled in, I started imagining what treasures the corporate community would find if we start to truly embrace differences instead of forcing the metaphorical Rembrandts and Van Goghs in our companies to hang limply as just another cheap pretty picture on the cluttered wall of corporate culture.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire a Black man, we are hiring the ideal of tenacity and resilience built into the very fabric of human DNA. We are hiring a force to be reckoned with, a man who has been forced, without leniency, to cultivate the inherent ability to stand unshakably strong in the face of extreme duress, constant rejection and mortal fear spanning multiple generations.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire an Indian woman, we are hiring a brilliant specimen of courage and initiative that challenges the deep-seated beliefs of an orthodox society to bring about the dawn of a new era, an era where innovation means respectfully combining the old ways and new thoughts to create a better future.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire a Jewish woman, we are hiring the epitome of resourcefulness and optimism with an unwavering drive to succeed shaped by centuries of uncertainty and oppression.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire an Afghani man, we are hiring a heart of gold that cherishes relationships as if they were the only prevailing currency in the global framework of modern economy.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire a Japanese woman, we are hiring a prime example of a team-player, an attribute categorically formed by decades of cultural politeness exhibited without fail by an entire nation.

We as business leaders need to understand that when we hire a Hispanic woman, we are hiring a fiery passion that can ignite the pathway to unprecedented determination crucial to achieving success.

It is time for us as business leaders to acknowledge our responsibility to fully understand, clearly communicate and truly appreciate the real value of the diverse gems in our companies.

It is only when we acknowledge diversity and inclusion to be more than a checkbox in the hiring process that we can open our eyes to their power to revolutionize our businesses and transform our society into creations of which we can collectively be proud in front of our future generations.

It is only when we acknowledge diversity and inclusion to be more than just a checkbox to pair people of the same color as mentor and mentee without any regard of their professional needs that we can start to truly unleash the unbelievable potential that has been unquestioningly bottled up in so many of our companies.

It is only when we acknowledge diversity and inclusion to be more than just skin color that we can identify the glaring need to create a safe place for all our friends and colleagues to be heard, accepted and recognized for their unique identities, perspectives and talents.

It is only when we see that all of us together, without exclusion, are the essential building blocks of a divinely created mosaic that we will begin to grasp the life and richness it grants to the voice of our businesses and our communities.

Only when we acknowledge that we have been trying to finish the puzzle without the critical pieces will we be part of the solution to a problem that has plagued our society for countless decades.