Can we talk about diversity?
I guess we’ll find out…
Despite encouraging progress towards equal rights and opportunities for all within certain communities, societal subsections and industries over the last couple of decades, I think we can all agree that there’s still a lot of wood to chop.
Unfortunately, we certainly don’t all agree on what should be done to improve the situation. Look around. Years of identity politics and historical wrongs have pitted people against each other and complicated the conversation about equality. Take one part of the equality debate,“diversity”. To simplify a very complicated issue, the diversity debate centres over: (1) whether it is a problem that certain groups are underrepresented in important societal institutions like higher education and businesses, and (2) if so, what if anything, should be done to change this?
You’d be safer asking someone at a cocktail party who they think Jesus would have voted for than inquiring about the merits of affirmative action.
The majority of society can agree that diversity is a positive thing in all walks of life. However, diversity initiatives on the public and private level have too often proven ineffective or have only escalated tensions between different segments of society. Add a healthy dose of, “fake news”, political correctness and anti-political correctness, and the outcome is a formidable maze of opinions and emotions that even the most fair-minded and nimble politician, voter, business owner, or customer would have trouble traversing safely. You’d be safer asking someone at a cocktail party who they think Jesus would have voted for, than inquiring about the merits of affirmative action.
Maybe you’ve found yourself in a frustrating conversation with someone on one side of the political aisle who is so stubbornly in opposition of a political party’s platform they focus solely on the the flaws in diversity initiations (for example) or they downplay the diversity problem in general. Or, on the other side of the aisle, you’ve come across someone who is such a warrior for political correctness that it’s impossible to have an open and honest dialogue about “diversity” or “equality” without being censored in a way that chills productive thought.
We are in a position to directly impact two spaces that have traditionally had diversity issues — long-term travel and business start ups.
The problem is, there is too much talking … too much talking about talking. I’ll admit, I have been the worst offender. I’m actually in a position now to make a big difference, and I haven’t, yet. I have a rapidly growing company (my last count had us at 17 full-time team members) that helps hundreds of clients travel, work and live around the world for months at a time. We have the ability to directly impact two spaces that have traditionally been underrepresented by certain segments of society — long-term travel and business start-ups.
But how? The hardest part about #startuplife is that every new project or initiative is a practice in starting from scratch. Luckily, we have two talented WYCO team members who are already outspoken proponents of diversity in travel and business, who I asked to join me in forming a Diversity Committee and start making a difference.
Within 10 minutes of our first meeting we realized something … this is really hard! These conversations are hard. These topics are hard. And figuring out what the hell to do to change things is hard. That’s when a little lightbulb went off … companies and people everywhere are sitting down and having these same hard conversations — with no idea what to do or where to start or even whats an okay way to talk about these subjects.
DISCLAIMER: WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE’RE DOING, but we’re doing something. Hopefully others can learn from what we do right and what we do wrong.
That’s when we had an idea. Why not document this entire process, from beginning to end, the good, the bad, and awkward, and share it with the world? That way others can learn from our mistakes and successes, and hopefully we can make a difference beyond just our team or our clients, or even the travel/remote working industry.
To that end, allow us to introduce, For The Culture — a series where we will be documenting and sharing candid content across various media from our experiences as a company trying to grow and make a difference. For the Culture — Season 1: Diversity will (1) tackle prominent diversity issues in culture, business and travel and (2) give a candid and honest look at the planning, implementation and evaluating of WYCO’s efforts to promote diversity within the WYCO community and beyond. Subsequent seasons will take on other current issues and topics that are vital to the success and impact of WYCO and other businesses.
DISCLAIMER: WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE’RE DOING, but we’re doing something. Hopefully we’ll all learn something along the way. So, be sure to keep locked in on our blog and social media for updates!
I mean … what could possibly go wrong?
Meet the diversity squad:
Eli, Lyra Program Lead and Corporate Partnerships
Eli’s roots stem from The South but his mindset is global. An advocate for breaking norms and stereotypes as part of the LGBTQ community, he hopes to share his voice and travels so others feel empowered to share their own.”
Maegan, Polaris II Program Lead and Trip Operations
Mae has hustled and hacked her way around the globe to not only live her own dream, but to inspire others of all shapes and colors to travel the world and work remotely on their own terms.
