10 Ideas We’re Not Seeing In Diversity Today

7 min readSep 8, 2021

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) have certainly been top of mind, probably more than ever before. In the past few years, we’ve been forced to take a good look at ourselves both individually and as a society. This introspection resulted in everything from posting a black square on social media, to unsolicited emails reminding us that we’re “in this together” along with countless corporate pledges to do better. Bandwagons exist for a reason and it’s okay to hop on from time to time if it helps you along your journey. That said, it’s important to differentiate between trends and lasting change and impact. Here are 10 ideas we’re not seeing in diversity today.

1. It’s Okay To Show & Tell

There is more than enough research showing the positive ROI of having a diverse team. However, for many businesses it comes down to the bottom line. Fundamentally I don’t believe that the decision to treat people equally should be based on dollars and cents. That said, change takes effort, and the path of least resistance will always seem easier in the beginning. Companies that have made thoughtful investments in creating an inclusive and diverse environment where people feel a sense of belonging need to also consider and invest in communicating the benefits and resulting successes of those choices, both through formal and informal channels. The more people can see results, the more they’ll want to do the same.

2. The “I’m Just Trying to Run a Business Here” Has To Go

I’ve spoken to many executives and one thing that often comes up when diversity is mentioned is, “Hey man, I’m just trying to run a business here.” I’m glad when they say that because it usually means they’re overlooking the most important resource in their business, people. We’re all guilty of it; the engine light comes on, we say to ourselves, it can probably wait. Well the truth is it can until it can’t, and the more we wait, the more it usually ends up costing us. Same goes for neglecting the wellbeing of our team. The engine light doesn’t mean you have to know how to fix it yourself, it just means you need to find someone who can. (Cue to engine light here!)

3. Happy Work Happy Life

We spend the majority of our time working. This inevitably has a huge bearing on our lives. Imagine hating your job to the point that you dread waking up in the morning, and when you finally muster up the strength to drag yourself to work, you’re being constantly reminded that you’re different. Meeting after meeting, if it’s not a “Hey, I’m going to butcher your name…”, it’s a “Sorry, I didn’t know you were the one in charge…” and so on. Sadly, some people don’t have to imagine this because it’s their reality everyday. Add to that the pressure to perform in an environment where you never feel like you truly belong. — Now let’s imagine you couldn’t wait to get to work because you know that your contribution matters. You feel validated by your co-workers and you support one another. Imagine what you could accomplish and how successful your company could be. We naturally like to focus on big things because it makes us feel big, but the little things matter, and they can quickly become big problems if we don’t pay attention to them.

4. There’s Enough Room at The Table for Everyone

Me winning doesn’t mean you have to lose, and vice-versa. Truth is there’s more than enough room at the table for everyone. Unfortunately, certain people are under the impression that elevating under-represented groups somehow means less for them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Differences enrich us all. From a business perspective, there are so many markets and opportunities just waiting to be tapped into and diversity can be a conduit towards this unrealized potential. More is more; literally, and as we lean into this idea, we’ll begin to see past some of the imaginary limitations we put on ourselves because of fear.

5. Hard Things Take Time Sometimes

In this tech-worshiping, microwave, fast paced world of social media, there’s a tendency to want to fix everything, like yesterday. The reality is that hard things take time sometimes and as much as we’d like to, we can’t just throw a little money at the problem and expect it to magically disappear. It’s going to take time to undo centuries of old ideologies, systemic hurdles and bad habits. It’s important to adopt the long view to avoid doing things just for the sake of doing them. The most important thing is understanding that at the end of the day, it’s the right thing to do. Shortcuts will always lead to shortcomings. Take your time, talk to people, find out what you don’t know, there’s always something you can do today to get you closer to your goal, just take the long-term approach, commit to it and you’ll be successful.

6. Diversity Doesn’t Mean Divisive

I think somewhere along the line we’ve mistakenly made diversity to be synonymous with strife and divisiveness. Granted it can be a polarising topic and in no way should injustice of any kind be tolerated. That said, there is strength in diversity in the same way the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The goal is to create an environment where all those parts can shine. We have to be careful and discerning when it comes to either or narratives. Live long enough and you’ll quickly realize that things are rarely black or white. There’s richness in nuances and we should learn to draw from them.

7. Chill With The Privilege

I once had a conversation with someone I was dating at the time about white privilege. This was several years ago and although I’d heard the term, it simply wasn’t something I’d given a lot of thought to. The discussion quickly went left when she essentially implied that all non-white people were somehow at a disadvantage. Cultural similarities are inevitable, but the idea that this equals a uniformity of thoughts, behaviours and experiences is at best, intellectually lazy and can even be offensive sometimes. We have to be careful when acknowledging systemic societal problems that we don’t assume that just because a group of people look the same, are the same gender or come from the same place, that the same applies to everyone. We all have our unique experiences which enable us to contribute a different perspective and different ideas. That’s what should be embraced.

8. Show me black lives matter without saying Black Lives Matter

First off, I’m not referring to the movement or organization here in any way. Instead, I’d like to see more emphasis on storytelling and highlighting successful black people from all walks of life, and not just from black institutions. Representation matters and often the first step in achieving something great is seeing someone else do it. From historical figures Toussaint Louverture and Booker T. Washington, to contemporary leaders like Ken Chenault, Hadiyah-Nicole Green and countless others whose contributions to society are undeniable; the more we know about who they are and their impact, the more we can begin to dispel preconceptions and appreciate the mosaic that is black culture.

9. Walk It Like You Talk It

Recognizing the need for diversity is step one. How do you solve it? You can implement a policy that says 50% of the candidates you interview must be from an underrepresented group. Seems aggressive? Why do you think that? Who can help? I guarantee if you do this, your numbers will go up. The second and harder part is how do you see to it that everyone in your organization is thriving? How involved are they in decision making? What if you disagree? Well that’s kind of the point; differences of opinions are fine when they force you to grow and look at things from another perspective. But you won’t always disagree. You might just find that you have more in common than you thought; and that’s also the point.

10. It’s OK to Make Mistakes (That’s How We Learn)

The rise of cancel culture has made it difficult for people to learn because everyone is so afraid to say the wrong thing. There’s often a very thin line between ignorance (not knowing) and being ignorant in the negative sense, and it’s usually intention. Too often people will act a certain way in a professional setting that is the complete opposite of how they actually think and talk in their private lives. How do you change that person? Truth is sometimes you can’t, and that’s fine. Thank God we have laws for that. On the other hand, there are a large group of people who genuinely want to learn and do better. We want to focus on them. It’s okay to make mistakes, that’s how we learn, and from a D&I standpoint, you have to meet people where they are, show them a better way; sometimes over and over, in order for them to grow and change.