DEI. EDI. DEBI. JEDI. There are so many acronyms out there to describe the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice and more. But with the alphabet soup, does the meaning of these individual words sometimes get diluted or lost? Maybe.

That’s why, for April, we’re exploring the words contained within and related to this acronym. We’re elevating the strengths of these words, while simultaneously applying a critical lens to seek out the potential limitations of language.

One of the conclusions we’ve come to in this exploration, is that words are important, but they must always be accompanied by action, or risk becoming emptied of their meaning.

DIVERSITY

Diversity as we know it today - usually paired with words like ‘inclusion’ and ‘equity’ - emerged from the United States in 1960s and 70s, out of the civil rights movement, which called for political & social equality for historically marginalised racial groups. (Source: Berrett-Koehler Publishers)

Diversity in this sense is destined for failure. Because the history of the global white-supremacist-cis-hetero-ableist-patriarchal system (aka The System, or, what we call The Fuckery at TOB) means that… in education, healthcare, corporations, media, judicial and justice systems, positions of power and influence are dominated by white, middle-class cis-hetero non-disabled men.

It’s no wonder that diversity has become a dirty word. It creates more polarisation than unity.

On the one hand, it has provoked backlash from those who have historically held power, who have become defensive or feel attacked at having to share their position.

Meanwhile, those who could truly benefit from diversity and inclusion, become tokenised so that organisations can ‘claim’ the optics of diversity, without actually redistributing power.

Without actively choosing to give up positions of power and influence, any attempt at diversity by those in power will remain a pointless box-ticking exercise, a sterile form of fairness, that skims the surface, even bypasses the deep work of up-ending systemic injustice.

In 2020, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the company’s board and urged his seat to be filled with a black candidate. This is an example of going beyond box-ticking, but it should be the norm rather than newsworthy.

Language is always evolving. Words like ‘diversity’ become filled with meaning and then emptied of meaning. That’s why our mission at The Other Box is to make space for difference. We imagine a world where systems that create the need for diversity are upended.

INCLUSION

Inclusion. Inclusiveness. Inclusivity. The ‘I’ word, whichever form it takes, has become synonymous with ‘diversity’, but the two words have distinct meanings.

As @VernāMyers, VP, Inclusion Strategy at @Netflix says “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” It’s about active involvement, influence, and the freedom to be yourself, unapologetically, even when you’re the only one in the room who looks or sounds (or dances) like you do.

Many believe inclusion is as simple as raising awareness of issues and histories during Black History Month, International Women’s Day, LGBTQIA+ history month or Disability awareness month.

This isn’t inclusion, this is tokenism.

At The Other Box, we talk of inclusion as a daily practice. It’s choosing to take action against inequality *every day* to ensure everyone feels valued for their differences, and is supported to succeed.

Inclusion is necessary because the world is unequal. The System we all live in, the white-supremacist-cis-hetero-ableist patriarchy, means that certain groups in society are the default. They have power, dominance, influence, and are valued more highly in society.

Those who are marginalised have to be actively included into that default. In this way, power imbalance is baked into the concept of inclusion.

And inclusion can be messy and sometimes fraught with contradiction because of the way The System operates.

Here’s an example: in some cities, to celebrate Pride month, pedestrian walkways are sometimes painted in rainbow colours. This is an amazing way to raise awareness for LGBTQIA+ issues BUT it creates barriers for disabled people with vision and cognitive disabilities.

In our attempts to be inclusive towards one marginalised group we can end up excluding another.

This is why it’s a practice rather than an end goal. We might make mistakes along the way, but inclusion is about building the resilience to take feedback and course-correct, so that every one can feel seen, heard and represented.

EQUITY

If you’ve ever seen the acronym DEI or EDI and wondered what the ‘E’ stands for: it’s Equity.

To explain what social equity is, let’s first describe what it is not: equality.

People often think of social equality as a way to create fairness. Equality is treating everyone the same regardless of who they are – giving them the same opportunities and resources.

Equality is a nice idea…in theory 🤷🏽‍♀️ But can only work if everyone is starting from the same place. But the reality is that the white-supremacist-cis-hetero-ableist-patriarchy creates different starting places for different people. It gives certain groups privileges, and it marginalises and stereotypes certain groups.

In this reality, focusing on equality alone is limiting. That’s why at The Other Box, we encourage everyone to consider equity alongside equality.

Equity recognises that unequal starting positions and barriers exist, and that individual needs can differ from person to person, group to group. It’s a framework that helps us understand the unique needs of marginalised groups and individuals, while giving visibility to the broader systems of inequality that create those unique needs.

Many like to zone in on the more easy-to-digest concepts of ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’. Equity can be more challenging, because it means having to face up to historical structures of inequality and inequity, and committing to reversing them. That’s not easy work.

Sometimes equity can create a sense of defensiveness or a feeling personally attacked among those who have enjoyed privileges, advantages, and ease of access and opportunities all their lives. To those with privilege, equity can feel like inequality. It can feel like marginalised people are getting preferential treatment, to the detriment of their own progress.

This is why the work of equity (and diversity and inclusion for that matter) takes a great deal of emotional intelligence. Because it requires people to face up to those emotions that we would rather avoid.

Ultimately, equity’s not about taking away privileges, it’s about giving EVERYONE the opportunity to survive and thrive.

BELONGING

Belonging is defined as "the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for a member of a certain group or place.” (Source: Baumeister & Leary)

It’s one of our most basic psychological and emotional needs as human beings, and drives us to form lasting and positive relationships with others. Yet, in the age of social media, and being bombarded with visual advertising and ideas of who we should aspire to be, many of us are confusing ‘fitting in’ for ‘belonging’.

American researcher and author Brené Brown described the difference between the two as this:

👉🏽 ‘Fitting in’ is about assessing a situation and becoming who you think you need to be to be accepted.

👉🏽 Belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.’

There are many reasons why we might choose fitting in over belonging. Some people are simply unaware. Others may feel a social pressure, and risk being ostracised if they don’t change themselves to fit in.

For many, there’s a deeply embedded power imbalance that drives the need to fit in. The global white-supremacist-cis-hetero-ableist-patriarchy constantly values dominant characteristics more highly. Through mainstream representation on screens, in leadership positions, in our use of everyday language, certain identities are prioritised. Those who are marginalised may feel the pressure to ‘fit in’ to be accepted.

While fitting in may have short-term benefits of being accepted, the longer term impact can be detrimental. It can lead to lack of self-confidence, imposter syndrome, and even mental and physical health issues.

True belonging begins from within. It’s about self-acceptance and having the confidence to show up as your authentic self, not who you think others want you to be. This isn’t always easy, particularly if you’re a marginalised person constantly pushing up against a System that seeks to silence and erase your experience.

Belonging is therefore about all of us raising our self-awareness to our position in The System, and showing up for ourselves – and each other – with love and compassion, no matter what our differences are.

Our mission at The Other Box is to make space for difference. Diversity Dictionary is where we explore meanings and histories of the language of diversity, beyond a dictionary definition, so we can all build a deeper awareness and critical understanding of perspectives that may be different to our own.

On all our social channels, we share weekly words and their definitions, with a different theme each month. These terms are a taster and have been taken from our Diversity Dictionary™ course in our TOB for Teams™ programme. If you'd like to learn more, check out our courses page and fill in the contact form. 

Is there a theme you’d like to see covered in Diversity Dictionary? Let us know! Our work is co-created by our community to work towards creating a world that is more inclusive and safe for everyone.

Words by Roshni Goyate

Header image by Amer Mughawish on Unsplash