You’re likely no stranger to notions of diversity and inclusion in terms of race, gender identity, and sexual identity. People everywhere are getting vocal and speaking up more and more for their rights. Unfortunately, despite years of forward momentum, these cries for equal rights, respect, and representation still often fall on deaf ears.
So what’s the issue? Why is it so hard for diversity, particularly in the media, classroom, and workplace settings to be realized? The answer? Privilege.
While many hear this word and feel triggered, this is only because of some preconceived notion that it has to do with wealth and prosperity. And while it can mean those things, in the context of diversity and inclusion, it refers to having rights, advantages, and immunities based on how others perceive you, based on your skin color, gender or perceived gender, and sexual identity.
Privilege Is a Blindfold
It’s not that privileged people have necessarily led a cushy life, but that they have had less of a hard life than others might have in the same situation because of things like their gender or skin color. Additionally, people often don’t perceive certain issues or aren’t aware of their inherent privilege because they haven’t been exposed to other cultures or minority groups enough. Privilege is essentially like wearing a blindfold or rose-colored glasses — it prevents someone from seeing the world in its true form. Privilege is something you are born with. You carry it with you throughout all aspects of your life, unaware that it was ever there in the first place. When someone has a specific privilege, like being a white male, it takes deep reflection and empathy to truly understand the struggles of less privileged demographics.
If we want to start affecting change and waking people up to the fact that the world is diverse and that minority groups matter, we have to start reflecting diversity through representation, where everyone can see it and experience it. The world may be diverse, but if people have a narrow perspective based on how and where they were raised, they will have a distorted view of what is “normal.” We must push for inclusion and diversity. The goal is to reduce prejudice and familiarize people with cultures and groups that have always been here but have been previously and purposefully excluded and misrepresented.
Diversity in the Classroom
Trying to change the worldview of only adults will never work. To truly affect change, we have to start at the root of the problem, which is how we raise our children. Those children will grow up to become adults, and they will grow up with inherent biases and distorted perspectives if we don’t start pushing for diversity and inclusivity in the classroom setting at an early age.
Unfortunately, some argue that bringing issues of race, gender, and sexual identity into the classroom is inappropriate. But children are already taught about and exposed to these things from birth. For example, we teach children about the difference between boys and girls. We teach them about their heritage and where they are from. And we teach them about sexual identity by telling them stories about how mommy (a girl) and daddy (a boy) liked each other and made a baby together.
If we can teach them those things, then we can teach them about the other genders, racial identities, and sexual identities that exist. Teaching diversity and inclusion in the classroom is not about political agendas; it’s about supporting positive identities and building respect for and awareness of differences.
Diversity in the Media
Beyond the classroom, representation in the media is the next critical step in building a more inclusive society. From television and movies to streaming services, podcasts, music, and video games, the media reaches just about everyone worldwide. The problem is that there is not enough diversity in these spaces. The media is notorious for excluding certain individuals and taking part in whitewashing.
Children, teenagers, and adults alike all form ideas and biases based on what they see and hear in the media. Unfortunately, a lack of diversity in the media and racism has been shown to negatively impact the mental health of those who do not feel they are adequately represented.
And of course, a lack of diversity also limits the perspective of others and skews their awareness and beliefs of what is normal or average. Therefore, we must start including a more diverse array of individuals in the media to provide a more accurate portrayal of the world and support healthy and positive identities and well-being.
Diversity in the Workplace
As children grow up and enter the workforce, what they learned when they were younger will be reinforced by what they see and experience in the workplace. Though we have already formed biases by the time we are adults, we can unlearn things through practice and exposure. Inclusive work environments help reduce prejudice by putting diverse groups in the same space and forcing them to work together towards the same goals.
Furthermore, inclusive work environments give minority groups the positions and the pay they deserve. Diversity in the workplace also promotes innovation, collaboration and increases growth and profits. When a company has a more diverse profile, its employees more adequately represent the outside world, allowing them to better understand the desires and needs of their varied customer base.
Wrapping Up
Though it is not right and has led to rampant prejudice and racism, it’s not surprising that many people still don’t understand the need for diversity and inclusion. They have been taught and raised in a world that continually praises and gives more rights and privileges to some groups over others.
When our own government isn’t inclusive, it is necessary to work towards a more diverse and inclusive society by making changes at foundational levels. We need to continue pushing for things like Pride, the BLM movement, and teaching diversity in classrooms, the media, and the workplace to build a more inclusive society from the inside out.