defining diversity & inclusion
Diversity speaks to who is on the team, but inclusion focuses on who is really in the game.
As a platform conceived with the objective of bringing unique and diverse perspectives together, we’re looking to explore the global problem of discrimination with a bare-bones, first-principles approach. Ethnicity, nationality, wealth, religion, gender, sexual orientation — these are some characteristics that determine how we identify ourselves, how we think, what we do, where we live, even whom we love. Diversity is about celebrating our differences and maturing from a mindset of mere tolerance to that of genuine appreciation. Diversity does not stick without inclusion — it’s like bringing together different ingredients without the recipe working. Inclusion is a call to nurture a truly boundary-less society, empowering people from across backgrounds, encouraging opposing viewpoints, and enabling out-of-the-box thinking. It’s this mix of ideas that leads to creation, to change, to progress.
“Diversity and inclusion, which are the real grounds for creativity, must remain at the center of what we do.” — Marco Bizzarri
Ultimately, we’re all human, and intrinsically, we’re all born the same, with similar basic instincts and abilities. Yet, we’re also unique, and amid the vast class and race tensions in our world, we’ve attached a negative connotation to the idea of “difference.” So much so that we now need “safe spaces” to express our thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or worse. Before defining what diversity means to us, we must focus on why we need to discuss it in the first place. As we explored various possible answers to this question, our observations, time and again, led us back to four simple emotions:
Insecurity. Fear. Weakness. Anger.
WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS?
It’s no coincidence that the #BlackLivesMatter movement has hit the US at a time when economic inequality has arguably hit its peak. For many Americans, Social Security is not much more than a nine-digit number they fill into forms; their society has not provided them with the sense of security they need. A society cannot progress without carrying its weakest, not through charity, but by giving them equitable opportunities to succeed, on an even platform — the very basis on which American society, once a global model for meritocracy, was founded. The economic advancement of cities like NYC and SF into post-modern nirvanas is a tale of transformation, yet the degree of homelessness seen in the same cities is equally disheartening. That said, inequality is a global problem — Arab migration to Europe, caste bias in India, after-effects of the apartheid regime in South Africa and civil wars across the Middle East and Africa are just a few examples.
The world is simply a funny place — we are more connected than ever with millennials using ten social media apps each, yet our collective mental health seems to be at its lowest ebb. The last few years have witnessed the rise of populist right-wing leaders — Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro. There are reasons why they were voted into power — and perhaps these reasons are not as straightforward as we think. Why do some people hate immigrants? Why do some people fear those that are dark-skinned? Let us assume that everyone is inherently a good person — someone that wants to work hard, succeed, provide for their family and their community. Why would people want to encourage the politics of hate? It’s because these people feel let down by their leaders, their governments, their institutions.
The current period of heightened awareness is a reckoning of reality — an opportunity for us to listen, learn and demand accountability of ourselves. While there are long-standing historical precedents for various forms of discrimination around race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation etc., these are simply manifestations of the fears, frustrations and insecurities that we feel. For our global society to not just coexist, but also thrive, we need to get accustomed to listening to opposing opinions and having uncomfortable conversations. We need to address our relationship with ingrained thoughts and ideas that have shaped our internal beliefs. This internal reckoning is the birthplace of change.
CATW’S APPROACH TO D&I
Public and private institutions around the world have made several attempts at fostering diverse and inclusive cultures in line with government and corporate manifestos. Despite good intentions, they fall prey to check-the box approaches like incorporating female leadership, racial minority representation and other “headcount” tokenisms. We went back to our drawing board and asked ourselves — how can we help?
We want to foster an atmosphere of respect for diverse thoughts and ideas. We want to use our platform to dig beneath long-standing issues. What are people lacking in their lives? What do they need to feel accepted, to be their own authentic selves, to thrive, to succeed? Diversity is our greatest asset. We have turned it into a liability, a weakness. CATW wants to serve as a catalyst for conversation, to build empathy by bringing together diverse perspectives and learning from them. By giving people the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others. By bringing together people from across the globe and stimulating their minds with uncomfortable but important conversation. By bringing together exciting, creative people that want to leverage diversity to unlock our true potential. We want to take everyone along for the ride. To attract people that believe in the new way of living and working. At CATW, we stand for #DiversityOfThought propagated by #NetworksForGood.
Watch our Roundtable — Unpacking Internal Programming: Challenging Implicit Bias with our guest speakers — Leena Al-Belooshi, Rumaitha Al-Busaidi and Shyamli Badgaiyan (June 7, 2020).
