Updated on 15th February 2024
Dear changemakers,
We have collected resources about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and a glossary to promote dialogue around DEI. We also include a short section introducing the topic and why it matters and is a critical part of our work at ChangemakerXchange. Hopefully, this page can help inspire you in your journey of celebrating DEI.
If you come across other resources that are relevant to this topic, please reach out to us via our contact form đź’Ś so we may include them!
The ChangemakerXchange Team
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Imagine a group of people sitting around a table.
Diversity is about having the right people around the table. At CXC, this means committing to support a diverse community in terms of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, economic status, and other diverse backgrounds.
Equity is about providing each individual with a chair at the right height. For us, it practically means we commit to working actively to challenge and respond to bias, harassment, and discrimination. We provide equal opportunity and treatment for all persons and for the full diversity of our community.
Inclusion is about creating an environment that makes all the people feel like they are part of the conversation. CXC is a community where differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully heard, and where every individual feels a sense of belonging and inclusion.
Ultimately, the end result of DEI work done well is Belonging; it is when the person at the table feels that they are psychologically safe to participate and bring their perspectives to the table. Some DEI advocates (Aiko Bethea, Ruchika Tulshyan, Brené Brown) have also mentioned this strong relationship between DEI work and belonging. Ensuring belonging by cultivating DEI, as Verna Myers (a world-renowned DEI strategist) put it, “is not just a right thing to do, it is a rich thing to do.” She elaborates further, “it is a loss to all of us personally and professionally when individuals and groups are underrepresented or are discouraged from expressing their different ideas, skill, and ways of doing things.”
The Iceberg is another helpful framework for understanding diversity; so much of who we are is beneath the waterline.
To be an inclusive leader, we shouldn’t miss who people are by only concentrating on the tip. Instead, we want to make sure that we are looking at a person holistically and seeing the complex set of identities that they bring to the workplace. And without a proactive and continuous attempt to foster DEI, it just won’t work.
When it comes to learning about (and cultivating) DEI in our life, consider this statement: “we are all on a journey in which no one has completely arrived.”
The importance of DEI resonates with our findings from The Possibilists study, which shows that young social innovators who identify as marginalised face even more significant barriers and struggles in achieving their impact. These include a higher risk of burnout and less financial security. The point on belonging is also highlighted in the core recommendation of the study; “we must acknowledge that young social innovators can only create impact for their communities if they are thriving as individuals.”