Thinking, still, about what “we” in the #cdnpse do to “welcome” ppl we’ve kept out and pushed out of universities and colleges.
What’s changed in the “we” who are *doing the heavy-lifting or the obstacles “we/they” face?
Which “we” are *doing the change work?
Formidable obstacles
A Seat at the Table: the *same people, at all the tables, sharing the *same ideas: the social reproduction of sameness
Philomena Essed’s research on the social injustice of sameness is helpful: cultural cloning, social facsimiles
“Why don’t we have any fresh ideas around here?”
What efforts are “we” who are academic leaders making to disrupt the social reproduction of sameness—in people, ideas, knowledges, perspectives?
If diverse teams are smarter why are we not choosing smarter?
Knowledge, experience, excellence aren’t limited to any demographic group
In universities and colleges “we” can’t keep ignoring the research on durable obstacles to achieving equity
“We” can’t claim “we” don’t know.
About the plumber: In EDI do “we” think practically about dissemination, implementation, how the heavy lifting will be done and by whom?
“We” have spent decades repeating the research findings on root causes of inequity: >gender, <race, <disability.
We defer fairness to the future.
Durable persistence of obstacles.
Why? Do universities and colleges *invest* in change? How?
—infrastructure
—staff
—resources
—Comms
Stereotypes, stigma, biased assumptions: deficit thinking, one-size-fits-all over-generalizations
Eg. When “we” think disability barriers do we focus mostly on physical barriers?
What do many of us miss about biases and barriers faced by scholars with eg invisible disabilities?
“no amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp…Smiling at a television screen isn’t going to make closed captions appear for people who are deaf…radiating a positive attitude is going to turn all those books into Braille” epicassist.org/the-biggest-ba…
Not just Djokovic: There’s never been an equitable playing field in academia. “We” have to create one
Systems vs ad hoc change:Why have “we” not made more progress in advancing EDI & accessibility in the #cdnpse?
How do “we” measure change? Do “we” collect, analyze, share data?
“We” must work harder to unsettle the comfortable reproduction of cookie-cutters
“By folding our HR analytics into our other data,we find the people we retain longest are young, college educated females with two grams of saturated fat, soy lecithin,..artificial vanilla flavours”
“It is both intolerable and insensitive if we simply wait and hope that the barriers will disappear with time.Equality in employment will not happen unless we make it happen”—Judge R Abella, 1984
“How about this slogan:‘If you are unhappy for any reason we will feel really bad’”
The principle about direct consultation and co-constitution of knowledge/policy is easily articulated:
“Nothing About Us Without Us | Nihil de nobis, sine nobis"
Disrupt: “But if I go over there and get to know them as individuals, what am I supposed to do with my stereotypes?”
‘Data is life!’: Meet a researcher shining a spotlight on racial inequality in academia-Frontiers
“Despite various efforts to tackle racial inequality in higher education across the globe, academics have shone a bright spotlight on the obvious disparity”
blog.frontiersin.org/2021/05/20/mar…
Let’s talk Tokenism:Tokenism does not change stereotypes
“WHAT IS TOKENISM?
Tokenism is essentially the symbolic inclusion of people from minority or discriminated groups in order to create the appearance of an inclusive and fair workforce or environment” medium.com/verve-up/lets-…
“tokenism..masks inactivity.On paper,it looks as though companies are making progress. When 20% of the board is female or 15% of leadership is Hispanic, the numbers are motivational..Do they have a seat at the table or are they..figureheads for ‘diversity?”diversityforward.medium.com/tokenism-the-r…
“Tokenism is an after-thought. Tokenism is driven by a desire to cover up or minimize a systemic problem. As a result,tokenism often involves looking for a solution that’s quick or easy..
Tokenism turns diverse writers into diversity experts, exclusively” open-book.ca/Columnists/Tok…
Pandemic widens gender inequality in the workplace - Perspective
perspectivemag.co.uk/pandemic-widen…
COVID-19 Will Continue to Exacerbate Gender Inequality at Work - HR Daily Advisor
hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2021/01/15/cov…
‘Low hanging fruit’ approach doesn’t seriously value #EDI, will not lead to systemic change:
“phrase ‘low-hanging fruit’ is ubiquitous in organisations..used when bigger challenges are considered—consciously or subconsciously—as too forbidding to tackle” medium.com/geekculture/is…
Language of #EDI: Social justice isn’t ’low-hanging’ or ‘easy’—not for those disadvantaged, nor for colleagues working hard to effect change: Respect?
The myth of low-hanging fruit
“Be careful when you use the word ‘easy’ to describe other people’s jobs” medium.com/signal-v-noise…
Road less travelled?
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference"—Robert Frost
When “we” are comfortable with ‘low hanging fruit’ what areas are they in? Which identities/initiatives do “we” designate as ‘low’—or high?
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