Thread by @PRanganathan

THREAD:

#HeyDionne I’m thrilled you started this discussion. As someone working in D&I for 15 years & as a racialized, LGBTQ+ person with a disability myself, 2020 has illuminated & reinforced many lessons I’ll never ever forget. I share here some of the lessons I’ve learned:

https://twitter.com/dionnewarwick/status/1339632791437250561

Diversity alone cannot be the starting point. It must be about inclusion. If the world includes us all, then our companies, governments, films, music and industries must do the same. It’s not about adding to existing structures, it’s about reimagining & building anew. #HeyDionne

Diversity must be an organizational imperative and an individual commitment. It can’t be a nice to have but it must be a structural, foundational element in all orgs and for all employees. If we do not reflect the world, we have more work to do. All of us. Full stop. #HeyDionne

For meaningful D&I work, we must stop with the platitudes & start with the plans. We must move from awareness to action. Impactful D&I work is action-oriented - informed and driven by the expertise and lived experiences of underrepresented communities. #HeyDionne

Consultation without commitment to change is a form of oppression. Let’s move from consultation to co-creation, empowering underrepresented communities to drive change through leadership, acumen and expertise. #HeyDionne

D&I work requires expertise & resources. It’s worthy of respect, recognition & compensation. We must recognize & pay the experts for their knowledge & contributions, & fully resource teams. A system built on volunteers signals that this work is voluntary. It’s not. #HeyDionne

Learning in the diversity & inclusion space is crucial to change. Everyone has an obligation to learn but we can never forget that training divorced from organization-wide cultural change is meaningless. Because that old adage is true: culture eats training for lunch. #HeyDionne

Intersectionality is paramount. @sandylocks groundbreaking research and work must guide and inform the diversity and inclusion programs we build. We must understand the complexities of underrepresented communities and overlapping systems of identity and oppression. #HeyDionne

Accessibility is a critical part of diversity and inclusion work and barriers to accessibility must be understood and addressed in nuanced ways through education, policies, overarching commitments, resources and programming. #HeyDionne

A commitment to diversity must come alive at every level of the organization & in every discipline. We must design and develop programs that prioritize diversity and inclusion for every role from entry level opportunities through to high profile executive recruitment. #HeyDionne

Collecting and tracking qualitative and quantitative data on diversity and inclusion is essential. Data creates accountability mechanisms and allows us to regularly review our programming and iterate and respond in meaningful ways. Representation matters. #HeyDionne

We must regularly review and audit all processes to extract bias, foster more diversity and inclusion, and understand direct and indirect impacts on marginalized groups. Diversity audits ask us to be regularly reflective and identify and mitigate bias. #HeyDionne

Creating an anti-bias organization involves a focus on both conscious and unconscious bias. It’s an active aversion to bias and if we are to make progress in D&I, we cannot do this work without confronting our own actions, privilege and complicity. #HeyDionne

Recognizing and confronting privilege is necessary work in the D&I space. For example, as a South Asian, I have to confront my own privilege and the ways in which my own community is perpetuating forms of racism and othering against Indigenous and Black communities. #HeyDionne

Allyship must be action-oriented and not simply declarative. We cannot call ourselves allies. We must learn and un-learn, amplify the experiences of others, and take concerted action to call out oppression and seek meaningful change. Learn. Amplify. Act. #HeyDionne

Diversity, inclusion & underrepresentation have different dimensions in different countries. We must understand these nuances and build strategies that are globally relevant and locally responsive. We must include global perspectives in building D&I programs. #HeyDionne

Diversity and inclusion are but 2 steps. We must also focus on the fundamental human need of belonging. When people from underrepresented groups join organizations, industries, films and professions, we must be able to bring our whole selves to work. Belonging is key. #HeyDionne

Creating communities and sharing our stories are powerful ways to reflect the world we live in and advance D&I work. The stories we tell through film, TV, music, marketing, art and the communities we build online & IRL must be inclusive. Because they CHANGE the world. #HeyDionne

We must confront the myths & misconceptions that exist around D&I. We must shatter the insidious and false narrative that diversity is at the expense of merit. We must underscore that if the world includes us all, our institutions must do the same. It’s well past time. #HeyDionne

We must realize that D&I work is lifelong. We are learning and unlearning, building and becoming. We must examine our biases, confront our privilege, be open to feedback, and build with intention. This takes time & there’s no time to waste. We must begin right now. #HeyDionne

Finally, I discovered that just as I bring my experience, education & skills to every day of my life, I also bring my identity as a racialized LGBTQ+ person with a disability. Who I am is what I bring. Diversity is my story & here’s to our stories changing the world. #HeyDionne

Thank you so much for inviting this exploration of and conversation around diversity and inclusion @dionnewarwick. I have learned so much from all of the impactful responses and contributions. Deepest gratitude. #HeyDionne