Looking back on Women's History Month 2021, a running theme has been identified...
...and to be clear, this is not exclusive to equity between the genders.
It is just as applicable to every other part of DEI: races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, religions, cultures, ages, sexual orientations and people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills and expertise.
This month I have personally attended numerous webinars, read articles, and had some fantastic conversations with people and companies who are spearheading DEI initiatives. It is fantastic to see how much awareness has been generated on the subject. Even if we just look at the last 12 months!
If you haven't been partaking in these conversations or events, I strongly recommend doing so going forward.
Just because Women's History Month has ended doesn't mean your awareness and learning should.
The biggest issue that I see here is that 99.999999999% of the audience, attendees of webinars etc. are people who are aware or have experienced DEI biases first hand.
These are not the people who need to informed - everyone else is! Of course it is important that there are forums where these important conversations can take place.
But on the other side of the coin, if we are only informing and educating the people who are aware and knowledgeable on the topic, are these initiatives fulfilling their potential?
I am a firm believer that DEI is something 100% of people need to be informed of and advocate for.
But, as the saying goes:
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear it?
My closing remarks are this; we have made some excellent strides forward in creating awareness and increasing DEI. However, the more the merrier. The more people we can get involved, from all walks of life, the quicker we will see progress and equality across the entire human race.
