On May 22^nd, I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Liza Talusan at the University of New Orleans for a one day professional development session on diversity, equity and inclusion.  Over 45 student affairs professionals participated in the workshop, including representatives from Athletics, Counseling Services, Learning Resource Center, Information Technology and Student Support Services (among others) engaging and reflecting on our practices as an institution.  While Dr. Talusan provided us with amble information and activities, the real substance of the day involved us undertaking a critical examination of each of our functional units to determine how inclusive we were.  While difficult, I believe it made our campus more welcoming, accepting and equitable for those students who represent undeserved communities on our campus.  Dr. Talusan provided us with valuable insight in a judgement free space to help us tackle often difficult and unspoken issues.

Diversity

I won’t spend a lot of time on this topic, but it’s important to note that diversity extends beyond racial, ethnic and religious affiliation.  It includes age, disAbility status, learning styles, socioeconomic status, nationality, experiences, employment status, culture, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, income, experience, political beliefs, etc.  The list could go on and on.  It includes both visible and invisible attributes.  The Diversity Wheel, developed by John Hopkins Leadership Council, provides a visual representation.

 

Remember, you can have a diverse group of people, but fail to be equitable and inclusive.  Diversity does not equal inclusion.  Furthermore, the way we come to conversations about diversity are through our experiences and the manner in which we were socialized.  This is why it is difficult for some individuals to experience and/or understand diversity in a way that is meaningful.  I grew up in a rather homogeneous Caucasian environment and thus had limited experiences with diversity throughout my early education.  It was not until high school and college when I began to understand different aspects of diversity and had to reframe the way I viewed others while setting my stereotypes aside.  Upon reflection, this was a critical aspect of my development as an educator.  I now work with students quite regularly who are just coming to recognize that they may have been “fooled” while growing up.  It is not an easy task – and quite frequently – it can be painful for some.  Additionally, it often leads to conversations about power and privilege, but I’ll stop short of that today in this blog post.

Equity (and how that is different from equality)

A huge learning moment for me during the session involved learning the difference between equity and equality.  Dr. Talusan provided the following example:

Scenario: lunch room full of students who are hungry.

Equality: providing one peanut butter and jelly sandwich to all students in the lunch room.

Equity: providing one peanut butter and jelly sandwich to all students in the lunch room that meets the needs of all students (some people are allergic to peanut butter and need sunflower butter, some students can’t have white bread, other students need gluten free, etc.).

Oftentimes, college campuses strive to provide equity by utilizing equality  

An example in higher education:

Scenario: students need access to print

Equality: giving $10.00 to everyone on their Student ID card

Equity: determining which students need access to paper, computer, printer, etc.

As institutions, we need to do a better job of being both equitable and equal.  In the age of accountability (often in the form of retention and graduation rates), we as educators cannot simply ignore the fact that different students require different levels of support to be successful.  While I know this proves to be a challenge for institutions as they face decreased levels of funding, small but intentional changes can provide high impact results.

Inclusion

Are you practicing inclusion in all of your daily practices?

That was the question posed by Dr. Talusan as we neared the end of the workshop.  While difficult to answer, it is paramount that one critically reflects on the practices conducted in their functional area to ensure they are inclusive to all.  The simple change of a form (to reflect gender identity/expression) or the manner in which students pay for their classes (to reflect socioeconomic status) can make a whole lot of difference to an entire subset of your collegiate population.  As educators, we like to think we are friendly and helpful.  However, we often fail to see the ways in which we create barriers for our students.  Throughout the workshop, I found that I was extremely knowledgeable and inclusive in regards to those of different sexual orientation and gender identities, but realized I need to learn more about issues surrounding immigration status and body shape and size.  As such, I didn’t think of those aspects of diversity and inclusion as much when planning various programs or offering services.  Am I perfect?  No.  Do I have room to grow? Absolutely.  Find a trustworthy colleague and/or student and ask them the ways in which you or your unit can become more open and accepting.  You may just be surprised….