Impactful Inclusion Toolkit

ACTIVITY 52Honor Your Commitment to Inclusion

“We have no hope of solving our problems without harnessing the diversity, the energy, and the creativity of all our people.”

—Roger Wilkins

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Inclusion is a verb. I love the phrase coined by the Winters Group, “Diversity is the mix; inclusion is making the mix work,” as well as Vernā Myers' quote, “Diversity is being asked to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance,” and my maxim, “Inclusion is everybody's job that anybody can do.” All three require that we must “do something” before inclusion can begin. Cultures that embrace difference are influenced not only from the top of the organization down but from the bottom up. The passion, power, and purpose within us should never be aimed at perpetuating systems of oppression, racial, or social injustice. We must ask ourselves why we would want to do such a thing. We know it's not fair. We know it causes harm. We know that we would not want this for a loved one or ourselves personally, and we know that people are dying because of it. We spend the majority of our lives in the workplace. For at least 40 hours per week, we can either make a difference/be the difference for a co-worker or build a barrier/be the barrier. Each day we get to choose.

As we strive for equity and inclusion for all, we must keep our inclusive lenses pure—that is, free of bias, full of authenticity, and always close by and ready at a moment's notice. Exclusion never takes a break, and neither can we. Inclusive ...