Diversity: A Driving Force For a Better Future

(Image Credit: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

April may be Celebrate Diversity Month, but here are some ways to celebrate diversity and continue to create inclusion all year long!

Your culture is what makes you unique. Many of you probably have memories tied to a relative cooking your favourite cultural foods, celebrating religious holidays, or listening to traditional music growing up. Moments and memories like these are ones that should be celebrated and are also the reasons why your diversity and cultural practices are so important to share with others. 

Diversity makes the world a more exciting place.

When you celebrate diversity, you celebrate all of the wonderful differences of each culture and take the opportunity to learn more about them to create inclusive spaces. 

Thankfully, celebrating diversity does not have to be restricted to the month of April.

Here are three ways that you can continue to celebrate diversity on all of the other days of the year too: 

1. Educate Yourself on Other Cultures

Educating yourself on other cultures opens many doors. One of the best ways to learn more about a culture and celebrate diversity is to take courses on how to create diverse spaces. For example, Certified Diversity and Nonprofit Professional Chantell Garrett writes that there are many LinkedIn Learning Courses available on how to be inclusive leaders and to learn more about what it means to create a diverse and inclusive space. 

If you want to take it one step further, you can also try fully immersing yourself in the culture you are trying to understand. Whether it be diving into a different culture’s traditional music or learning how to cook a new cultural dish, it can be a very enlightening experience. By immersing yourself and choosing to learn more about another culture you can eliminate any ignorance or misunderstandings that may have arisen before. Educating yourself is the key to diversity and inclusion. 

Some diverse and multicultural films that we recommend are The Road Forward by Marie Clements and Hidden Figures by Theodore Melfi.

2. Create a Diverse Work Environment 

If your workplace is hiring new individuals for your team, always remember to keep opportunities open for all applicants. Diversity in the workplace starts by creating a diverse staff. Hiring those who are different from you also creates a more inclusive work space and creates a more comfortable work environment for your employees as well. 

As Inga Beale said, “The business case speaks for itself — diverse teams are more innovative and successful in going after new markets.” 

Creating a diverse workplace will not only improve innovation, but according to Deloitte’s Diversity and Inclusion in Canada report, investing in diversity enhances employee engagement, builds the organisation’s brand externally, and also enhances the organisation’s ability to acquire new talent. Investing in diversity is a must for companies wanting to create an inclusive environment for their employees and also help their employees excel in their work. 

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Share Your Culture

I cannot stress this one enough. Sharing your culture is one of the best ways to celebrate diversity. Although it may be hard, you should be proud of your culture and be proud to share it with the world.

Be unapologetically you. 

Social media can have a massive impact in doing this. Sharing more about the importance of culture and diversity on social media or through talks with friends or co-workers can make waves bigger than ever thought possible.

Despite the amount of racism still present in the world, social media movements like #BlackLivesMatter continues to raise awareness and fight for justice for the black community. Additionally, movements like  #MMIWG, which stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, continue to increase awareness of the violence faced by Indigenous women and reach millions of people as well. The same can be done with promoting diversity for communities as well. As Joseph Ranseth says “Go Ahead and Start a Movement”. You can also help with change.

If everyone aimed to share more about their cultures, celebrated diversity, and actively aimed to learn more, maybe humans could understand each other better. By creating more awareness on why diversity is needed and why diversity should be celebrated, you can create a conversation and promote change.

The more that you share about your culture and why diversity matters, the less misconceptions people will have. 

Diversity is an outcome, that is not created overnight, but it is something that everyone needs to work towards - a brighter future, one where everyone can celebrate their cultures without fear of discrimination. 

Reach out to us for more information and strategies on how to navigate your people, practices, and projects!