No to diversity without inclusion

“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being invited to dance.” - Verna Myers

Portrait of Pepe Macías

Diversity applied forcibly can become a means that causes social division and discrimination; it would have the potential to spread the inequality it claims to combat.

Today more and more groups that have historically been in a disadvantaged position are raising their voices: women, black people, people with varied sexual preferences or genders, etc.

The pain that has not found relief and the exhaustion in the face of a situation of exclusion that does not seem to improve have been the fuels that set fire to protest movements or movements that want to break a prevailing system. Anger and the feeling of injustice have been so powerful that one of the paradoxical consequences is taking refuge in the group of equals, perceiving as antagonistic those who do not belong to that group or even those who do not fully agree with the same group values.

There are movements in favor of a certain cause, which claim to fight for equal rights, but if you dare to question them, or to argue something they defend, you are immediately condemned and labeled as the worst detractor of their group.

Diversity for diversity's sake has killed dialogue and understanding. The diversity that some groups forcibly promote is diversity without inclusion and that leads to a culture of cancellation.

There is a metaphor that says that diversity is an engine and inclusion its fuel, that is, that the engine without fuel is of little use. I think so. Radical movements in favor of diversity that condemn those who disagree with one hundred percent of their positions are becoming what they claim to fight: in closed, intolerant groups that only seek to be right.

Diversity by force soon becomes another exclusive power preserve. Examples there are thousands, it is the human tendency. About a hundred years ago the area of Saudi Arabia was a desert of nomadic tribes. One of the families, the Saud, received the power of the United Kingdom and went from being one more family to being a tyrannical monarchy.
Inclusion is the human component of compassion that allows us to consider the interests of everyone around us, and not just our own. Inclusion allows diversity to flourish and become a slightly more even court for all, where more and more voices are heard, taken into account and respected.

Digging deeper into Myers' phrase: we don't need more parties, we need a bigger floor where more and more people can dance.


Pepe Macías