Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Real Life

When the world shut down in 2020, my colleagues--like so many others--were suddenly faced with the prospect of working from home. All day, every day. Since there are only so many times we could check our email, and so many tasks we could accomplish when half of our files were still in the library building, the head of our department instituted a massive training initiative. Each week we did peer-to-peer training on different databases, customer service concepts, personal health and safety, etc.

The training that had the biggest impact on my professional and personal life, hands down, was EDI--Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. By promoting cultural awareness and sensitivity, the goal was to help ensure everyone who came into the library would be met with understanding and treated compassionately. It meant staff going beyond just recognizing the different groups our patrons represent to knowing at least something of their cultural history and challenges.

Oh, just so we’re clear, when I say “represented” I am not referring to legal representation, the justice system, or the actions of law enforcement agents. I’m talking about simple visibility.  I’ve noticed it seems advertisers have recently realized not everyone fits into the cookie-cutter image of blond/young/attractive/skinny/heterosexual/etc. I now see mixed families, same-sex couples, mobility aids in ads where that’s not what’s being sold, and models with real bodies.

Before that particular training, of course I realized there were people from other cultures living in my community. But I didn’t stop and really think about how difficult some aspects of their lives are. This is a very simple example, but I was aghast when a radio announcer--upon reading the name of a Middle Eastern man who featured in a news story--didn’t even try to pronounce it. He said “last name of…uh…well, who cares? It’s not relevant to the story.” Not relevant to the story. 

And every time I see a colleague who has a beautiful Indian name, I cringe. Because my first words to her were “I’m going to have a really hard time with your name.” I called her by her nickname (that she gave me) for years. Then I realized I was an asshat if I didn’t even try to give her the full name she was born with.

I learned a lot that week, and it opened my eyes wide to many little things that would have gone unnoticed by me before. More than anything, though, the EDI training reminded me that "human" = "human."  Just because you and I don’t share the same ethnicity, sexual orientation, cultural background, physical ability, socioeconomic group, or gender identity doesn’t mean one of us is more deserving of fair play and equal representation than the other. You have the same right to see yourself reflected in the world as I do.

Years ago in grad school, one of my instructors told the class to “check your white privilege at the door” and gave us a worksheet called “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” to fill out. I highly recommend you work through it yourself. You might be shocked by some of the things you’ve never even noticed.