To appreciate who people are takes empathy and understanding. But here’s the sobering truth: all of us have biases, many of them unconscious. Identifying our biases may be uncomfortable at times, but our efforts must be sustained. Diversity is a fact. Differences make each person unique. Inclusion is a behavior. We need to go beyond diversity alone to become consciously inclusive—where curiosity about differences is encouraged and inclusion is a mutual responsibility. This is how we can tap the richness of collective genius that comes from a mosaic of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. More than that, it also opens our minds—and our hearts. We see that everyone, truly, should be included. Challenging? Yes. Emotional? Very. We are all works in progress. Some of us are striving, some are closer to arriving. It’s a journey—from who we are, to who we want to be.
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