LET'S TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY BEFORE WE BEGIN
"Diversity" means more than just acknowledging and/or tolerating differences. Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve:
Understanding and appreciating the interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment. Practicing mutual respect for qualities and experiences that differ from our own. Understanding that diversity includes not only ways of being but also ways of knowing; Recognizing that personal, cultural, and institutionalized discrimination creates and sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for others; Building alliances across differences so that we can work together to eradicate all forms of discrimination.
Diversity includes knowing how to relate to those qualities and conditions that differ from our own and outside the groups to which we belong yet are present in other individuals and groups. These include but are not limited to age, ethnicity, class, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, as well as religious status, gender expression, educational background, geographical location, income, marital status, parental status, and work experiences. Finally, we acknowledge that categories of difference are not always fixed and can be fluid. We respect individual rights to self-identification, and we recognize that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another.