The dirty secret about Diversity and Inclusion work is that you are going to get it wrong. How I judge an individual and an organisation is how gracefully they handle being called out.
So no, this isn’t about Victoria Secret re-branding to try and be more inclusive.
I know when I put things out on LinkedIn at some point I am going to get called out for something. It’s not a question of if, it’s when, especially when you are working within an intersectional lens.
I already know I’m not doing enough for people with physical disabilities and when I get called out for it, I will have to acknowledge my shortcomings.
So far I’ve been called out for not taking into account LGBQTI+, I was reminded / called out for accessibility of my presentations for those with blindness etc, and probably others that I have already moved on from.
Being called out is not a negative, it is an opportunity to engage with those who are intersectionally or highly marginalised. It is a continuous learning situation that you have to recognise.
It reminds me of the time Gloria Tabi tagged me in a post that said something like “Do better!” and my first thought was “Oh shit, what have I done wrong?” – because that is expected. Turns out that time it was just a false alarm though 😉
