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Diversity and prejudice are hot topics and for good reason. People experience the negative effects of racism and bias every day, but change can start with you. While changing the prejudices in our country and world can seem like an impossible job, small changes in our own lives can create ripple effects that reach out into the world. None of us can change everything, but we can each change ourselves.
Address your Unconscious Biases
Everyone has unconscious biases, whether toward race, class, or something else. The first step toward growth and change is to be willing to accept and address our own biases. This is hard, especially at first, because we usually can’t see our own prejudices.
In order to address our biases, we have to start looking for them. You don’t have to hunt them out, just be aware that you have them and start watching for them. Are you uncomfortable if your child’s pediatrician is a person of color? Or their preschool teacher is a man? That is a bias. Accept that you have it, and do better next time.
The more you watch for your biases, the more you will see. Addressing your biases doesn’t mean hating yourself, it just means being aware that you (like everyone) are wearing cultural glasses that affect the way you perceive the world. Be aware and watch for your own biases, accept them and address them when you see them.
When you know more about other cultures, listen to other people’s experiences and accept them, and recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know, you are well on your way to addressing your biases.
Become More Culturally Aware
One of the best ways to start promoting diversity is to start understanding others. This is also one of the easiest things to do, as long as you recognize that you approach it with an open mind to your own biases.
One of the best ways to learn about other cultures is to experience them. Travel, even within your own country, will open your mind to how diverse the world is. Even if you can’t travel, you can learn about the world. Learning from a place of humility and acceptance can bring some of the same open-mindednesses that travel can bring.
How can you start becoming more aware of others’ cultures? Start with acceptance and curiosity, and then learn everywhere you can. You can learn while people-watching at the mall (don’t stare, though!) You can learn from watching documentaries and movies set in other countries or cultures.
Read books, both those specifically about diversity and those that were written by people in other cultures. When you choose books, find ones written by people of color and cultures different from yours, not just books about them.
Empower Diversity with Your Wallet
Whether you are a business owner or not, we can all support diversity with our wallets. The first step is to address your unconscious biases. Are you surprised when you enter your new doctor’s office for the first time and see a Hispanic doctor? Are you taken aback by seeing a female professor of physics? Do you get nervous when your housecleaner is Asian?
Consider how you choose who to work with and evaluate your perspective for unconscious biases. Even if we aren’t in positions of power at work, we can empower people by making conscious choices to support diversity. This may mean intentionally hiring African American real estate agents, female mechanics, or Hispanic tutors.
Empowering diversity with your wallet doesn’t mean you hire people based only on their gender or race, and ignore other factors. It means that when given a choice between two people of equal education, experience, and skill, you are just as likely (or more likely) to choose the minority.
Treat People as They Want to Be Treated
We all grew up learning the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. It’s time to update the golden rule and start treating people the way THEY want to be treated. While it may seem like a minor difference, the effect can be huge.
When we treat people the way we want to be treated, we are looking at the world through our own cultural lens, and assuming everyone else has on the same glasses. When we treat people the way they want to be treated, we are open to accepting that the feelings and customs of others may be different.
Welcome Change
Change is neither inherently good nor bad, but we sometimes get stuck in a rut and dislike any change automatically. Part of having an open mind is the ability to evaluate changes honestly. Whether the change is specifically about minorities and diversity, or about something else, it’s good to have a personal rule to never dismiss change without evaluating it first.
Humans resist change because we are people of habit. That means it’s a natural reaction, and we should accept and acknowledge that weakness. By accepting our tendencies, we can look change in its face and be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of each one.
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