Taking steps toward inclusivity
Learn what it takes to work toward becoming inclusive with steps toward the four Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) goals:
- Showing inclusivity
- Becoming inclusive
- Engaging in inclusivity
- Building alliances
Showing inclusivity
IGD stage 1: Create meaning
People
- What can we learn from each other today?
- How will we be different tomorrow?
Space
- Is this the right location?
- What place might work better?
- Can we speak openly here?
Time
- Do you have time to talk?
- Is this the right time?
- Would a different time work better?
Seek clarity with open-ended questions.
Suspend judgment
Avoid filling the blank space with prejudices and biases.
Wait for answers
Allow space and time to listen, hear, and learn.
Accept others’ truths
It’s their experience, not yours. Value others’ truths.
Use appropriate body language, word choice, and tone of voice.
Becoming inclusive
IGD stage 2: Examine identity
Mindfulness
Be mindful of choice, action, and thought, and be present.
Experiences
What experiences do I carry that still hurt and impact my awareness today?
Beliefs
Examine passed-on feelings, views of others, and perceptions of conflict, fear, and change.
- How will I talk about my experiences with others?
- Am I willing to listen to their experiences?
- What happened?
- What can we learn?
- How does sharing help us understand and appreciate similarities and differences?
Preparation
How does sharing and learning from one another prepare us for deeper conversations?
Commonness
Replace anxiety with time and space for re-learning. Explore values that may be common to us all
View
Experiences are perceptions. Redefine and redress equality for all.
Engaging in inclusivity
IGD stage 3: Difficult conversations
- Make space and time to engage.
- Examine sources of biases and assumptions.
- Negotiate learning.
Express
Be vulnerable enough to share your experiences and mistakes. Express emotions honestly.
Inquire
Seek to understand others’ perspectives through respectful questions and challenges to thinking.
Listen
Listen for the new ways to recognize our own challenges.
Get motivated to change and bridge differences. Who, how, and what can help bridge divides we experience and see?
Awareness
Establish a communication process for newness and difference.
Positivity
Display a welcoming nature (and mean it). Be willing to help and appreciate differences.
Relationships
We build friendships through time and space. Inclusivity requires the same. Be sure to continually check in.
Skills
Invite conversation by sharpening skills in empathy, active thinking, and openness to multiple perspectives.
Committing to inclusivity
IGD stage 4: Building alliances
Space
Create space to build groups supporting the change you want to see.
Attitude
How you respond and feel impacts those around you and the change that results.
Time
Give time to foster the needed relationships and development.
Engagement
Engage in and outside the classroom, in your workplace, and in your community to promote societal change and political will.
Responsibility
- What is my responsibility in effecting change?
- Do I need a team?
- How will we work together to effect change?
Power
- What is my power to work towards change?
- How will I use it?
- What are my limits?
- Whom do I need to support?
Skills
- What skills am I missing?
- Have I sharpened my skills but not engaged in the change?
Growth
- Where am I in my conversations and willingness to influence what’s happening in my society?
- What can I do to continue to improve?