Our differences take on many forms, some are hidden in order to avoid the feeling that we don’t belong. In our previous articles, we shared why creating safe places for people to share their differences is at the heart of a culture of belonging.
We often define invisible diversity as those differences that cannot be readily seen, such as religion, sexual orientation, military experience, socioeconomic background, and more. However, in the conversation on Diversity, there is rarely consistent guidance on inclusion for people with disabilities. Disabilities, such as a limb difference may be visible or invisible, such as mental health and neurodiversity.
This omission contributes to environments where people with disabilities feel unsafe sharing their differences. In most cases, if given a choice, people with disabilities will hide differences to protect themselves from scrutiny and explanations or simply to avoid being seen as “less than” others. A culture where the act of inclusion is not universally practiced becomes the unintentional consequence of this.
Inclusion Through Equal Representation
Representation, a part of the CURE Framework, is a critical factor in creating a culture of employees on equal footing through openness and acceptance. So how do we ensure that workplaces are developing a culture where everyone is represented fairly:
- We examine our circles and teams and think about representation, and
- We ask the questions: Whose voices are we hearing, and whose are we not?
Becoming enlightened and an active contributor to creating inclusion through Understanding, Connection, and Representation helps us practice Empathy, the “E” in the CURE framework. Rather than doing the minimum necessary as required by our employers, we begin to take an active role in creating an influential culture of belonging.
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We customize CURE for company cultures through workshops that reframe diversity and inclusivity to equally empower employees at all levels of the organization.
Learn more about unhiding differences in Ruth Rathblott’s book “Singlehandedly, Learning to Unhide and Embrace Connection,” now available on Amazon, or as an audiobook: Audible, Barnes & Noble, Ebooks, Google Play.
Ruth Rathblott works with organizations to transform their culture by embracing an inclusion mindset that allows employees to unhide and thrive, leading to increased productivity, engagement, and retention. For much of her life, Ruth’s limb difference served as an excuse for not living life fully and often prevented her from connecting with others. Learning how important unhiding is becomes a source of strength. When we “refuse to see” differences, we may mistakenly silence or alienate those we intend to support. Contact Ruth.
