We must dare to include more nuances when talking about diversity and inclusion

This post is also available in: Danish

Even though the topic is now on everyone’s lips, many people are still afraid of doing something wrong. The perspectives of our conversations need to change from focusing only on gender and sexuality to embracing all types of people who are underrepresented in the inclusion process; it may seem daunting, but it opens up conversations across ethnicity, culture and religion.

Kickstarting the conversation

Startup Aarhus has put diversity and inclusion on the program during the week. On Tuesday, the event “Kickstarting the conversation” was launched with the purpose of creating a warm and inclusive space to have the difficult and challenging conversations, but in a safe environment – and they succeeded. It was held at LYNfabrikken in the heart of Aarhus.

With great diversity among participants, a safe space was created to listen and learn. In attendance were startup founders, aspiring founders and many others connected to the startup ecosystem.

After about 15 minutes of networking and refilling coffee cups, the conversation started with a short meditation and breathing exercises. It created space for curiosity, engagement and open minds.

The conversation itself stemmed from the three invited guests’ own experiences, with a focus on their background and career;

Solveig, a female Danish entrepreneur, started her journey a year and a half ago and has developed a platform to prevent stress. Deepali, a dark woman and partner in the British venture fundA venture fund is professional investors who scout start-ups to invest and mentor, aiming for innovation, growth, and returns. It is high risk, high reward. More Speedinvest, and the panel’s male participant Geet, from India, who is co-founder of an artificial intelligence startup in Aarhus.

The conversation offered many perspectives, sharing their own experiences and lessons learned. A common denominator for all three of them is that they are on a journey where they have each been met with prejudice.

The female participants shared some common experiences, with two universal messages in particular that were worth passing on:

Creating alliances where there is room to share vulnerabilities is crucial for your career in the long run. If you’re hiring for publicity but aren’t able to follow through, don’t do it in the first place.

The participants discussed ethnic and cultural differences, to which Geet talked about his journey from a local Indian school to encountering European culture. He emphasized that we are all the same and despite slight variations, we should all be judged the same.

The conclusion of the conversation is clear, you need to challenge your worldview, feel discomfort, and dare to listen to the experiences of others who are not like you.

We are all on a journey – that’s why it’s important to not only talk-the-talk, but also walk-the-walk. We all have a responsibility to see the whole person in front of us and include them in the communities we are part of.