Getting to the Roots of Misconceptions

We often discuss misconceptions that people have around various topics like marketing, community, visibility and branding, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work.

Misconceptions can arise when there is a disconnect between the cultural conversation and reality, and when we accept those standards without thinking more deeply about where they come from.

And it’s important to regularly revisit these topics, to dig in, debunk, and recenter the myths and misconceptions that come up with them.

India Jackson joins Erica to discuss common misconceptions about DEI work, from getting stuck on the right way to engage to why it’s vital to move from consuming information and into action.

Listen on your favorite podcast player or keep reading to learn:

• How perfectionism shows up when we get attached to there being one way to do DEI

• Why community is vital to moving DEI work from consumption to action

• Why DEI efforts require deep internal work and tangible action

• How a diversity of lived experiences, history, and culture impacts DEI globally

Consider and Recalibrate

On the Pause on the Play® podcast, Erica says that the purpose of this conversation is not to cause shame, blame, or guilt to come up, but “to give you some things to consider so…you can also recalibrate where you’re going from here.”

India adds that if you’re not someone directly involved with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work, “there’s nuances and extra information that we have when we are close to an industry…that if you’ve never done that, you just don’t know.”

It’s okay to give yourself some grace for not knowing what you don’t know.

There Is No One Size Fits All

Erica says that a key misconception she encounters is that there is one way to do DEI work.

She says that is absolutely not true, for a variety of reasons.

“You’re not starting at the same place. You don’t have the same types of goals in mind. You don’t learn and interact in the same ways…This comes up not only as a misconception, but sometimes I feel like that can almost be a barrier to entry.”

India agrees and says that there are many ways you can dig deeper into DEI, from podcasts, to books, to group programs and coaching, to communities like Pause on the Play® The Community.

“We can get so fixated on an ideal way that this is done…It can shut you down for the possibilities and opportunities of other ways that might be a better fit for you.”

Erica adds that the perfectionism inherent in getting attached to the one right way to do something, “that in itself is white supremacy talking.”

Community Moves Us from Consumption to Action

India says that one thing she has witnessed happening, particularly starting in the summer of 2020 and the anti-racism social uprisings, “many people ran to books, they bought all the books.”

And while both India and Erica have found enormous value in books like Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism and Eloquent Rage, by Brittney Cooper, “consuming content does not create the changes that you want to witness happen in the world.”

As an example, Erica says that the way Kendall laid out the racism and classism in the way the culture demonized soda prompted “countless conversations about this…That was a huge piece of understanding that it wasn’t just about the consuming [of information]…I took it and I was in conversation about it…This is not work that you can do alone.”

India says the notion of doing it on your own is in itself is another major misconception about DEI work.

India says that same section of Hood Feminism that discussed soda in schools had a major impact on her and the way she had perceived those policies at the time.

“To be able to discuss that, and to be able to share some of those experiences with others and say, even as somebody who identifies from a marginalized group, who does identify as wanting to support…the intersectional feminist movement…even then, there are things that you miss.”

Erica adds “that’s what’s so important about giving yourself space to be in community…because when you’re having that dialogue, so much more comes up and you have that opportunity to really pick up those pieces that you otherwise may never have picked up.”

DEI Is How You Approach the World

India says that engaging with DEI concepts in a diverse community, with a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences, “also provides a certain level of accountability, a certain level of clarity of what allyship might look like that you might not have gotten off of intellectualizing allyship…You’re able to see actively, what do people from their communities need?…You’re getting those tangible step by step potential opportunities to see what can you do.”

Erica agrees and adds “That’s where opportunities to be an Imperfect Ally® and to reconsider your normal, and to actually question, how are we creating equity on the road toward equality? And those things are things that are going to happen in their own time. They’re part of the process that you can’t script.”

Which is another misconception she and India frequently notice, that DEI efforts can be operationalized in predictable, measurable steps.

She says, “You cannot operationalize the process of working through your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts on the road to being anti-racist.”

India says she frequently witnesses this in online business spaces, where there is often an expectation that there will be a 10-step process or strategic outline, “and I understand the desire for that.”

But, she continues, “the challenge with that is, is that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion isn’t marketing, right? It’s not hiring. If you’re really doing the DEI work, it’s everything that you do. And it becomes a part of who you are and how you approach the world. And if that is that case, then you cannot plan or strategize…We’re talking about becoming. Becoming is not a step one, step two, step three process.”

There will be aspects that can be operationalized when you’ve gone through the process of learning and unlearning and want to implement changes to your standard operating procedures, but Erica says, “You gotta figure stuff out on the front end.”

“This whole, what am I feeling? What am I uncovering? What am I learning? What am I unlearning? What am I reconsidering? What do I wanna do differently? You can’t operationalize that, you can’t simplify it that much. Because if it was that simple, white supremacy would’ve been eradicated decades ago, generations ago.”

Considering Nuance and Context

Erica also points out that while DEI is often framed as something that is particularly necessary to and steeped in US culture, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, collectively or separately, are concepts that matter globally.”

And this is another reason that DEI cannot be packaged into a one size fits all method or strategy.

“If you are taking in content from different people that are from different locations, it’s really important to remember that there is not just one answer to your questions or your queries as you’re learning and unlearning. There is gonna be a lot of nuance that’s gonna show up that you want to take into consideration.”

She continues, “The global effects of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the lack thereof is not simplified down to one particular model, therefore there's no one particular model to eradicate it and there's no one set of answers.”

India gives the example that even though the majority of Canadians live in close proximity to the US border, the focus and nuances of DEI work in Canada is very different than in the US.

Erica adds that in her episode about DEI work in the US and abroad with Kay Fabella they discussed how cultural and historical roots impact Kay’s DEI work in Spain.

“There’s the larger scale of what’s the history behind it, but sometimes it could be just as simple as time zones, and being aware of language choices.”

It’s A Journey

Lastly, India adds that there is a misconception that DEI work has an end point.

Erica acknowledges that this is frequently difficult work, with a lot of trauma and ugliness attached to it, but “this is a constant journey…There’s so many layers of nuance to uncover when you’re in conversation with others and you’re reconsidering what’s normal.”

“You have to allow yourself to be malleable and open and willing to continue on this path, knowing that it’s about longevity, it’s about endurance. It’s not about finishing…There’s no such thing as done.”

Ready to Dive Deeper?

Being in community is one of the cornerstones that can support your DEI efforts. This is what can take you from consuming information to having conversations about what you’ve learned and forming powerful and intentional actions that you can move forward with.

This is how we create change, and this is how we can do it in community with one another.

Pause on the Play, The Community facilitates a space for these powerful conversations, being able to reconsider your normal, learning from one another, and knowing that you’re not alone in your journey.

If you’re ready to join, visit pauseontheplay.com/community