Why Inclusion is Hard

Inclusion is an ideal that drives our intentions, instead of driving our actions.

Intentions drive actions.

The difference is this: actions cannot always be perfect even when the intentions behind them are perfect.

More often than not, people jump directly to actions and avoid a discussion of intentions. There can be many reasons behind it. One of them is that sometimes people don’t want to talk about principles, integrity and many other things that could potentially expose the existing power structure to scrutiny.

But when we jump to actions without establishing and sustaining the principles, corruption sneaks in.

That’s why it’s so hard.

Inclusion always needs a safe space.

A safe space is only as safe as the power structure allows.

That’s why activism is a critical element in inclusion. Unfortunately, activism is also the enemy of bureaucracy.

In organizations, safe space is often unsustainable because:

• it’s too coupled with people (instead of with the system people built);
• when people are gone, everything, including culture, is revamped – so there’s no organizational memory to sustain anything that goes before, including all the elements that facilitate a safe space;
• established power structure destroys the safe space the moment it slips into activism.

What does a safe space look like to you in your organization?

How does power corrupts it?

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