3 Ways to Embrace Equity
On March 7th, I had the honour of speaking at the Seneca HELIX, Toronto and YWCA Sudbury’s International Women’s Day 2023 events alongside some amazing women leaders, and I shared three realistic ways we can follow to embrace equity today and everyday! The three ways are Knowledge, Action, and Support (KAS).
Knowledge: There is a lot of unfairness and social injustice in our world. It is important to learn more about them. From the place of knowledge, we all can examine inequities better and learn how to foster equity. Knowledge does not always have to be formal. Getting to know people who experience discrimination and learning about their struggles can be very helpful and counted as a form of knowledge. It also helps to build empathy.
Some topics to consider in learning more about inequity issues are: classism, racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, ageism, biases, stereotypes, privilege, power, religious prejudice, colonization, decolonization, intersectionality, and all forms of oppression. In your journey of learning, remember to respect people, their differences, ways of knowing, and being, even if it does not align with your values and beliefs.
Action: It is not enough to be in the “know.” It is important to take action. Some people naturally resist injustices and speak up against them without having so much knowledge, so as you begin to gain more insights into inequity issues, it is important that you also speak up against all forms of unfairness that you see. Taking action as an individual may mean speaking up in the store when someone is being treated unfairly or disrespected because of their skin colour. Taking action could also look like recommending some Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training to your manager or advocating for a review of hiring policies in your organization or a review of the educational curriculum in institutions of learning. As an ally, taking action means giving life to the word “allyship.”
Support: Sometimes, you may not have the capacity to take the lead for direct interventions, but you can offer support with your time, resources, and/or connections. Remember that support will only be meaningful, impactful, and sustainable when the needs of equity-deserving groups are identified respectfully and we work collaboratively with them and not just work for them. Together, we can work to reduce all forms of oppression. An inclusive, equitable world is possible, but we have a long way to go, so let’s keep moving!
Happy International Women’s Day!
In Solidarity,
Adebola Adefioye
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