When you hear the word ‘diversity’, what is the first thing that strikes you… I am not sure what you think, but somehow it seems this word has been loosely related to gender diversity. Maybe it is the same connection that I thought of writing my thoughts about diversity on the eve of women’s day :) I do not know why, but this connection seems to be the reality. Maybe it is related to the fact that we hear the word ‘diversity’ more at work than anywhere else, and there most of the times it is used in the context of maintaining male-female employee ratio. Another reason why this default connection has been established could be because of the fact that it is the most visible kind of diversity, especially in context of India. It is not like west where color of people makes a big difference, especially at work, because Indians somewhat look the same with their skin color ranging between a narrow band. However, it is important to understand that diversity means much more than just gender diversity. Somehow we all know this, but I am not sure if we really understand and appreciate it. With the whole women liberation, women commission, women’s day, and much more, we have all started accepting gender diversity, however, what about multiculturalism, religious diversity, political diversity, diversity of thoughts, etc.
Folks who work in global organizations have a larger understanding of diversity but I think a common Indian also knows about it pretty well, even if they don’t know the proper definition or have not gone through a formal course about it. India is the most diverse country on this planet earth. Whether it is language, culture, religion, cuisine, traditions, politics, economics, we are pretty diverse, isn’t it. But, living and growing up in such a diverse country, do you think we still respect diversity? The point I am trying to make is that KNOWING ABOUT DIVERSITY is DIFFERENT from APPRECIATING DIVERSITY. But, knowing about diversity makes it much easier to accept and appreciate diversity. Maybe that is the reason that we are pretty decent when it comes to global businesses, and we doing well across the world. The only irony I see is that we are more open to adjusting with diversity outside India then within. Am I correct? Though there also, we need to continuously keep understanding and appreciating the diversity existing across the globe. It is such a vast world, and there is always new to explore and learn.
Also, we might want to show that we are open to diversity and appreciate it, maybe because that is expected of us like any other good behavior, a fact is that we all are selectively diverse. We might be able to appreciate diversity of some sort, but not be very open to some other form of diversity. I think that is very natural and human. However, let us try to be more diverse in everything. A non-diverse environment is suffocating. It is an amazing experience once you start appreciating diversity. You feel free in your thoughts and the world appears more happy. If we understand the need for diversity and enjoy it, most problems in the world, in general, and in our life, in specific, can be solved better and faster.
So, for me diversity is all about appreciating and enjoying it. It is a way of thinking and living life. A person who appreciates diversity is bound to enjoy life more. It is more like, life without deewaars.
