- Given all that we are seeing happen in the world right now, we're hearing a lot about the concepts of equity, inclusion, and diversity, including me receiving a lot of questions about what are the differences between these three concepts. So today that's exactly what I'm going to talk about in this video.

Let's start, first of all, by talking about the concept of diversity, since, I would say, it's the language that we most often hear used when we're talking about bringing people together across cultural communities. So diversity is essentially about the quantitative representation of differences. It's about measuring. How many women do we have within the workplace? How many people of color do we have on this board? How many people from the LGBTQ communities make up part of this society? And so much more. Essentially, what we're doing when we're taking a look at diversity is measuring the representation of cultural communities in our society, in our organization, in our mix.

Inclusion is about, not only the quantitative representation of difference, but, more importantly, it's about the qualitative experience around differences. That is to say, when we're talking about inclusion, what we're really focusing on is the extent to which people can bring their whole true, authentic, cultural selves into their interactions, whether that be at school, at work, in their personal interactions and relationships, and more.

Inclusion is extremely important because when we're focusing on the qualitative experience of differences, what we're really trying to push is both authenticity-- you're able to be who you are at your core-- and still attract O, opportunities. Which means that you can be flourishing, thriving, having opportunities and more come your way, on the basis of your differences.

So that's diversity, and that's inclusion. But the final concept, equity, is the one that is the most important of the three. Equity is defined, essentially, as our process of recognizing the historical legacies and the current realities of discrimination and prejudice that people from marginalized communities experience. It's essentially recognizing that not everyone starts from the same place, given the historical legacies of discrimination, which then also impacts their current realities. When we dig deep into equity, what we also come to see and learn about are systems of supremacy, power, and privilege.

So when I'm asked by people which of these three concepts are the most important, or which should I focus on the most, I always say diversity and inclusion are extremely important, but really where you need to focus on the most is the concept of equity because, without equity, diversity and inclusion are not possible.

If you want to learn more about these three concepts, I have a lot more to say. Check out my website at ritubhasin.com and sign up for my mailing list while you're there. Thanks, as always, for watching.

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