“The different is what makes the difference”

The world is not the same. With digitization, globalization, and the growth of the diversity and inclusion speech, more and more we watch the emergence of a more opened society, diverse and inclusive making the spaces even more colorful and rich. If we observe the way the companies are communicating with the public, the media, schools, churches, we notice that all sectors are passing through a deep transformation. At least is how I see, notice and feel it.

Certain kinds of “acceptable” and “common” prejudices and biases until yesterday are not acceptable anymore nowadays. It′s fact! Along the history the difference was seen as something negative, pejorative or even derogatory. Prejudice and discriminatory attitudes are based on a distorted vision related to “different” people because for so long we understood that the minority should adapt to our society and not the opposite. So, it was years and years of searching for a “pattern” or “attempts to fill into some group/box” imposed by society, including parents and relatives.

However, in the last years we have learned little by little to walk with someone else′s shoes in order to feel the anguish, the happiness, and the fears that they face on a daily basis. We have been leaning that sometimes it is necessary to look beyond and see the value and the importance of people that passes through our lives. Each one of us has stories and gifts that make us unique.

So, respect, tolerance, reciprocity, sorority are words more and more common in our vocabulary and on our daily basis, however, there are still lot of challenges.

I′m not an expert in the subject, however, I embraced this journey of great discoveries accepting the challenge to integrate the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Since then, each experience and conquer have been great gifts.

Learning the diversity...

For those who are not used with this terms, according to Aurelio Dictionary, diversity means: different. The term inclusion is the act or effect of including, in a general way, it corresponds to accept and live with differences in a harmonic way.

Well, but how do we build and deal with a plural world, diverse, multifaceted, dynamic and with different people? How do we practice respect and go beyond than race, sex, color, disabilities and/or limitation? Those questions took place in my mind and heart.

I admit I was afraid of making mistake, afraid of disrespecting, afraid of being judged. However, I breathed, I found courage and threw myself away. Looking inside, without fear, facing our flaws, understanding that we fail. Stop acting only with the mind in order to listen to the heart, so there were a lot of reflections and learnings.

I realized that the construction of an inclusive society demands the change and the adaptation of all, understanding the other′s limitations and providing access, respecting the differences and offering opportunities to build spaces in order to make the relations happier and fulfilled. Recognize that we are all imperfect!

In a general way, all of us involved in this inclusive practices aimed to assist the diversity should promote actions of respect, dialogue, cooperation, acceptance and flexibilization.

“The diversity DNA”

After the globalization became more and more important, companies established inclusive and diverse cultures in their business strategies showing different solutions to their clients.

There are several studies related to the theme that show that different people thinking about different ideas impact the organizations numbers. Their collaborators with different thoughts, cultures, ethnics, opinions, and disabilities allow the company to become more plural and democratic. The result of this mixture brings benefits to the organization and workers.

In other words, the companies have a fundamental role in the construction of a more accessible world, because they are capable of giving good example to other organizations and sensitize people increasing the reach of accessibility. However, the importance of diversity and inclusion in the companies should not be linked only to fashion and legislation to be respected but to be lived as a part of our values and company DNA. Today, when we talk about different profiles of employees we are talking about the necessity for the company team to have a compatible representativeness with the diversity of the population and the labor force.

Because of this reason, it′s important to develop ways to appreciate the permanent reflection to deal with different and plural situations through programs related to this theme and discussion forums. It′s important that the inclusive culture is part of our daily routine not only of our leadership discussions, but also business discussions and the way we execute our job.

It′s necessary go much more beyond!

There is no more space to continue working according our old paradigms. It′s not only an invitation to embrace new ways of thinking in the companies, but also an essential condition for those who want to continue acting in the market. It′s necessary to go much beyond and understand demography, globalization, people′s behavior, management style, communication, collaboration and others. The markets are more and more connected, the companies limits are more and more porous and the technology invites the organizations to constantly recheck their business models. Those factors print new colors in the world of labor and are obligating us to look to it, starting from a perspective not so explored so far, rethink the rules of almost all organizational practices.

We have a lot of changes ahead and just one conviction – we need to prepare to go through them and it requires adaptability, velocity of reaction, collaboration and diverse thought.

My role today is to accelerate and facilitate more and more all this change. Being closer to the collaborators and act as a transformation agent creating a place where all could feel encouraged to express all their potential.

Diversity is a fact. Inclusion is a choice. Choose Inclusion.

I make an invitation: The different is what makes the difference. Because of that, see the things positively and practice respect and kindness. Maybe you don′t change the world but you can influence people positively. Donate your better, after all, life goes by and we are only passengers almost leaving.

I close this article with a Nelson Mandela quote:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. ”

About the author

Patrícia Corrêa Balan Abdalla - graduated in Mechanical Engineering, currently at the position of Latin America Dealer Network Development Manager at Ingersoll Rand Company. My professional trajectory in the company started as an Application Engineering for Latin America in 2006. My professional trajectory is moved by the desire of causing impact in the market where I work and build a valuable relationship with people around me. I believe that building a progressive, diversified and inclusive environment is essential to be an innovative and cutting-edge leader in the market.

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