Gender diversity: has it gone too far?

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds, if not thousands, of people from all walks of life. Each unique in their own way, including their own quirks and different sparks that make them “tick”. They have ranged across genders, including transgender, different ages, races, religions, disabilities, sexual orientations – the list goes on and what matters most to me is who they are as a person and, in most recent years, if they have the talent and skills that could really take them to the career of their dreams.

It should not be about their gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, or anything else. It simply is about whether they are the right fit for a role. And sadly for me, at the moment, the focus on gender has shown that tokenism can be a heavy factor, and implementing “diversity” programs without proper thought, is almost as toxic as inequality when it comes to gender and diversity as a whole. If there is too much focus on trying to fill quotas to bring to the organisation a heavier gender balance in the favour of females, for example, then what about the males that could potentially be overlooked?

Consider this, for a moment. You can enter, or be nominated, for an award. Yet you can only enter this award if you are a female. What does this suggest to the outside world? Should we not be awarded something across all categories and allow for this to include everyone? We are now inundated with different “groups” all over the place. This, in itself, is NOT inclusive. We need a more inclusive society, or we will simply keep separating the verticals, which will result in the opposite of inclusivity. Putting people into boxes will just lead to more feelings of segregation – and surely this is not the point?

This also leads me to another thought. We need to focus on the “real” – especially during these bizarre times we find ourselves in. We need to celebrate the recognition that is truly earned, and we need to stop patting ourselves on the back for merely doing our jobs. It should be about being rewarded for genuine achievements and not putting people on pedestals for the sake of it, or because it ticks a box for a certain group. This needs to be valued and considered – otherwise how will we ever distinguish between the exceptional and the normal? I genuinely see so many amazing achievements go unnoticed, in this respect, and I think this needs to be highlighted. And soon.

On this note, I really think we should revisit diversity and inclusion in this sense to make sure we have not overlooked those that may deserve some recognition during these times. I want to see some real change to the selective focus we seem to have adapted to… and soon.