Erika H. James

“For me, we tend to focus on–the terminology we use is diversity, equity, and inclusion, or some variant of that–but we tend to focus on just the diversity piece, which is the number and the representation. How many people do you have from different backgrounds and demographic profiles? And that matters, and it will continue to matter. But I think where we also focus less attention on, but is perhaps equally, if not more important in some cases and for some organizations, are on the equity and the inclusion aspects of DEI. So how do we create an environment that is equitable, that allows everyone to feel and be valued and respected and to contribute at the highest level and that shares the outcomes appropriately across the diversity that does exist? We're not really talking about that aspect as much as we are, ‘How do we just hire more people?’ And I think we should be. We're also not talking about the inclusive aspect, which is how do we, again, create this community that allows people to share and be their full selves, which is actually what you want… So it all matters. And I think we're just not prioritizing all three diversity, equity, and inclusive aspects of the work that we're confronting.”<br />