The US has race, India has caste, the world has gender – sadly, it is an endless list. But, can we talk our way to equity and accessibility? Do you ever wonder how to have a conversation on issues of equity and access, on eliminating discrimination?

Creating an increasingly equal community is a lifetime endeavour, probably starting with the following:

1. Let your behaviour speak for you in terms of advocating equity and accessibility. Not just children, we humans tend to learn way more from witnessed behaviour than from what we are told.
2. Stay curious about why the discrimination started ages ago. Acknowledge that there must have been some reason for it, even if that reason is not sensible enough (today). It hardly seems fair when we want to be heard without being willing to listen to the other side of the story. Having a conversation means being able to silence our own protests and try to understand that the discrimination must have made some sense to someone at some time. This is not to justify discriminating behaviour. This is only to understand the root cause of the practice so that we can better heal as a community.
3. Communicate how those very reasons no longer exist today or serve any purpose to any group in the community. Change is difficult. What is even more difficult is to accept the changes and modify our way of life accordingly. People are aware of why equity and accessibility are the fundamental tenets of a humane community. However, people may not be as assured about how to get there when everyone is walking on their own timeline. That is to say, we are seldom taught to isolate our own journey of self-development from everyone else’s path. We forget that if we hit upgrade today, that does not automatically mean that everyone else should subscribe to the same mindset upgrades at the same time. That is a highly impractical expectation. So, let’s normalise the need to communicate why equity and accessibility make way more sense than systemic discrimination. And let’s normalise having to break it down for anyone listening and in ways that they are willing to listen. Simple, not easy.
4. Remain as non-accusatory as possible. Connect to their stories of discrimination and denied access. Everyone has a story, both the discriminating and the discriminated. If we are to work our way to equity and accessibility, we got to have the patience to listen to both the people involved. The first step to help someone come to terms with their own thoughts on discrimination is to accept them as they are without justification, and without accusation. Maintaining this neutrality is crucial to initiating much-needed conversations on eliminating systemic discrimination.
5. Allow everyone to feel empowered and skilful enough to make their own choice in favour of equity and accessibility. The more autonomous the decision for change is, the more sustainable the change in human behaviour is likely to be. Humans need to feel self-sufficient as much as they need to feel empowered enough to help others. This is why it’s important to tone down our need to feel amazing about ourselves as the rescuers and preachers, and to give people the space to eventually make a conscious decision to eliminate discrimination. Attaining equity and accessibility would serve its true purpose only when the community has the space to walk the path at its own pace. Forced change could be assuring but that fades away in no time. When people know they are expected to be capable of making better choices in their own rational capacity, they are more likely to think through their actions.

Faith is a big component of empathy and compassion. And compassion is the starting point of talking our way to an increasingly equal human community. Eliminating discrimination ironically means not leaving out the worst of the worst abusers. And that is extremely difficult. Finding a balance between justice and fairness remains the most pertinent challenge. There is no one right answer to this either.

Yet, for today, we can choose hope. In conversations. In reasons.

P.S. : This post is inspired by a collaborative article on the same topic found on LinkedIn.

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