Diversify. June Sarpong
The Others
You will notice that each section in Diversify is titled according to an ‘Other’. So what do I mean by labelling a group as ‘other’? Well, for the purpose of this book, ‘other’ refers to any demographic that is excluded socially, politically, or economically because of their difference from the dominant group(s) in society. If you are not a white, non-disabled, educated, heterosexual, middle-aged, middle- or upper-class male adhering to a version of Christianity or atheism that fits within the confines of a secular liberal democracy, then on some level you will have been made to feel like an ‘other’. The ‘others’ that I have chosen to look at here are as follows:
• The Other Man: This section looks at disenfranchised males in society: black, Muslim and white working-class men.
• The Other Woman: This section explores gender inequality in the workplace, in the media and in wider society, and what the barriers are to female empowerment.
• The Other Class: In this section I look at the class divisions that separate societies, in particular the economic gap between the elites and the working classes.
• The Other Body: This looks at what society deems as valuable bodies, and how we treat those who don’t fit the physical and mental standards of the so-called ‘able bodied’.
• The Other Sex: This section looks at how LGBTQ communities have been perceived and treated throughout the ages to the present day.
• The Other Age: This section covers ageism from the perspective of the young and the old, by analysing the disproportionate value we place on those of ‘working age’.
• The Other View: This section looks at the divisions caused by opposing political views and the vital importance of listening to the other side of the argument.
• The Other Way in Action: The final section will focus on what a fair and inclusive society might actually look like and how we might practically achieve it.*
Each chapter within these sections will feature theories, data and real-life stories that examine the perspective of each of the discriminated groups and the solutions to combat that discrimination. Each one opens with a look at The Old Way for that group – how things are and have been in the past – and closes with a vision of The Other Way – outlining how things could be. And at the end of each chapter you will also find action and discussion points to help you kick-start change in your own life, right here, right now.
The Numbers
Where diversity is concerned we have long heard the moral arguments and the rational reasons for equality, but Western society is primarily financially driven. So, to support my case further, I’ve partnered with some of the leading academic institutions and organizations in the world, including Oxford University, LSE, and Rice University TX, to provide the cold, hard numbers that demonstrate just what we stand to lose, economically as well as socially, by failing to diversify. Each of these institutions has provided some of the research and data in the book, and the Centre for Social Investigation at Nuffield College, Oxford, in particular, has provided the statistics you will see at the end of each chapter. This data is a combination of both new and existing research that delivers an overview of the challenges facing each ‘other’ group. Perhaps the most striking data in this book comes from LSE. Professor John Hills and his team at the International Inequalities Institute have calculated what must surely be the most important number of them all: the actual economic cost of discrimination – a shocking figure that brings this book to a close.
The Six Degrees of Integration
Finally, you will also find in this book what I’m calling the Six Degrees of Integration. Famously, it is said that there are just ‘six degrees of separation’ between any two individuals on the planet – from a newborn child in the most isolated tribe of the Amazon to Queen Elizabeth. The concept originates from social psychologist Stanley Milgram’s 1967 ‘small world experiment’, in which he tracked chains of acquaintances in the United States, by sending packages to 160 random people, and asking them to forward the package to someone they thought would bring the package closer to a set final individual: a stockbroker from Boston. Milgram reported that there was a median of five links in the chain (i.e. six degrees of separation) between the original sender and the destination recipient.*
But while Milgram’s experiment proves we may be linked, are we really connected? Misunderstanding and strife dominate our world and its politics, and there is now an urgent need for understanding and connection. None of us can be fulfilled in a life alone. We need others in our lives, yet many aspects of modern life are leaving us increasingly isolated. Social networking as we now experience it generally limits us to the people just one degree away, people we already know.
We need a human revolution that opens a world of possibilities for us to connect with the members of our human family who are living beyond our comfort zones and our cultures. So, in order to do this, rather than six degrees of separation, I’m introducing the Six Degrees of Integration: six steps or degree shifts in our behaviour patterns that will bring us closer to having a more diverse and integrated social circle. You will find these Six Degrees dotted throughout this book, and each one is a tool that will show you how to break free of prejudice and take action as you go on your journey towards diversity. They are:
– Challenge Your Ism
– Check Your Circle
– Connect with the Other
– Change Your Mind
– Celebrate Difference
– Champion the Cause
Human beings are notoriously creatures of habit, so change is of course difficult, but my goal in writing this book is to show how change for the willing might be made easier – and my hope is that in choosing to read this book you may indeed be one of the willing. So by undertaking the Six Degrees outlined, you will be changing your behaviour patterns bit by bit, edging ever closer to creating your own truly diverse circle. When this is true for the majority, then we will be able to change the way we think and the way we do things.
Diversify.org
Accompanying this book is www.Diversify.org – a revolutionary online space that opens up a world of possibilities for us to connect with the members of our human family who are living beyond our known horizons. www.Diversify.org is the next generation of social networking – ‘emotional networking’ – and breaks the mould as we now experience it: networking that limits us to the people one degree away that we already know. We will use the Internet in the spirit in which it was created – to connect with the lives of others, to promote our own humanity. From our own doorsteps to the most distant horizon, together we can create the unity that eludes the conventional grind of politics and diplomacy. Together we can share. Share information. Share imagination. Share vision. Share a movement that unites us, thus making it that much better and fairer for us all.
As well as being an online community, this innovative multimedia platform will also act as a resource tool for many of the elements I refer to in this book, housing content such as the ISM Calculator, case studies, interviews, videos and campaigning tips.
Remember Anansi
Changing attitudes is not easy to do, and must come from within, but we can draw on inspiration in order to empower us to do this. As a result of my Ghanaian heritage, I have always been fascinated by mythology and the power that storytelling has to shape our image of ourselves and the world around us. Ghanaian culture is steeped in folklore and myths that have been passed down from generation to generation through an oral tradition, one of the most important being the tale of Anansi – or ‘Kweku Anansi’ as he is called in Ghana – the original Spider-Man! Anansi’s story is itself a parable of self-belief and succeeding against the odds. It is a story of hope for anyone