More Than Inclusion: Creating a Sense of Belonging
We kicked off 2024 with so many new things. New space, new speakers, and brand new people to She Unites. Over half of our attendees at our first event at The Innovation Lab were first-timers! We are thrilled to welcome all of these new lovely faces to our community. But now for the important work.
Ann Marie Jannette, Equity and Human Rights Specialist for the City of Dubuque, spoke on ‘Belonging.’ But what exactly is belonging in the greater DEI narrative? Take a read and learn more!
Belonging is when you feel like you can be your authentic and true self without fear of judgment. Belonging is about how you feel.
We all have an innate human need to be accepted by members of a group. We want to gain acceptance, support, and attention from those we share spaces with. But it is different from ‘Inclusion.’ Inclusion is the action or behavior taken by an organization to foster feelings of belonging. These can be policies, making sure everyone is invited, and listening to all perspectives. Belonging is how those actions make us feel. It is the emotional outcome.
The majority of our evening was spent with an interpersonal activity about identity. Signs were placed around the room with the following identifiers: Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, Race, Physical/Mental Ability, and Economic Status. We were then asked a series of questions and asked to go stand near the sign that we identified with the most.
What component of your identity to do you think about the most?
What part of your identity do you think about the least?
What piece of your identity do you feel that you are discriminated against for most?
After each prompt, we discussed with those who were aligned with our identity to explain why we ultimately chose to stand there.
What was the purpose of all of this? To prove that there is more commonality between us than there are differences!
So how do we create a greater sense of belonging in spaces?
Create an atmosphere of compassion and acceptance.
Challenge traditional norms and structures.
Consciously invite everyone to the conversation and listen
Allow yourself to be vulnerable