In Search of Difference!

“So what? Who says? Who cares?”: In Search of Difference


“So what?” “Who says?” “Who cares?” These have come to be something of a mantra for me. The reasoning behind that is complex, but I well recall when and where these three powerful questions first crossed my horizon.
I was working with a group of so-called “disenfranchised and at risk” young men in South Liverpool in the mid-1990s. I had spent some time delivering what I thought was a considered and impassioned plea for us all to work together on a community development project. Every time I put forward what I thought was a ‘killer’ argument sufficient to persuade even the most recalcitrant listener, I was met with a response that took the wind from my sails and left me with nowhere to go. “So what?” “Who cares?” “Who says?”
They were right; I was wrong. I clearly hadn’t lined up my points. I clearly hadn’t been persuasive. I clearly hadn’t considered and honed my argument to see what was in it for them. Since then, I have always sought to test any idea, to proof it, by asking these questions of my concept numerous times.
In doing this, it has amazed me how strong an argument can emerge, like muddy water passing thorough a rudimentary filtration system: through the “Who says?” of small rocks; into the “Who cares?” of rough gravel; down through the “So what?” of sand; and finally emerging with crystal clarity as an argument or idea that makes sense, and one that we have truly thought through. I have since applied this approach regularly to one of my great passions - diversity and intercultural collaboration.
The Penguin English Dictionary defines diversity as “the condition of being different or having differences.” In recent years, those driving the public policy agendas have come to look upon diversity either as a philosophical concept – one that must be embraced at all costs, on pain of sanction - or as the upstart offspring of the equal opportunities drive of the late 1980s and early 1990s. For others, it is synonymous with an industry that sprang up to promote a series of ideals and practices, to which organisations really are expected to adhere: a code for good race relations.
I suspect that across the broad spectrum within which many of us operate, all of these perspectives will find their sympathisers. So, where do I stand? How do I define diversity, and how do I think it affects our lives?
I take the view that genuine diversity is the acceptance of an ongoing journey. It is as much about how we travel as it is about where we come to rest and what we do when we get there. Most organisations and practitioners, whatever sector they are operating in - commercial, public, or third, will find themselves somewhere along that road. Diversity is also an umbrella term for a whole raft of differences: race and ethnicity; gender; ability and disability; sexual orientation; and, of course, faith, culture and status.
And why is it important? Well, the business case for embracing diversity can seem very unclear. It gets lost in the muddy waters of political correctness, day-to-day deadlines and targets. It gets stranded in the shark-infested inlets of sanction and litigation, or becalmed in the sheltered lagoons of complacency and ignorance. In reality, the business case is powerful and clear: yes, there are moral and reputational imperatives (the “carrot”); and yes, there are legal sanctions and economic penalties involved (the “stick”); but the clear bottom line is this - it makes no sense to fail to employ, draw upon, serve or engage with the broadest, deepest and most widely representative reservoir of humanity. The advantages of doing so are obvious: we get to fish in the biggest pool of talent, to catch the better fish, to provide services to the widest community – and all the while increasing our personal and organisational understanding along the way. Diversity is about valuing difference wherever it is found. And were we not to value difference, none of us could truly claim to be living or working in a meritocracy (as, of course, very many of us believe we do).
The major challenges often arise when we seem to have come within touching distance of the goal of diversity, then it somehow recedes and we are left with a sense of frustration, confusion and disappointment. So, how can we avoid losing heart at this point? And, having tried but perhaps having valiantly failed to embrace diversity in all its forms, how should we steel ourselves to make continued progress? And, indeed, why should we?
For me, the real motivator (beyond any sense of social justice or recognition of the common sense enshrined in embracing diversity) has been my exposure, through my work, to the real “lived” experience of so many people, especially young people.
It is here that I often hear the voices of those young men in Liverpool echoing in my ears, or of the British Council’s Intercultural Navigators and other young leaders, in whose hands the future of European dialogue rests. It has been particularly affecting to hear the voice of youth, especially those from minority, embattled or vulnerable backgrounds. There is an authentic resonance often to be found in the voice of those needlessly faced with disadvantage, prejudice, misunderstanding and misrepresentation. They are the reason why we should steel ourselves to succeed at embracing diversity.
It is frustrating to witness every day, not so much injustice per se, but a simple lack of appreciation of difference and the inequality and subsequently missed opportunity to which it so often leads. The team at inter-pares has, since our inception, sought to tackle these challenges head on.
Of course, it’s far from easy. There are a myriad reasons why we fail to make the paradigm shift from “What is the bottom line for me?” to “How can I appreciate the value of the individual alongside me?” These reasons range from a lack of information to straightforward prejudice, from inherent cultural barriers to a failure to see the logic enshrined within the business case for participation, collaboration and change.
It strikes me that, if we are to make the necessary paradigm shift that will allow us all, as individuals and organisations, to appreciate, value and gain from difference, then it is important to consider how and why certain experiences and perceptions combine to affect an individual’s opportunities.
The politically high-profile issues of race, faith and ethnicity, in combination with geography and demography, have been shown both to determine life chances and to exercise the media in equal measure. In the UK, the concentration of black and minority ethnic populations in the main urban centres has led to some distinct challenges - isolation, alienation, cultural marginalisation, lack of resources - and occasionally this tips over into outright hostility and violence
Two recent official UK reports on the social unrest that led to civil disturbances in some of our northern cities both pointed to a lack of understanding between communities. This gap inevitably has led to misinformation, misconceptions, tension and mistrust; and ultimately to violence across faith, ethnic and territorial boundaries. How are we to mitigate against such challenges if not through increased, but sensitively facilitated, intercultural encounter, exposure and engagement.
It is down to all of us to endeavour to understand and value diversity and to take account of different needs, in the interests of all of us – our peace, our health, our safety, our success, our happiness.
So, what do we need to do differently tomorrow? We need to ask ourselves these powerful questions:
• What do I think true diversity is?
• How can I appreciate and anticipate the needs of the person with whom I am working or to whom I provide a service?
• What is stopping me from really appreciating the diversity of the population around me – this group of people with all their uniting and dividing characteristics and experiences?
• And, finally, how can I remove those barriers, whatever they are?
Of course, there are no right answers, no silver bullet. We all will have our own contexts, barriers and solutions. We all will have our own destinations on our journey towards unlocking the magic of difference. The critical factor is, perhaps, that we must travel optimistically, with the sun in our faces and the wind at our backs -and always aware that journeying with an open mind and a sense of social justice is as important as arriving at some mystical Holy Grail of diversity.
“So what?” “Who says?” “Who cares?” That’s up to you.

©Mike Waldron
MD inter-pares associates
Oct 2009