Unveiling Discrimination: Insights on Inclusion and Compassion

“But Shweta, do you really think that discrimination happens even today? Maybe in villages, but in cities?”... asked a member of an inclusion program I was facilitating recently.

There was pin drop silence in the room.

Everyone bowed their heads… not in shame, but in regret, feeling their colleague’s pain…. and at the outcomes that had been created of a system, all of us have a hand in creating.

During the break, everyone sat with him and silently conveyed the message … we see you… we hear you.

Gender, religion, caste, access to English medium schooling, pedigree … all of these create invisible hierarchies in the society. It gives privilege to those who have it.

And the irony is, privilege is invisible to those who have it.

In our attempt to resolve this issue and foster inclusivity, we often shame privilege, especially within organizations.

Putting a bunch of male leaders in a room and telling them that they need to be more sensitive …. It does not solve the problem. Shame just makes us more defensive.

Inclusion is an inherent capacity that all of us possess. And the secret key to access it lies within us — by curiously & compassionately looking at one’s own self.

When we reject someone else, we are actually rejecting a part of ourself. The part of us that society deemed unacceptable.

Carl Jung referred to this process as Individuation - the process of being whole by integrating the rejected and disowned parts of our self.

When we are able to look at ourself with curiosity & compassion, we are able to extend the same to others

Which aspect of yourself do you intend to be more compassionate with?