When people ask me why I do diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) work, my answer is very personal. When I was in college and came out to my family, I was disowned and cut off emotionally and financially…. Many decades later, I love talking to leaders, teams, and educators about how we can give each other the gift of being seen, respected, and welcomed because I know what it’s like to feel invisible, disrespected, and unwelcome—even in the place I called home.

Racism does not require "malicious intent." If this is how you're defining racism, it's time to do your personal work to better understand structural racism and your role in it. There are 4 levels of racism: Internalized or Personal Racism, Interpersonal Racism, Institutional Racism, and Structural Racism. The most common understanding of racism is that it’s a form of prejudice and intentional bias in our personal interactions. But racism resides in our beliefs as unconscious bias; this is sometimes called internalized racism.

When people say that cisgender is a slur some of the questions I ask are: Do you know what cisgender means? Why do you believe it’s a slur? Do you think the term heterosexual is a slur? “Cisgender” is an adjective used to describe people whose gender identities "match" the sex they were assigned at birth. In other words, their gender identities align with what is socially expected for their birth-assigned sex.

Allyship means accepting responsibility for our mistakes instead of invalidating those who brought them to our attention. If you identify as an ally or accomplice and feel like someone from a historically excluded group has harshly criticized you for something you said or did, please take some time to process before responding or acting.

One of the oldest antisemitic tropes is the lie that Jews control the world and therefore are the cause of all of the world’s problems. How can you fight the rising tide of anti-Jewish hate? I’m so glad you asked! An important way to demonstrate your allyship is by educating others who use harmful language such as “wealthy elites” or “international elites.”

We will not be able to build a more inclusive future unless we take responsibility for our past. In many red and purple states, schools are now controlled by individuals whose goals aren’t educating students but indoctrinating them. Their tactics are so extreme that they invite comparison to the Soviet Union.

Black students carry the weight of intergenerational trauma and systemic racism into their classrooms every day. White students do not (although those of us who are racialized as white can and do experience trauma as well). Despite the impact of intergenerational trauma on Black children, current debates about teaching the history of racism are almost exclusively focused on the feelings of White children.

With an inclusive mindset ant the right tools and skills, any leader can build a more equitable and inclusive workplace. But creating meaningful and sustainable DEI change doesn’t happen overnight.

Making real progress on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging requires deep listening and authentic communication.

A 2022 study found that more than half of Jewish respondents experienced discrimination at work. In the US, we are now facing record high levels of anti-Jewish bias and violence, but antisemitism is still widely misunderstood and frequently overlooked in conversations about inclusion and justice.

Often described as the canary in the coal mine, antisemitism is a danger for everyone because it tends to fuel other forms of hate including anti-Black racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and transphobia. Anti-Jewish bigotry is a viral form of racialized hate. As Black antiracist activist Eric Ward puts it, “Contemporary antisemitism, then, does not just enable racism, it also is racism, for in the White nationalist imaginary Jews are a race—the race—that presents an existential threat to Whiteness.”

The diversity trainer Maura Cullen points out that as soon as we become self-absorbed, we diminish the odds of making authentic connections with others. How is this relevant to inclusive and equity-focused teaching? When we believe we’ve made a significant misstep as teachers, often our first response is to focus on ourselves. In this essay, I’ll explain why inclusive teaching is life-saving and show how it offers us tools to affirm the humanity—and the very survival—of the students who are in our care. As educators, one of the best ways to undertake this work is to shift our thinking from the “me” to the “we.”

Colleges and universities around the country are making substantive changes to foster more inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments for all students; advancing the implementation of inclusive teaching is crucial to these educational equity efforts.

The challenge for higher education leaders is how to build momentum for inclusive curriculum design, empowering more faculty to become drivers of inclusion as part of a shared aspiration to engender just experiences and outcomes for diverse student bodies. Elisa Glick Consulting recommends using our Signature Five Keys to Inclusive and Equitable Teaching to build faculty capacity for inclusive and equity-focused pedagogies.