All,

 

I've thought on this for a few hours now, and what I keep coming back to is the importance of listening. As I've tried to educate myself more on diversity and what fosters it or discourages it, a running theme is that people don't want to be where they don't feel welcome. If a person enters a workplace and is met with things that make them uncomfortable, that already is a problem. This is often compounded by the fact that when they try to bring up the problem, they receive push back rather than understanding. Sometimes it's fairly benign, saying "oh I'm sure they didn't mean it like that" or something similar, trying to assume the best of people (at the expense of the feelings of others). Sometimes it's more blunt dismissal, particularly the ever-popular "it was just a joke, can't you take a joke?" Worst of all it may be outright retaliation.

 

For me, learning to suppress that instinct to push back and to instead listen and reflect was hard. I say instinct, because when someone says "you said/did something that hurt me" or "this person you like or admire said/did something that hurt me" or "this system you participate in and benefit from has deep flaws," it's a natural reaction to not want to believe that. Who wants to think they've been part of hurting others? It's a lot easier to think "well I'm sure they misunderstood or overreacted" and that everything is good than to admit that there's a problem. But once I became able to accept that discomfort, process it, and learn from it, I've been able to gain a greater understanding of the problems those who face prejudice experience, and thus what may keep them out of a field.

 

Listening isn't the be-all-end-all of course, but I think it's a necessary first step. To fix a system, you have to understand it. Prejudice isn't going to be solved by random action, the equivalent of banging on the TV and hoping the picture comes through clearer. I think that process will be uncomfortable, sometimes even painful for people like me who have never faced any discrimination, and even for people who may have experienced discrimination in one way but not another (e.g., facing homophobia but not racism). But I think it's necessary if we want to address the problems that make others feel unwelcome.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jack Reidy (he/him)

Research Safety Specialist, Assistant Chemical Hygiene Officer

Environmental Health & Safety

Stanford University

484 Oak Road, Stanford, CA, 94305

Tel: (650) 497-7614

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> On Behalf Of Frankie Wood-Black
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 8:26 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Diversity in Chemical Health and Safety

 

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