Challenging for me is letting people who supposedly know more about DEI know they’re culturally unaware. For example, a compliment I often get is that I am not a culture fit hire, rather a culture add. In my culture this is offensive the same as a popular author’s claim about the need to be vulnerable. Both though leaders are white and those reading their work, whether white or assimilated BIPOC forget that being vulnerable as a too often seen as a weakness or aggression. Being a culture add vs a culture fit feels like I am being othered.
It sounds like the dominant culture (both in the institution and in the people who uphold it) aren't willing to adapt, they just want you (and possibly other people) to add. It's one sided and while “add” sounds positive, the underlying message is that whoever “adds” does so as an outsider. Thoughts?
Challenging for me is letting people who supposedly know more about DEI know they’re culturally unaware. For example, a compliment I often get is that I am not a culture fit hire, rather a culture add. In my culture this is offensive the same as a popular author’s claim about the need to be vulnerable. Both though leaders are white and those reading their work, whether white or assimilated BIPOC forget that being vulnerable as a too often seen as a weakness or aggression. Being a culture add vs a culture fit feels like I am being othered.
What am I missing?
.
It sounds like the dominant culture (both in the institution and in the people who uphold it) aren't willing to adapt, they just want you (and possibly other people) to add. It's one sided and while “add” sounds positive, the underlying message is that whoever “adds” does so as an outsider. Thoughts?