What Organizations Get Wrong About Diversity

Corporate Quotas

Carlos Muza (CC0)

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When it really comes down to it, talking about privilege is just one approach to having a meaningful conversation about difference and race. Talking about diversity is not always easy, but poet and writer Sofia Samatar believes it's crucial. A few weeks ago she published an essay called "Skin Feeling" about what it’s like being an academic of color in a largely white university. In it, she talks about feeling exposed, self-conscious, and uneasy with the idea of being reduced to a symbol of diversity. She sat down with her friend Charles Monroe-Kane to talk about what organizations get wrong about diversity. She believes institutions should focus less on meeting quotas, and instead have open and nuanced conversations about difference.