Does anyone else cringe at the word "diversity"?

[SunniDelite]

I had this email from someone on Crowdfunder...
"I am raising funds for the Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University.
In the last year, the centre has revealed the racism and prejudice actors face when they go auditions and, for the first time, exposed the lack of gender diversity of sound recordists. We're now building programmes to address this problem. So far, our research has highlighted specific problems for disabled people working in the industry and created more job opportunities for Black people behind the camera. Additionally, we are working with major broadcasters to change how they report on race, gender and disability."
I have no problem with the race and disability part, but what on earth does "lack of gender diversity of sound recordists" mean? That there aren't enough women? or that there aren't enough blue-hairs who can't decide what they are? or there aren't enough transwomen?
It's come to a point where I'm suspicious that any organisation that mentions diversity is a TRA, even if they're talking about hedgehog populations! :)

I don't think you're wrong. Gender diversity, unless then mean male or female dominated roles, seems irrelevant. I don't see anyone desperate to have a proportionate number of transmen make up artists etc

'Diversity' is one of those words which have a clear meaning, but have been misappropriated to mean whatever the loudest shouters want them to mean.

Other words misappropriated this way include

^Intersectional
Kind
Harmless
-phobia^

and, of course,

Woman.

I agree. Whenever I see anything about diversity, inclusion and equality my heart sinks. Which is really sad as I always strongly believed in those values!

Ditto when someone says gender diversity, I don't know if they mean between men and women or between trans and non-trans.

Also when I see blue-haired teens it makes me sad, as I was one once and still have a lot of love for alternative scenes, but I can't help thinking they're probably into gender ideology.

Maybe I'm just getting old!!

I do too.

Diversity , seems to now just mean.a self declared qualification. So instead of actual diversity we have able bodied straight white males covering most aspects

Anything that says diversity or inclusion makes my heart sink - and any rainbow flags.

I'm right with you, and as JellySaurus says there are a whole bunch of other words that also make me wary now, words that used to bring me hope. I'd add:
LGBTQI+
lesbian
gay
non-binary (I used to think it was kind of meaningless but harmless)
multicultural (now often seems to mean white male claiming he had an Irish great-grandfather)
identify
empowering
privilige
oppression ...

These are all terms that I would have been pleased to see in any organisation I was in contact with, now I instantly think "what exactly do you mean?"

I imagine you are white, straight and not disabled. For me diversity means a lot more than the single issue. In most places of work it is relevant still because 99% of my managers have been white and not disabled.

I always thought intersectionality was about the intersection of discrimination of black women. Does it now mean intersection of any protected characteristic?

I’m also confused about inclusion as I don’t see how it works with the Equality Act and substantive equality. Surely equality should trump inclusion but it seems that inclusion trumps anything.

Oh, and equality v equity. I always thought that there was equality of outcome or equality of opportunity but now I’m told that equality is bad and equity is good.

At work we were shown an image of people standing on boxes looking over a fence. I’m sure I saw the same image 15+ years ago and the words have been changed?

For me diversity means a lot more than the single issue. In most places of work it is relevant still because 99% of my managers have been white and not disabled.

Or maybe we don't think having managers that are white, not disabled and have blue hair is going to be an improvement...

Don't know if this is relevant but was watching Spring/winter watch and one of the presenters mentioned a camera'operater'. At first I cringed because I'm used to hearing camera 'man'. Because I have been observing far too much of the erasure of language around women, my kneejerk was that this was more of the same. Then the penny dropped. It doesn't/shouldn't be man. Using man as the default is wrong and I was an idiot! Camera apertures aren't cervix(es(?)). Either sex can operate them.

At least that's what I understand as part of diversity, although I am still an idiot

Do they mean gender, or do they mean sex? If they had four male sound recordists but two of them dyed their hair anime colours, had septum rings and kitty ear hairbands, would that tick sufficient boxes for gender diversity?

Don't know if this is relevant but was watching Spring/winter watch and one of the presenters mentioned a camera'operater'. At first I cringed because I'm used to hearing camera 'man'.

Yes, it's relevant, but there's another force at work here. When I started using computers, years ago, we were called "computer operators" - it was the computer which called the shots, and we operated it. We nursed it, and dealt with its tantrums. We served it. Then it morphed into "computer user", which has connotations of the computer doing what it's damn well told and delivering what we want. A real change in the power relationship. Similarly, a "cameraman" is someone with skill and judgement who uses his/her/their experience and artistic ability to add to the effect of the production. A "Camera operator" is a skivvy. That's why the term jars for me. So we need another term which includes women, but doesn't reduce the role to one of technical servitude. I won't make any suggestions, but leave it to that profession to come up with one.

Honestly, you're massively overthinking. Sound recordists, camera operators and much of the standard offscreen lineup (apart from hair, makeup, costuming, catering and cleaning) are extremely male dominated.

It's ridiculous if the obsession with trans rights on here ends up hurting initiatives that could help many of the cis women that the pps are so concerned about.

Yes I got this too. Just deleted it.

The BBC for instance isn't very diverse, they may all be different races and sexuality. But they are all middle-class Guardian readers.

@FrecklesMalone You're quite right, I am. But I did say I had no problem with diversity referring to race and disability. It's just that these days I've seen the term used so often to squeeze in the TRA agenda....

It's a meaninhless piece of woke jargon.

If they're looking for more opportunities for women, they could just say sex equality (or even more opportunities for women).

Sadly I now bristle at the word ‘kind’. I used to like it. Rumi’s 3 gates of speech and all that. Now too often it is used to mean shut up we don’t want to hear your dissenting voice.

It's ridiculous if the obsession with trans rights on here ends up hurting initiatives that could help many of the cis women that the pps are so concerned about.

Women. Not 'cis' women.

Isn't it funny how the people who exhort us to "Be Kind" seem to quite horrible to anyone who doesn't agree with them?

When I hear or read the word "diversity" I think: different skin colours but a uniform worldview. Which to me has a kind of racist vibe.

Diversity and inclusion are two words that her my eyeballs rolling into the new back of my head. Especially when they actually mean quite the opposite of what they pretend.

A D&I officer has become the ‘elf and safety offices of the 80s. But waaaaay more sanctimonious and overpaid (and a waste of resources).

I am GC and a feminist.
I would prefer the description to read ‘sex and gender’.
But I have no doubt that Trans people have and do face discrimination so am happy to see trans people included in equality programmes.

What’s your definition of a trans person?

What do you think the % of the population is defined as trans Vs say people who are deaf, visually impaired or use mobility aids (and why are they rarely included in D&I initiatives these days?). Why has it become a shorthand for “slap an extended rainbow and/or trans flag on it, and call the job a good ‘un”?