Ask the Author: Minal Bopaiah
Answered Questions (3)
Minal Bopaiah
I'm currently working with my mentor, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, on a book about her reflections on love, leadership, and social justice.
Minal Bopaiah
My favorite bit of writing advice is "Inspiration is for amateurs." The difference between published authors and unpublished ones is more often not a matter of discipline, not talent.
Minal Bopaiah
My husband is a firefighter, which means he has no dearth of hilarious, poignant, and troubling stories about how the resistance to diversity and inclusion manifests in work places, particularly among people who are not fond of change.
One of my favorites of his stories is the one about three captains who went to a diversity and inclusion conference out of state. During one presentation, a speaker mentioned LGBTQ.
“What does the Q stand for?” one of the captains asked.
“Queer,” the speaker responded.
“Are you kidding me?” the captain responded. “Ten years ago, I literally got called onto the carpet by a supervisor for using that term.”
I suspect – and sincerely hope – the speaker then tried to explain the evolving use of the term and how it has been reclaimed by LGBTQ+ advocates.
However, little of that sunk in. When the captain returned to his fire house, his entire take-away from the three-day conference was, “Guys, we can say queer now.”
This story made me really re-think our who approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations. We need a more practical approach, one that can scale inclusion without requiring everyone to go through a transformative process. Equitable systems are the answer.
One of my favorites of his stories is the one about three captains who went to a diversity and inclusion conference out of state. During one presentation, a speaker mentioned LGBTQ.
“What does the Q stand for?” one of the captains asked.
“Queer,” the speaker responded.
“Are you kidding me?” the captain responded. “Ten years ago, I literally got called onto the carpet by a supervisor for using that term.”
I suspect – and sincerely hope – the speaker then tried to explain the evolving use of the term and how it has been reclaimed by LGBTQ+ advocates.
However, little of that sunk in. When the captain returned to his fire house, his entire take-away from the three-day conference was, “Guys, we can say queer now.”
This story made me really re-think our who approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations. We need a more practical approach, one that can scale inclusion without requiring everyone to go through a transformative process. Equitable systems are the answer.
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