The Value of True Empathy

 

Michael A. Invernale, PhD
Senior Licensing Manager
University of Connecticut

 

Most EDI content is aimed at strategies for increasing the presence of, and valuing the contribution from, underrepresented groups in any given field or space. Allies are engaged and tasked with championing the same messages that the underrepresented groups, themselves, advocate for. We strive to normalize demographics in an attempt to bring both opportunity and innovation.
 
Empathy is at the core of the ethos of EDI initiatives; it’s as much about seeing each person as equal as it is celebrating how our differences can offer unique and valuable perspectives to all we do. Both sides of this coin are necessary for us to be successful at changing hearts and minds. Whether this is an inventor, an entrepreneur or an aspiring colleague, every single individual has had their own, bespoke experience in life, regardless of the metrics that make them fit into any specific group, underrepresented or not.
 
There is something worth highlighting that can aid in offering an empathetic perspective to groups, agencies, clients or customers that may resist or otherwise dismiss such initiatives. When encountering this resistance, it is important to convey that almost everyone can feel excluded, unequal or reduced to a stereotype under certain conditions. Consider even the simple case of traveling internationally; in most destinations around the globe, regardless of where you started or what country you end up in, you will find yourself a minority speaker of your domestic language. You could be the only Yankees fan in a stadium (or a city) full of Red Sox fans. You could be a biologist at a physics conference. Or a democrat at a republican convention.
 
Consider, in these moments, how you would feel. Would it be uncomfortable? Does it feel isolating or alienating to not be surrounded by those predominantly “like” you? Imagine, then, how you would feel if this was your permanent state of existence. Imagine not being able to fully embody the truth of who you are for fear of reprisal.
 
This experience is one we seek to eradicate through education, outreach and programmatic resources. It reinforces that empathy and compassion run through the heart of EDI initiatives of all kinds, and that changing your perspective, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, is not as difficult as you might think. It is, in fact, imperative to a thriving and committed future for all of us.
 
The point of EDI, to me, is to bring about a world where we can walk into any room and know that everyone in the room is the same – a human being. Simultaneously, we must also acknowledge and celebrate the tiny variations on our chaotic existence that make our particular uniqueness, visible or invisible, valuable to the conversation.
 
We are all the same, because we are all different.