VEGA Partners is a social impact consulting firm focused on social responsibility, philanthropy, and capacity building. Our work is rooted in the ethos of advancing equity.  

 

Today, the word “diversity” is a catch-all phrase and thrown around often. What gets lost in this language shortcut are the equally important points of equity and inclusion. Our society must pursue greater equity in institutions and systems. And this is even more important for organizations whose mission is to serve the greater good.  

 

For us, equity is both a process and an outcome.  

 

Diversity is as innate as the natural world. It is infinitely quantifiable – personal characteristics, seen and unseen abilities, and physical traits – the natural categories are infinite. It is the intentional uplift of some groups over others, that leads to injustice and exclusion. 

 

We must address equity, which is not about leveling the playing field, but about creating a different playing field with inclusive systems and processes. Using equity as a lens to understand the world and solve embedded injustices is like working within a prism – as life shifts, we see new ways to adjust.  

 

We need to create communities, workplaces, institutions, and systems where we all feel that we belong. Because it is only when we all belong, that we can be our true and full selves.  

 

We all want to be and do better. What gets in the way is the insistence to dismiss the realities of race and the default of how racism is woven into our lives in simple and complex ways. We must directly address racial equity to be better humans and create the world we want.