Inclusion On Purpose

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 – 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻…

This book is for you and me and for all our colleagues. Why? Simply because ‘𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴.’

I have not yet finished reading this book, but as an Asian woman of colour, this book is my story and perhaps also yours. Like Ruchika, I was aware of bias and discrimination but kept myself largely immune from it by working hard enough. The brilliance of this well-researched book lies in the fact that it gives women like us – women who constantly have to prove their worth, women who have to ‘prove-it-again’ despite being qualified, women who have to consider how their racial identity impacts the way they are perceived – find the right words to express themselves and gives any well-meaning privileged person, the tools to being anti-racist.

At the same time, this book is important to me because, I must confront my own privilege too, for ‘𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴.’