What I Learned About Inclusion and Why It Matters

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT INCLUSION AND WHY IT MATTERS By: Sherley Cruz

University of Tennessee College of Law

AND THIS IS WHY BELONGING MATTERS

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) efforts foster diverse thoughts, experiences, and perspectives that lead to engaging, innovative, and creative results. DEI work often follows a sequence. First, a group identifies that bringing together different people has value. Then, they recognize that not everyone has the same opportunity to succeed or equal access to the tools needed for success, so the group implements policies and procedures to try to increase the opportunities to succeed. Once the group becomes more diverse, efforts turn to including new members, “giving them a seat at the table,” or ensuring they “have a voice” in the conversation.

Inclusion focuses on getting invited, being part of the conversation, and participating in the decision making. Being included, however, does not mean that we belong. People often speak of “fitting in” to a group. The problem with “fitting in” is that we lose what makes us special and unique. To fit in means to lose ourselves in the group. To be like the others. To not stand out. To be included does not go far enough to allow our authentic selves to shine. We can be included in a conversation, a meeting, or a project without feeling like we belong or should be part of the group.

Instead, belonging comes from feeling like we are valued and our values are reflected in the group. When we belong, our voices are heard and credited. We form connections because of who we are, not who we resemble. We don’t need to look, sound, or act like the others. Our identity and all of the intersecting parts (gender, race, socio-economics, religion, sexual orientation, etc.…) become an asset to the group. We are not just a part of the group. Our voices, ideas, and experiences are reflected in the conversations, projects, and solutions to create the whole.

As a first-generation, Dominican-American who grew up in Boston, I do not “fit in” most legal spaces. I am accustomed to being the only Latina in a class, at a meeting, an event, or in the courtroom. I am grateful, however, to have the privilege of being part of the 5% of attorneys and 3% of law school faculty who are Latinx.1 I have succeeded in my legal career because I do not fit in. Fitting in ignores that I am bicultural, it assumes that I can ask friends and family for help, and overlooks the pressures of pretending. Belonging is different. It encourages me to pull from my immigrant experiences to identify issues and solutions, allows me to speak Spanish to help a client feel comfortable, and gives me permission to admit that I cannot relate to an experience because I did not grow up in a traditional American household. And this is why belonging matters.

1 American Bar Association, ABA Profile of the Legal Profession 2020 (July 2020), available at: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/ news/2020/07/potlp2020.pdf ; See also, National Center for Education Statistics,

The Condition of Education 2020, Chapter two: Characteristics of Postsecondary

Faculty, ( available at: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_csc.pdf