Creating a Diversity & Inclusion Strategy
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are becoming central to organizational practices to develop more inclusive workplaces. Ensuring every person feels like their ideas are valued and differences are celebrated is essential to creating a workplace environment in which every participant thrives. In academic spaces, the need for an inclusion strategy goes beyond striving for workplace diversity and even diversity within the student body. In colleges and universities, DEI initiatives should also focus on delivering content that expands diversity and inclusion to help students and researchers explore more diverse perspectives.
Promote Inclusivity & Belonging in Resources
Representation in research and learning materials is essential to expanding understanding and empathy for a diverse range of experiences, beliefs, and perspectives. Imagine the difference it makes to connect students to primary sources that recount what life was like for Black women during the civil rights movement compared to sources that highlight the perspectives of white men.
Giving students and faculty access to a range of diverse voices strengthens the potential for them to discover and understand the perspectives of people from different backgrounds throughout history. As students explore experiences that are different from their own, they learn to accept and respect the differences and core values of other people. This leads to stronger communities and workforces with inclusive cultures in which everyone’s value is recognized.3
Expanding representation also helps diverse students and faculty see themselves represented in the content they study. Offering inclusive content highlights the value of different perspectives, fostering an inclusive environment for all on your campus.
Help Students & Faculty Dismantle Stereotypes
Studying diverse perspectives throughout history and literature helps students challenge stereotypes. A lack of diversity in publishing has led to a lack of voices from marginalized communities. Exploring the experiences of an underrepresented community allows students of every background to recognize the falsity of stereotypes and think critically about any unconscious bias they may have about diverse groups.4
Help researchers and students dismantle stereotypes and take an antidiscriminatory approach toward underrepresented groups by giving them access to voices that vary in race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, culture, socioeconomic status, and other social identities. From primary-source collections focused on the fight for gender and racial equality to eBooks that combat bias against demographic groups, explore Gale resources below that showcase diverse experiences and support your library’s diversity goals.
How Can You Ensure Equity in Addition to Diversity?
Ensuring everyone on your campus can effectively use your resources to enhance their research and learning is essential. Gale resources are designed with equity in mind. Your library can offer students and faculty equitable access to Gale resources anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Accessibility features are also core to many of Gale's resources, including language translations, text-adjustment tools, and text-to-speech technology.
