EQUALITY DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION REPORT literacy in this space : we learn to understand what we mean by micro aggressions ; when we learn to understand the structural nature of things like heterosexism , transphobia , racism , sexism ; when we begin to be able to pick those things apart and to learn the language to powerfully articulate challenge .’
Finally , she asked delegates , how do we radicalise our empathy ? ‘ We so often across nursing and the allied health professions talk about compassion ,’ she said . ‘ How do we turn that empathy , that desire to understand
[ a person ’ s ] lived experience … into some form of action that takes on institutions and requires better outcomes of structures and systems in the first place ?’
Hannah Spencer , an occupational therapist currently working in mental health , and a member of the LGBTQIA + OT UK network , introduced themself saying : ‘ I ’ m white , I ’ m British and I acknowledge the privilege that that in itself holds . ‘ I ’ m also a queer person that exists in a cis and binary gendered hetero-normative society . A society that repeatedly gives me and the LGBTQIA + community I represent here today cues , both subtle and overt , to say we don ’ t belong .’
Noting that ‘ inclusion and inclusive practice is all our responsibility , wherever we are in our careers ’, Hannah examined what inclusion means to them : ‘ We are and we work with beautiful , unique , individual , complex human beings . What unites us is our shared humanity .
‘ By embracing and celebrating our rich diversity and intersections within that , we empower each other , ourselves as professionals , those we ’ re privileged to work with , our future workforce and generations to come , to live authentically . ‘ To do , be , become and belong as true and optimal selves . To live , meaningfully , not exist . That is inclusion . And that , to me , sings of our professional values as occupational therapists .’
Hannah asked occupational therapists to think of the opposite of that , about what it means to not live authentically : ‘ To feel that you have to hide and / or edit aspects of self and identity that quite simply fundamental to being , or worse , to be marginalised , oppressed , actively discriminated against simply for being .’
Hannah questioned why , in 2021 , we are still hearing debate of people ’ s existence and identity and reiterated the need for discussion and action towards belonging and inclusion ; not just countrywide , but within the profession . ‘ What impact does this have on the diversity , wellbeing and accurate representation of our workforce ?’
They went on : ‘ I ’ m here on behalf of the newly-formed LGBTQIA + OTUK network , and representative of an often-invisible community , in terms of our societal existence , our professional existence , our occupational existence , our being .
‘ We ’ re also a population that are perhaps not accurately represented through statistics because of what it also means to be able to embrace and be open with those “ differences ” in our identities , be that gender identity , sexual orientation and / or the intersection of both and / or neither – that requires safety , belonging , inclusion .
‘ To me , a genuinely inclusive occupational therapy profession is a place where we as professionals , those we ’ re privileged to work with , our future workforce and generations to come , are seen , heard , valued and belong as authentic selves [ and ] empowered … to do , be , become and belong as true and optimal selves .’
They concluded by recognising that this ‘ requires critical thinking about the holistic and humanistic values of equity , diversity , inclusion and justice that we ’ re often quick to pride our profession in its ’ ownership of ’.
‘ It requires discomfort and challenge , ownership of individual and systemic bias and discrimination in all sorts of guises , but also , moving beyond that , it requires us to take off our blinkers , acknowledge our past dominances and prejudices , lean into challenge and change , and really , truly , seek to understand the complexities of the people we are , the people we work with and how those occupations that make us who we are impacted upon by intersecting nuances of diversity and existence ... we are all always learning .’
Dave Thomas , occupational therapist and student success and attainment manager at the University of Kent , pointed to published evidence that leaders and employers have different views on progress towards equality .
‘ This is commonly called a perception gap ,’ he said . But , he asked delegates , what does this have to do with an inclusive occupational therapy profession and to what extent is a perception gap enacted within the profession in terms of inclusivity at the micro , miso and macro levels ?
In order to make the profession more inclusive , Dave said , he believes the first step is for the profession to understand what inclusivity is not , in order to understand what inclusivity is .
‘ In the words of the American James Baldwin ,’ he said , ‘ how can I believe what you say , when I see what you do ? We need to see the receipts .’
Referring to global issues including climate change , Brexit , the BLM protests , the unintended consequences of COVID-19 and gender-based violence , he added : ‘ The events of the last 18 months have highlighted systemic inequalities that disproportionally affect marginalised groups in our society . And this is in myriad ways … to
OTnews August 2021 17