On the importance of diversity and inclusion (in e-learning)

In the early 1990s, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop wrote a piece about mirrors and windows in relation to representations of diversity in children’s books. She reasoned that children should not only be able to find themselves in the books (mirror); but also, to see into someone else’s world (window).

But wait, I am not a child. And you don’t write children’s books, right?

That’s right, we are (mostly) grown adults designing e-learnings. And we feel Dr. Bishop’s concepts work perfectly in the world of e-learning. Learners need exposure to media they can identify with personally, as well as be introduced to different perspectives. Both types of media - mirrors and windows - are important and, we at Bitville do our best to incorporate diverse media into our e-learnings.

But what does this look like in practice?

Mirrors

One of the key things when we are designing digital content, is to engage the learner and earn their trust. To achieve that, we try our best to add mirror media that reflects the learner, their world, and their culture. It makes the learner feel comfortable, and like our training is personalized. Our goal is to allow all learners at every level of the organization, to see themselves.

Windows

Diverse and inclusive representation in media is important. This is true to e-learnings as well. Window media offers a view to other cultures and realities that are different from one’s own.

It seems like a simple task to add a few photos of individuals with different skin tones to the e-learning but wait! You know that familiar saying it’s not just about what you say, it’s how you say it? The same is true for visual design and illustrations: it’s not just who you portray, it is how you portray them. Let’s consider some situations we at Bitville try to ask ourselves as well:

Did we choose to portray the manager as a white male?

What about the secretary – did we choose a woman?

Are minorities represented in leadership roles or only in supporting roles?

It is also important to think of diversity in the most broad way possible. We try not to think of gender and ethnicity only – but also people with disabilities, LGBTQ, age, different societal backgrounds, and so on.

One stumbling block to bear in mind as we pack those windows into our materials is tokenism – showcasing or highlighting a person of a minority group to send a message: “Look at us. Isn’t this exceptional? Here is our diverse person”. Tokenism is a performative action, and it is used for public gain, or to keep up appearances in the eyes of the public.

Window media is not just for the majority to see into the world of minorities. It is not just people who are underrepresented and marginalized who need this type of media to feel included. It is just as important to those who always find their mirrors in media, and therefore get a false sense of what the world is like.

While often going hand in hand, diversity and inclusion are not synonyms. Diversity is the representation of differences, whereas inclusion is feeling like you belong. While we all might agree that diversity is “the right thing to do”, it’s also a great business investment. Why? Because it fosters innovation. And even a seemingly small and mundane decision, like thinking about diversity and inclusion in our e-learnings, can make a difference in feelings of inclusivity. Each step toward equity is a step in the right direction.