S2E13: Diverse People Bring Diverse Perspectives
Diverse Joy’s August 2025 episode: “Diverse People Bring Diverse Perspectives”
Will’s joy this month is the annual Woof’s Boat Cruise in the lakes around Madison, and Amber's is a lovely, heartwarming gift from her former students!
The cohosts start off discussing the benefits that diversity brings to organizations. Teams with more diversity tend to have more creative, transformative solutions to problems, and some reports say that corporations with more diversity actually make more money. They also caution against thinking of diversity only in terms of utility, because removing barriers to full inclusion is just the right thing to do! Next, they talk about the unfortunate “Pet to Threat” phenomenon that can often push diverse people out of organizations. Coined by Dr. Kecia Thomas and her colleagues, Pet to Threat involves someone, often a person of color, first being trotted out as wonderful addition to an organization (like a “Pet”), but when they have new ideas or want to address problems in the organization, people start turning against them (they become a “Threat”). Another analogy for this is that organizations start off excited for someone to “shake things up” (seen as a positive), but when they start actually making changes, they’re “rocking the boat” (seen as a negative).
During Story Time, Will and Amber share about their own Pet to Threat experiences and how that impacted them, and also how having the “Pet to Threat” label for their experiences has been therapeutic for them and others!
This episode’s question involves the difference between “inclusion” and “belonging”, with a conversation around how and why many organizations have recently begun adopting “belonging” as a major diversity goal.
This episode’s bias habit-breaking skill is to Track the Data. Tracking data is a great way to assess where problem areas might be and also how well you’re doing with solutions. Look at types of data you might track regarding your customers, clients, employees, or even just yourself!
Will’s joyful media recommendation is the adorable, smart, and endearing television show, “Bluey!”, which is great for kids and adults!
The cohosts shouted out and promised to link you to a lot of extras this episode, so check these out if you wish!
America Ferrera’s amazing TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/america_ferrera_my_identity_is_a_superpower_not_an_obstacle
An article by Dr. Kecia Thomas about Pet to Threat: https://www.forbes.com/sites/keciathomas/2024/01/13/the-persistence-of-pet-to-threat/
The song “A Diagnosis” from Crazy Ex Girlfriend: https://youtu.be/uic_3vlI5BE?si=Fv58K0tbGe4Uo6Oj
Two great Instagram accounts Will and Amber recommend:
https://www.instagram.com/astar4real/
https://www.instagram.com/aletheacrimmins/
Brene Brown on how “fitting in” is the opposite of belonging: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2ClCPF9w7yc
Also check out the wonderful work by Julie Oyemaja and the Interprofessional Primary Care Institute: https://www.linkedin.com/company/interprofessional-primary-care-institute
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