5 Questions to Ask that Go Beyond Diversity and Inclusion

When working with our clients to bring a social justice lens to their perspective and work, we use a set of questions that are based on Iris Marion Young’s Five Faces of Oppression framework. These questions are:

1. Whose labor is overused, undervalued, not compensated, under compensated? (This addresses exploitation.)

2. Whose experiences, perspectives, or bodies are separated or left out? (This addresses marginalization.)

3. Who is silenced? Who doesn’t participate? Who doesn’t feel worthy or belonging? (This addresses powerlessness.)

4. What cultures, experiences, or backgrounds are co-opted, exoticized, deemed strange/not normal, or erased? (This addresses cultural dominance.)

5. Who is being harmed physically, mentally, or spiritually? (This addresses violence.)

The rest of the article is on Mia’s Medium.