Karith Foster is a diversity trainer, comedian and founder of INVERSITY Solutions. She has traveled all over the globe delivering her positive alternative to the polarizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) debate occurring within corporations, institutions of higher education and nonprofits. Aligned with Philanthropy Roundtable’s True Diversity initiative, Foster speaks to how employers can embrace diversity in the workplace without the division caused by many traditional DEI efforts.
“When I saw that people were coming away from conversations around diversity and inclusion that are supposed to be bringing us together, that are supposed to be uniting us, but rather it was having the opposite effect. … In fact, it’s actually causing more division and polarization,” said Foster in a new Philanthropy Roundtable video. “True diversity is about everyone.”
By focusing on what unites us, instead of what divides us, Foster encourages organizations to stay committed to their values and not cave under the pressure of cancel culture.
“My best advice for nonprofits is to be true to yourselves. Trust your gut. Trust your instinct. Don’t be bullied into a pathology that is just a social sign of the times. To fit in,” said Foster. “It’s very important that we stay committed to our goals, to the purpose, to the mission of making the world a better place. Not doing it to virtue signal, not doing it to check a box, but doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”
To learn more about Karith Foster and INVERSITY, check out this Roundtable interview about Foster’s approach to diversity training.
