Key to the UN Sustainable Development Goals is adherence to human rights and fairness. While definitions of diversity are often context-specific and multidimensional, we consider its dimensions to include gender, race/immigration status, disability, territoriality, sexual orientation and gender identity, and age. Growing evidence shows that diversity and inclusion are linked to positive outcomes not only at the individual level, but also for organizations and communities. There is also evidence that social, economic, and political disintegration of groups defined by collective characteristics, including poverty, health, and violence, underlies many pressing global issues. This brief review examines 82 in-depth case studies of social initiatives and finds that gender, immigration status, and disability serve as important cross-cutting themes, while race, ethnicity, and territorial status are less frequently noted. We find that disadvantaged social groups are mainly positioned as the target population for social initiatives, without discussing the systemic barriers that cause them to be excluded (sexism, racial discrimination, etc.), with the result that they have a limited ability to create They have a systemic change.
Diversity in different fields
Definitions of diversity-related terms are dynamic and change over time and across regions. Until now, gender has traditionally been defined based on the male/female dichotomy, but it has been recognized that this concept, along with sexual orientation, is more complex and multidimensional. Perceptions of race, ethnicity, and immigration status also vary significantly. In Europe, for example, there is a resistance to racial debates based in part on the legacy of World War II. In other countries, “immigrants” constitute a designated group and are known as the racial “other”. Official and public perceptions of disability are also associated with many differences; Some countries consider it to be a narrow range of physical/mental disabilities, while others consider it to include mental health and addictions. Also, in some countries, indigenous people are given more attention. However, despite common usage, it is becoming increasingly recognized that different disciplines are grouped according to people’s demographic characteristics, and that intersectional effects (such as race, social class, and gender) produce important changes in people’s life experiences that often lead to Misconceived as “homogeneous” groups (eg Native ethnicities, African Americans).
Reasons for the importance of diversity:
Women are essential for local, national and global development. In developing countries, studies show that investing in women’s education leads to social and economic benefits. In industrialized economies, research has shown that women’s leadership is positively related to company performance. Research also finds that immigration and cultural diversity are more broadly linked to regional development and economic prosperity.
Despite these documented benefits of diversity, complex social structures perpetuate discrimination and exclusion. These structures consist of barriers at the level of society (such as laws, culture and mental images, women’s work structure), organizational (such as policies and methods and informal networks, open discrimination and unconscious discrimination) and individual (such as attitudes, skills, behaviors). Significant differences between countries and organizations indicate the barriers that disadvantaged groups face. In addition, a review of existing indicators to measure diversity and attention can help analyze the positive effects of social initiatives.
Gradually, it is observed that empirical efforts have been made to study and measure the degree of social belonging to a large (macro) level. For example, the gender inequality index produced by the United Nations includes measures such as women’s reproductive health, government representation (through parliamentary seats), access to education, and participation in the labor market. The Social Institutions and Gender Index (OECD) considers discriminatory family codes, restrictive laws that limit men’s physical control over women, civil liberties, and property rights. The Gender Equality Index (EU) includes factors such as income, health and violence against women. The Women’s Empowerment Index (United Nations) includes factors such as participation in financial positions and women’s share in income.
The index of immigrant integration policies measures access to institutions such as education, health, and the labor market, along with family reunification policies and paths to citizenship and permanent residency. Statistics on immigrant integration by Eurostat are similar, and the European Citizenship and Integration Index by the British Council also considers anti-discrimination, family reunification, and citizenship renewal policies. The Global Inclusion Index measures the incidence of group-specific violence (such as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation), political representation of disadvantaged groups, income inequality, and anti-discrimination laws.
In high-income countries, businesses and nonprofits are beginning to measure diversity and inclusion at the organizational level. For example, Forbes magazine publishes a list of companies based on criteria such as age, country of birth, disability and race. The Lucerne Business School provides a comprehensive diversity index for large Swiss organizations with at least 250 employees and takes into account factors such as age, gender, nationality, religion and health. The Disability Equality Index is produced by the American Association of Persons with Disabilities and the American Business and Leadership Network and uses survey data on organizational culture, hiring practices and support services to rank companies on their treatment of disabled employees. And there are still several other versions. At the individual level, Project Latent (Harvard University) has developed a multiple-item test that assesses attitudes and unconscious discrimination. These indicators can help to evaluate the effects of social initiatives and logical models for making changes in systems.
Diversity and social initiative
The 1,500 initiatives registered by SI-DRIVE creatively tackled multiple social problems in several fields (see the article “Growing Social Initiatives – First World Mapping Results”). A more extensive case study of 82 of these initiatives was conducted by SI-DRIVE, which found that almost a third (31.7%) explicitly referred to gender (including variations of these terms such as “girls”, “women”, ” female”), and smaller groups indicated “immigrant status” (18.3%), “disability” (14.6%), “indigenous status” (4.9%), or “race/ethnicity” (3.7%).
gender
In all the case studies, it was found that gender shaped people’s experiences in the context of poverty or in relation to institutions such as schools or the labor market. Several initiatives sought to help women overcome specific barriers. Continuous Learning Center of Istanbul Municipality (Turkey) and Integrated Social Services Cooperative (Spain) helped women with skills training to participate in the labor market more easily. Also, the “Moms Work” project in Russia helped women by providing flexible working conditions and funding for business plans of young mothers. The “Dignity and Design” initiative in India also provided over 21,225 underprivileged people (over 90% of them women) with small equipment and machinery to produce garments that previously had to be met on foot. The “Iss mich (Eat me!)” project in Germany also offered flexible jobs in cooking and courier services to young mothers who did not have the necessary education and skills. Meanwhile, the “Strengthening Public Finances” initiative in Ecuador gave rural women access to credit from commercial banks, allowing them to possibly start their own businesses or make meaningful purchases.
Each of the above initiatives attempted to facilitate entry into the labor market through training, equipment, or capital, while the underlying social structures that caused the lack of such resources remained unaddressed. Women are rarely depicted as agents of change. For example, the women’s wind energy union “Qvinnovindar” in Sweden sought sustainability through alternative energies. The She-Taxi initiative in Kerala, India, hired female drivers to provide safe rides for women at risk of sexual assault, while also promoting their participation in the labor market and their daily lives.
immigrants
Migrants and asylum seekers were mentioned in almost a fifth (18.3%) of the case studies, particularly in relation to poverty reduction (38.5%) and education (38.9%). Several programs addressed the needs of immigrants in traditional ways, such as meeting their educational needs. For example, the PROSA program (Austria) aims to provide access to education to asylum seekers who are not yet eligible for general education. The Scott Talent Program (Germany) also aims to provide flexible and accessible education, including basic language classes and technical and specialized training, for disadvantaged groups, including asylum seekers. Lernhaus (Austria), an institution providing free educational counseling services, although not specifically aimed at immigrants, serves a significant portion of children in this community. The Learning Circles (Colombia) program has also been launched to promote access to education among children from vulnerable groups, including children from displaced communities. The UNESCO evaluation showed that Learning Circle students had better results in math and language tests than their regular education peers. However, similar initiatives were not reported to more accurately assess the impact of these types of initiatives.
Other initiatives sought to support the less recognized social needs of immigrants. For example, the program “Empty Backpacks” in France provides storage lockers for homeless people, especially immigrants, who carry their goods with them during the day and face special promotions.
Some also mentioned that they tried to identify the assets of the immigrants and opportunities for mutual understanding. For example, the “Taste of Home” initiative in Croatia gives immigrants the opportunity to introduce their hosts to the culture and customs of their countries of origin through food and build mutual understanding. Also, the act of “scattered reception” in Italy by matching immigrants with a host family who live with them for a period of six months to a year, strengthened the integration of asylum seekers and created social networks, getting to know new communities and increasing mutual understanding of The difference between people. However, this asset-based approach was not the norm.
disability
Almost one in seven (14.6%) extended case studies referred to disabled people. References to them were in case studies related to movement (33.3%) and education (22.2%). Again, social innovation initiatives usually focus on ameliorating the problems faced by this group, rather than empowering individuals. The Whizz-Kidz UK charity liaises with several activists and provides legal support throughout the various stages of the transport vehicle procurement process. Likewise, LIFEtool GmbH (Austria) is dedicated to supporting people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or other disabilities through computer technology that scans eye movements and translates them into icon-based, audio, or written forms. Similarly, JAKOM is an assistive technology developed in Croatia aimed at improving the communication abilities of autistic people with communication disabilities. In some cases, serving people with disabilities was only one aspect of the operational context recognized by the initiatives. For example, the SEKEM Foundation reportedly operates a school that specifically serves disadvantaged social groups, including the disabled, as one of its programs. No examples were found that referred to a mutual benefit assessment or an asset-based approach.
Many of the cases reviewed provided useful strategies for ameliorating social problems that have not yet been solved by governments and traditional economic markets. While there was evidence that small-scale initiatives were successful, there was limited evidence of scalability. Also, there was little evidence of these initiatives addressing structural and systemic barriers to inclusion. Most discussions about women, immigrants and people with disabilities, with few exceptions, have generally steered away from focusing on the exclusion and disenfranchisement of migrants, with very little focus on how these groups can act as assets to their communities. to serve We hypothesize that existing indicators of diversity and attractiveness can be useful in future evaluations to systematically assess the impact of social initiatives. Furthermore, we believe that there is ample room to critically evaluate possible forms of initiatives that address the broader systemic barriers that currently impede social security in its fragmented form.
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