Growing up in post-apartheid South Africa, Roy Gluckman was able to witness a perspective of the world that many in western cultures have not been able to see. He noticed the progress of a nation moving forward but also the strife of resistance that came with developing diversity and inclusion as a culture. Roy sees the culture that has emerged in his home country as one that has had an urgent need for diversity focus, and like all cultures, continues to evoke that need. Roy believes that his upbringing, while admittedly privileged, gave him tremendous responsibility to dedicate his life to learning more about and facilitating the difficult conversations.
Roy’s approach to the idea of diversity is to focus on cohesion rather than forcing idealistic inclusivity. He is dedicated to creating a platform of social cohesion to allow for many ideas to come together for shared values. Diversity, equity and inclusion is a mindset that changes, shifts and grows with time. Approaching the context of diversity from a place of behavioral philosophy allows Roy to guide learning in a way that is quite unique.
Conversations of diversity and inclusion are by no means new, and while some have a more specific focus in our present climate, the topics are endless, and each has a specific value in creating a uniformly cohesive society. Roy suggests that we are guided by the dictation of a system that surrounds us, from our corporate setting to our collective community. This gives us some opportunity to explore topics of need, but certainly not all. By learning continually, Roy believes that we are able to develop our own, individual culture that expresses equality to those we encounter. In this, we become more receptive and accepting throughout our entire life.
Finally, something definitive about Roy’s approach to the valuable conversations of diversity, equity and inclusion is that he believes that diversity is not about us. Yes, personal growth is important. But more so, it’s about those we encounter. We become transformational for others by developing ourselves.
Roy will begin facilitating a series on diversity, equity and inclusion hosted by AIM Smarter and open to everyone starting on Feb. 9. The first virtual event begins at 12:30 p.m. EST, and anyone is welcome to register here. This series is meant to educate, inspire and ignite conversations around the important topics associated with diversity.
To learn more about AIM Smarter’s industry-wide diversity initiative, please visit www.aimsmarter.com/about/diversity.
