COLUMN: Viewpoint – The benefits and richness of diversity

Last month I attended a performance of the musical Waitress at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. It was a wonderfully entertaining show and starred talented Canadian actress Stephanie Sy. Born in Winnipeg to Asian parents Stephanie has had a long and successful career in film and television. During a post-performance interview Stephanie was asked what pivotal experience as a child had made her think an acting career was a future possibility for her. She said it was attending a musical at Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage and seeing a Filipino woman in a starring role. “That’s when I knew I could do that too!”

Diversity is so important because it provides kids with inspirational role models. During the decade I was on staff at the University of Winnipeg as a mentor for students in the Faculty of Education I noticed the cohort of young people I worked with become increasingly diverse. More Indigenous, Asian, Black, and 2SLGBTQI+ students were working towards becoming teachers. Some were receiving additional support with their university program. I observed the benefits of this assistance. It helped aspiring teachers overcome barriers that might have stood in the way of them becoming successful educators. The schools in inner city Winnipeg where my mentees did their practical training had incredibly diverse student populations. I could see how the kids benefitted from having teachers who they could identify with, who understood their culture, who made them think that regardless of their racial, religious and ethnic background or their sexual orientation they too could become teachers.

When I worked as a guide at the Winnipeg Art Gallery I was often surprised to see the current cultural, ethnic and racial diversity of the Steinbach school groups who came for tours. Thinking back to my years at the Kornelson, Woodlawn, Southwood and Central schools and the Steinbach Collegiate virtually all the children in my classes were relatively homogenous culturally, racially and religiously. The same thing is true of many of the groups of students I taught during the nearly 30 years I was employed by the Hanover School Division. Now classrooms in the Southeast are much more diverse in all kinds of ways. It just makes sense their cadre of teachers become more diverse too.

Only a few decades ago kids who identified as 2SLGBTQI+ had no visible role models of varying sexual orientations to look up to, people who had successful careers, committed relationships or meaningful social networks. How fortunate Manitoba young people are to see someone like Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara play an important role in our provincial government. Asagwara was a successful university athlete and qualified psychiatric nurse before becoming involved in politics. There are more than 140,000 businesses in Canada owned or led by 2SLGBTQI+ people and they generate some 200 billion dollars in economic impact. What an inspiration for 2SLGBTQI+ teens hoping to excel in business. As more major religious dominations ordain 2SLGBTQI+ clergy, young people of varying sexual orientations who aspire to a career in the church are being affirmed.

Diversity is getting a bit of a bad rap these days, particularly in our neighbouring country to the south and I’m struggling to understand why. Diversity initiatives are being blamed for all kinds of societal ills and yet it would seem to me that learning from all the diverse members of society would be in everyone’s best interest. If we raise our children to understand and appreciate the benefits and richness of diversity then our world’s future will be much brighter. And it all starts with giving kids diverse role models who can inspire them to be the best they can be.