Our commitment to Inclusion and Diversity – Bonnie So
Daunting and overwhelming. These are some of the words that describe how WiFA management feels towards numerous messages that have dominated headlines over the past few weeks. We are deeply saddened by the terrible acts of racial bias and discrimination that have caused suffering and pain to many. Though much of the world’s attention has been focused on the United States, we recognise that as a region we are not immune to the complexities of cultural tension and to the injustices of racial inequality.
The global health pandemic and the resulting loss of life spread across the world has changed the way that we interact with colleagues, family, and friends. If there is a silver lining that we can take away from this pandemic – it is the opportunity to use technology to better manage our normal routines, from steerco meetings, sponsorship catch ups, event management to community initiatives. There are continued discussions and assessments across the six WiFA committees, charity partners, and supporting organisations to illustrate how we can improve the integration of technology into our work. Although it took significant effort and change to re-structure the WiFA organisation to adapt to our challenging environment, we are now better connected to our community. We are proud to connect a total of 2,000+ participants through 11 virtually events during the past six months. We are also excited to communicate with you directly through our website and social media, hitting up to 35,000 unique visitors online.
As WiFA members, we all play a part in shaping our culture by promoting diversity and inclusion to create a more versatile society. WiFA will continue to create opportunities to have deeper dialogues about gender, race, and culture. These events will encourage us to share our experiences and perspectives, provide insights while learning from each other, and give us a positive energy to foster inclusion.
The pandemic reminds us that we must come together virtually, the ongoing protests on racial injustice reminds us that we must act together to create positive change. Let’s embrace the rest of 2020 and focus our efforts on Creating the Work Force For the Future.