The impact of equity and inclusion on Island culture

This is a First Person column by Evelyn Bradley, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant based in Charlottetown, P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please seethe FAQ.

I was sitting in one of my favourite restaurants a few weeks ago when I overheard a conversation about how people on the Island are not going to ever change.

The two men in conversation were discussing how useless diversity conversations are for Islanders and how conservative, cultural understandings would never change in a single 90-minute session.

I didn't interject but naturally felt strongly about what was said.

Not because of the work I do or because I happen to be a GFA (Gay from Away), but because the heart of the sentiment expressed implied that P.E.I. isn't changing.

Times they are a-changin

After sitting with it for a week or so, my initial feelings of frustration are still prevalent but I understand where the gentlemen were coming from.

The idea that anyone can change an individual's fundamental beliefs in 90 minutes is simply false. I agree that one-off sessions and fights over Facebook comments are not enough to challenge and change an entire community.

What I found frustrating was not his stiffening pessimism or lack of faith in Island hospitality, but that he genuinely believes that the current culture of the Island is somehow stagnant.

When I look across P.E.I., I see faces from all over the world. It blows my mind that some Islanders seem incapable of witnessing the growth within their communities and that from that growth comes systemic change. It is a shift in the Island fabric as a whole.

This is not so much a commentary on the gentlemen I met at the bar, but rather the identification of a clear thread I have noted throughout my work: equity and inclusion are a result of diversifying and, without diversity, it is difficult to build a functional understanding of equity or inclusion.

The law of the conservation of culture

The 'culture' that is often referred to here on the Island is rooted in generational understandings and beliefs. And for a long time, many communities here have remained fairly homogeneous.

However, in reality, the Island is becoming more heterogeneous every day and many folks are actively witnessing cultural shifts within their communities. Culture is often viewed as something that is extremely rigid, but in actualityit is porous and susceptible to change. As the communities across the Island grow and adjust, so do the cultural understandings and expectations.

I have noticed the Island holds a fear-based mentalitythat a permanent shift in our Island's identity brings with it a loss of our cultural history and heritage.

But cultural identity is a lot like the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Island culture cannot be destroyed but it can evolve and be reflective of the community surrounding it.

As the Island continues to evolve, my hope is that Islanders will be open to the richness being poured into our shared space and find ways to embrace conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.