Diversity, Inclusion & the Missing Piece

These days, it feels like every organization is talking about Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). But when I hear the term, I can’t help but wonder: 

D&I should mean more than just hiring for diversity or launching social media campaigns that highlight representation. While these efforts are important, they mostly focus on what we can see—demographics, recruitment initiatives, mentorship programs. But what about the things we can’t see?

What about emotions?

I’ve been reflecting on how inclusion should extend beyond representation—to the way we allow people to show up as their full, emotional, and complex selves.

This thought has been sitting with me ever since I read Susan David’s Emotional Agility. One particular quote struck me:

“When people are allowed to feel their emotional truth, engagement, drive, and innovation flourish in an organization.”

 

So, how often do workplaces actually allow people to feel their emotions without judgment?

As someone with a background in Intercultural Communication and a deep interest in Diversity and Inclusion, I’ve realized that true inclusion is impossible without emotional safety. It’s easy to celebrate diversity when it’s about numbers and hiring policies, but what about diversity of thought, experience, and emotion?

Because let’s be honest—if people don’t feel safe to express their emotions, are they truly included?

Diversity Isn’t Just About People—It’s About Emotions Too

We often think of diversity in terms of visible characteristics—gender, race, nationality, ability. But there’s another kind of diversity that often goes unspoken: the diversity of emotions.

An organization that values real inclusion doesn’t just tolerate emotions—it embraces them as a vital part of the human experience.

And yet, in many workplaces, there’s an unspoken rule: Leave your emotions at the door.

You can be ambitious, but don’t be too passionate.
You can be driven, but don’t let your struggles show.
You can be confident, but don’t be too vulnerable.

But how can people be truly creative, innovative, or engaged if they constantly feel like they have to filter themselves?

If an organization only promotes surface-level inclusion, without psychological safety, then diversity becomes just a word rather than a reality.

Why Emotional Agility Matters in Inclusion

To foster a culture where diversity and inclusion actually mean something, organizations need to go beyond policies and representation. They need to create space for emotional agility—the ability to:

✅ Recognize emotions instead of suppressing them.
✅ Understand emotions with curiosity, not shame.
✅ Express emotions without the fear of being dismissed.

I believe that psychological safety and trust should be at the heart of every D&I strategy. Without them, inclusion remains incomplete.

Because let’s face it—Diversity without the inclusion of diverse emotions is just an illusion.

Diversity isn’t just about people. It is also all forms of Diversity, including Diversity of emotion, which is inside people.

As she mentioned, “When people are allowed to feel their emotional truth, engagement, creativity, and innovation flourish in the organization” For this reason, I believe that a critical necessity to foster this level of Diversity and Inclusion is practicing emotional agility as well as the promotion of psychological safety (and trust) in organization.

Well, Diversity without the inclusion of diverse emotions is probably useless after all.

Thank you, Susan David, Ph.D., for your incredible work. Your book has deepened my understanding of what inclusion truly means.

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