I see many media orgs/ blogs/ initiatives, etc which nominally claim that they want to be inclusive. “Contact Us” they say. Or “Send us an email”, etc. And that might work for some people but if you are a WoC or a trans woman or a woman with disabilities you have probably heard for a good chunk of your life how you are not good enough. How whatever it is that you do does not belong, is not “up to standards”, you know the usual tactics of alienation. It takes a lot of self confidence to overcome that. It takes a serious amount of strength and a thick skin to put yourself out there. For many of us (or at least for me), one recurring phrase in these dynamics involves a lot of self doubt (why bother? is the question that pops up often and painfully).
So to be truly inclusive is not to wait for people who already deal with this rejection regularly to come to you and “ask”. Inclusion is proactive. The onus should not be on those who are always left out to reach out and request a plate on the table when everyone else is done eating the main course.
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