Stop Essentialising People and Love Where You Live: You are the Kindnesses you Perform

The Other in Diversity Equity and Inclusion Studies

In DEI studies, postcolonial theory, and gender studies, Hegel’s concept of **Otherness** and the **struggle for recognition** is used to explain how power dynamics, marginalization, and institutional inclusion work.

Here is how his ideas are applied:

* **Creating "The Other":** Dominant groups often position themselves as the neutral norm (e.g., male, white, Western) and define marginalized groups as "the Other." Thinkers like **Simone de Beauvoir** (gender) and **Frantz Fanon** (race) used Hegel to show how this dynamic denies full humanity to non-dominant groups.

* **The Need for Mutual Recognition (*Anerkennung*):** Drawing on the *Master-Slave Dialectic*, DEI frameworks argue that true inclusion requires two-way recognition. Privileged groups cannot have a healthy culture while denying validation to others; real equity requires mutual respect, not just passive tolerance or forced assimilation.

* **Institutional Alienation:** When company or school cultures are built around one dominant perspective, marginalized people experience them as a hostile, foreign "Other." Real equity transforms the institution so diverse identities belong natively.

* **Key Critique:** Scholars like Glen Coulthard argue that asking a dominant system for "recognition" keeps power in the hands of that system, rather than dismantling the power structure altogether.

> **Bottom line:** In DEI, Hegel shifts the focus from a headcount of diverse people to a **rebalancing of power and recognition**. Inclusion isn't fitting "the Other" into a mold—it's changing the mold so everyone has equal standing. How do we break the mold? Stay tuned….