I was blessed to grow up in a mixed home where we were treated equally as HUMANS. It was my safe space, because the world wasn’t always.

As a brown girl growing up in predominantly white Minnesota with a blonde hair, blue eyed, single mom in the 80’s, having a safe space to come home to was a blessing.

I think it was that upbringing that helped form my core belief system when it comes to managing employees, interacting with people, and building a team. At the base of all things, we are humans.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion brings equality to the table. For some it may feel unnecessary and for others it’s been a long time coming. For me, it’s common sense because at the core of everything, everyone deserves respect, a safe space to work, and opportunities to grow and thrive.

I currently have the honor of running a non-profit retreat & conference center in Aurora, Nebraska. When folks hear that, they immediately think conservative, red, and unbending. Despite this, we work to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment. Through our doors, we serve folks from all over Nebraska, all fifty states, and guests from 25 countries. As you can imagine, we see a lot of diversity in backgrounds, beliefs, etc. It’s amazing.

With all these guests, we get all kinds of requests. Some are as simple as extra screens and flip charts to being considerate of conservative dress codes or allowing our guests to put up gender-neutral bathroom signs and asking our team to wear pronoun buttons. Sometimes it’s setting the salad bar a slightly different way to serve our sight-impaired attendees or having a notebook and pen available at the counter so we can interact with our hearing-impaired guests.

Our mission is to create moments that matter and if these are the things necessary to do that, then the answer is simple: YES. The same goes for our team members. DEI has been very organic here. I joked once, “A retired solider, a retired pastor, a non-binary person and a Wiccan walk into a meetings space… oh wait, that’s our break room.” Literally, you could find this scene in our breakroom. Every day my team comes to work in a safe place where all are welcome. We learn from each other, we care for each other, and we enjoy working with each other. It takes openness and effort, but it’s a worthwhile venture. When I say openness and effort, I mean that we don’t ignore our differences.

Inclusion and equity are not ignoring our diversity but acknowledging and learning. It’s understanding our differences and supporting each other. This means open conversations, utilizing systems that serve everyone, and creating spaces that are welcoming and safe. This doesn’t happen overnight. You will make mistakes. You’ll make headway.

In the end, when everyone has a seat at the table, we and our businesses will be better for it.

Originally published at https://institute.uschamber.com/blog by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Organization Management. Republished with permission.