What is Diversity? Thoughts from My Own Perspective
I have written several times on note about how I have spent my life feeling a sense of difficulty in living.
I have felt this way often, especially in the seven years since I changed jobs.
Why is that?
Ever since I was young, I have beenbad at things like the word "average" or doing the same things as those around me that said, I wasn't particularly gifted in any specific area, so that also became a reason for me to feel timid or unable to push through.
Even so, by entering the media industry, with its free atmosphere unbound by anything, I felt as though I had found my place.People with a strange sense of justice, who try to make themselves look bigger, yet are highly sensitive and delicate—there were many people similar to me, and I had many like-minded friends.
And above all,our language (and by extension, our sensibilities) was the same.
After much deliberation, seven years ago I decided to challenge myself in a world that was unknown to me. It felt like I had suddenly moved from Earth to space (or maybe from space to Earth, haha).
Perhaps my current company is theJapanese standard.
I don't intend to say which is better or worse.There are parts of these past seven years where I feel I have grown as a professional.
I also think I may have acquired the minimum skills necessary to fit into Japanese society.
Even so,I am only myself.
Even now,I struggle with how to balance harmony with those around me while remaining true to myself.
Someone once told me, "ATF-san, you are an ownership-type person".
At first, I didn't understand what that meant.
When I looked it up, it said, "A person who has a sense of ownership and can act proactively. A type who thinks and judges for themselves, so they can act without waiting for instructions from a supervisor."
That is certainly true.
It sounds good, but when you think about it in the context of an organization, it might be a difficult type to handle.
"You aren't very good at supporting someone from the sidelines, are you?" I have been pointed out before.
This makes me sound like a selfish person who always wants to be in the center, haha.
I have no such intention at all, and I believe I act while considering other people's feelings, but it seems I only give the impression of being a person with a strong ego.
As we move from the era of the "organization" to the era of the "individual,"many companies in Japan are also fully promoting "Diversity & Inclusion."
It is the idea of utilizing diversity and blending it well to create value.
Certainly, many companies highlight superficial attributes such as race, gender, and the presence or absence of disabilities in their human rights policies, but I suspect it will still take time to realize "diversity and inclusion" regarding elements that are not visible on the surface, such as values and ways of thinking.
I am writing this while reflecting on the fact that I, too, must stop the habit of viewing things through stereotypes like "people in this industry are like this" and open my mind.