Realities of being the “only one”
We asked our social media friends the following: Have you ever experienced representation burnout? The response? 50% selected yes, I am always asked: Why do [insert group/community] do that? And 50% selected no, I am part of diverse spaces where there are other colleagues/members of my group/community. Organizations work hard to create diverse teams. Yes, having these different backgrounds and perspectives on a team makes it diverse. But what happens when you’re the only woman, only Black person, only LGBTQ person, or the only person with a disability? Do you turn to them anytime you want information or the perspective of the group/community they belong to? You probably always turn to this person when it is time to make informed decisions. If you’ve found yourself constantly asking one person how a group or a community will think, react, or how something will impact them you’re probably aiding to that person’s feeling of representation burnout. Representation burnout refers to “the fee