Panel: Diversity as a Commodity
In recent years, the language of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has become central to corporate branding, institutional strategy, and public image. But behind the glossy reports and rainbow logos, whose interests are really being served? This panel interrogates the rise of the EDI industrial complex, a system where the performance of inclusion often overshadows the pursuit of justice.
Through critical dialogue, we’ll explore how EDI initiatives can reproduce the very inequities they claim to address, commodify lived experience, and extract emotional labor from marginalized people. Panelists and the audience will reflect on alternative approaches that move beyond optics and toward genuine transformation, grounded in accountability, redistribution, and collective care.
Moderated by @storiesofcz
Panelists:
Ta7talíya Nahanee
Batty Banks
Maiden China
Michelle La
Harmony Leah
Thursday, November 13 · 6 - 10pm
The Birdhouse
44 West 4th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1G3