Organizations committed to diversity and inclusion work toward the goal with a core set of beliefs. These beliefs serve as a foundation for achieving their goal. The top ten beliefs are:

1. Racism and other forms of oppression affect all people and systems.

2. Racism has effects that hurt all individuals: Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Gay-Lesbians, Physically-Different, etc.

3. Racism decreases productivity.

4. It is possible to develop diversity and thus change the current cultural norms.

5. Identifying the steps involved in developing diverse systems gives people a map to follow.

6. Organizations move through cycles, not linear processes.

7. Developing diversity entails an organizational and cultural effort to change.

8. Developing diversity causes people and systems to be upset.

9. When organizations reach a point of change, its members may get stuck, feel frightened, or feel they have completed necessary changes. These reactions limit their ability to move forward.

10. To achieve the maximum benefits of change, the process must be managed and designed strategically.

Katz, Judith. “The Challenge of Diversity” Valuing Diversity on Campus: A Multicultural Approach, ed. Cynthia Woollbright (Bloomington, IL: Association of College Unions International, 1989).