The world is changing so fast that future problems become today’s problems faster than we can address them.
We need more diversity and perspectives to anticipate and address the most pressing issues.
At TANGO Future, we’re breaking down traditional concepts of what an expert is and looks like in order to better deal with future problems. We do this by incorporating more perspectives and broader understanding of issues within both global and regional contexts.
Diversity in the workplace, in politics, at conferences, and in any other professional or academic setting is a necessity that most people generally recognize, accept and seek to address. Yet women and people of color, though they represent the global majority, make up minority representation on panels, in boardrooms, and in government. Too often, diversity is added as an afterthought; it’s something organizers must remind themselves to achieve. In most fields, white men still come to mind first as experts, while women and people of color are secondary additions. Creating a truly diverse group is so rare that it is lauded as an accomplishment rather than treated as a norm. Moreover, even when gender, racial and ethnic diversity is achieved, a diversity of thought – people from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of experiences – is usually still lacking.
This is problematic enough under any circumstances, but we now sit at a unique moment in history. We are on the brink of a massive, global transformation. From the impact of technology on every facet of life including increasing economic inequality and exacerbating bias, to the pandemic’s implications for business and society, to the lifestyle and infrastructure changes necessitated by climate change, we know the world cannot keep going as it has. The only way to ensure that the transformations underway will benefit everyone is to assemble truly diverse and universally representative viewpoints.
We need to remove the burden of representation from marginalized groups so that underrepresented experts have the opportunity to share their unique perspectives about global issues, rather than talking solely about representation. We need to improve diversity of thought and experience in order to better understand and tackle global problems and to develop more inclusive solutions.
TANGO Future is an ambitious initiative that will tackle a wide range of social, environmental and political problems, with the dual goals of improving communication and understanding between disparate groups of experts and influencers and of changing global norms about what an expert looks like. It is only via diversity that we can expect to understand others and come together at this critical moment. We will prove that the highest quality information and the most relevant discussions can only be achieved with truly diverse expertise.
