Parul Bansal | Sense Making Conversations: Why is Diversity an Illusion?

Sense Making Conversations, hosted by Andrea Sampson, is a discussion with our roster of globally curated experts every Friday at 12:30 PM EDT. In this Sense Making Conversation Andrea is speaking to Parul Bansal, Urban Strategist, Journalist and Poet. Oppression is so deeply integrated into our norm that the average person is far removed from their individuality. Tone-deaf to our individuality we are giving away our power. We are constantly asking for permission to be. Through this unconscious act we are creating monotone environments where expression of self is an extraordinary act. The idea that we need more diversity is both a fallacy and an illusion. Diversity is another form of othering. It lumps us into categories, stripping us of the intersectionality that every human embodies. Here’s an idea: our individuality creates collective power; disbanding the idea of diversity and indulging in the notion of plurality.

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As an urban strategist, journalist and poet, Parul uses storytelling and experience design to bring forward difficult conversations and unpack complex systems, from individual perception to social dynamics. Uncovering the emotions that sit deep behind ideologies and behaviour is perhaps Parul’s obsession. At the centrefold of her work, she questions how we can serve the human spirit better. Parul has practical experience studying behavioural and emotional responses to language and processes. She has practiced across political-technological-social aspects of the real estate landscape. Using housing, art and technology as vehicles to seek renewed perceptions of difference. Parul believes unity is plurality. She holds a bachelor of science from McMaster University; post-graduate certification in negotiation from Harvard University, and a fellowship in journalism from the Munk School of Global Affairs and Policy, University of Toronto. Her artistic practices are poetry and creating multi-sensory experiences