April is Diversity Month and throughout this month, we have an opportunity to appreciate and embrace the diversity around us. Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of WTS, supporting its vision for equity and access for women in transportation.

The first step of understanding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is to recognize the intersectionalities across multiple dimensions of diversity. An effective way to start that exploration and having constructive discussion would be to use the "Diversity Wheel".

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According to this wheel, diversity begins with the individual's identity as the focal point, with concentric circles representing the broader influences on one's personality. This diversity wheel establishes that the combinations of all of these dimensions influence our values, beliefs, behaviors, experiences, and expectations and make us all unique as individuals. Try using the diversity wheel to discover a completely different perspective of your colleague, your boss, your parents, your partner, your friend, or even your child. If we understand where the difference is coming from, we can be more mindful to act inclusively.