Understand why representation matters

Bárbara Barbosa grew up listening to stories about her family: her great-grandparents were enslaved on a farm, her grandmother worked as a maid and her grandfather as a mason. Her parents were the first of their families to access university. “Since the beginning of my life, I see black people growing up, standing out and fighting for their own dignity and that of other people,” she says. “That formed my character and made me have the notion that I can occupy the space I want.”

Seeing herself represented was essential for Bárbara to take her own flights. Today, the sociologist is part of the area of Racial Justice and Oxfam’s Gender, an independent non-profit organization working to bring more historically excluded people into belonging. “From the places where we work and circulate on a daily basis to political spaces, we often look to the side and find the same people”, she says. In this context, representativeness means that black people, more than half of the population, occupy the same proportion everywhere in society, she explains.

In the last elections, the Legislative and Executive powers gained more black, indigenous and LGBTQIA+ representatives. “This is a space usually occupied by white men who inherited these positions back in the beginning of Brazil”, recalls Bárbara, about the hegemonic heritage that has been transformed at the polls – and outside them – so as not to leave anyone out.

Political participation of indigenous peoples

In 2022, there were 164 self-declared indigenous candidates and nine indigenous people elected in the National Congress. Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá, from the Baixa da Alexandra village, in the high hinterland of Pernambuco, who currently lives in Belo Horizonte (MG), celebrates the historic record. “The advancement of representativeness of indigenous peoples in Brazilian society takes us out of that place of exoticism, of the primitive and of being protected, showing that we know our rights, we are capable of managing our territories, of ourselves and of representing ourselves without interlocutors. “, she says.

A sociologist, Avelin is also an indigenous person in politics: in addition to coordinating the Minas Gerais support committee for indigenous causes, she works at the Municipal Secretariat for Food Security and Citizenship of the City Hall of Belo Horizonte. “When we occupy a place, it’s to bring a multitude of ancestors and contemporaries with us,” she says. “Be a woman black-skinned indigenous people living outside the territory breaks stereotypes and shows that we, indigenous people, are diverse. We are more than 360 peoples who speak more than 180 languages, ”she notes.

real inclusion

“Representativeness teaches us that diverse groups are not worse or better, just diverse”, says Avelin, adding that valuing the subjectivity and identity of groups and people is fundamental to building a place where all forms of existence are well received. “To live with and respect what is different is to add value, precisely when the whole world has been asking for new relationship values ​​both with each other and with our environment, our mother earth.”

Avelin points to the need for representativeness to be real, not reduced to one or two people who symbolize diversity in a homogeneous environment. “Society becomes more just and richly diverse through new perspectives on the world, new ways of being and existing”, he says. “Various ways of thinking bring great richness to the formation of both individual and collective identity.”

The journey for justice is long

Carine Roos, CEO and founder of Newa, a diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy, agrees. “Studies show that, for a group to start gaining a voice in a space, there must be at least 30% of people from that group there”, she mentions. According to her, the journey for justice is long and imbalances in society can be corrected with affirmative action within private and public organizations, for example. But it is in inclusion that lies the key to effective representation. “Inclusion starts from a place where I feel comfortable being who I am in essence,” she explains.

To create a safe environment for black, indigenous people, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, refugees, the elderly, fat people, mothers and other spectrums of social diversity, Carine advocates the development of anti-discrimination policies. “We can develop skills to allow people to feel connected, belonging and can, in fact, express themselves in these spaces”, she points out.

everyday actions

It is also possible to exercise a closer look at representativeness in everyday life. The first step is to take conscience about himself and his origin. Then, you have to get out of your own bubble, realizing the context around you. “We need to be in touch with other realities to recognize ourselves as privileged and help people in other social realities.”

Bárbara reinforces the need to develop critical thinking in everyday life. On an individual level, we can exercise greater social responsibility from the way we communicate and the messages we transmit to who we vote for, prioritizing diverse representatives who fight for greater social inclusion.

“We can seek a more diverse repertoire: who do we read, listen to, quote, share? The more diverse people have their work, thoughts and speeches disclosed, the better the quality of what we are discussing in the country.” The time to create a more diverse society is now. Let’s go?

By Martina Medina – Vida Simples magazine

He is a journalist and seeks to interview different people in his reports.