Equity & Inclusion – 7 year old style

So here are two stories that stunned me. 7 year old kid, almost 8… who just hangs around me and her dad often and says words like Artificial intelligence and Hypertension just because she can.

On Inclusion

I was answering a survey today and little one was looking over my shoulder. And the options for family status were single/married without kids/married w kids and little Hoda said
“Where is the option of, like my grandma, that w word?”

I say “you mean widow? That would be single”

She says, “yeah, but what if she is widowed with kids?”

Omigosh. She is right. What were those survey designers thinking?

And omigosh. I am sure they are older than 7 years old and know better! My kid helped me fill in ONE form the day before where she learned the category widow applied to her grandma, and now I know kids have an amazing ability to make connections I really didn’t think I would believe had I not witnessed it firsthand.

On Equity

This one, I think she just threw out there. I don’t think she understood, but still cool.

We were on our way home, and we had just bought some heavy groceries. I have a chronic back problem and rheumatoid arthritis so I really can’t carry heavy stuff, so my husband carries most of it. Today was no exception. So I held the elevator door, the kid pressed the button for our floor, and he carried the heavy stuff. I smiled when I got in the elevator and commented on our different team roles and joked, “equality”. And the little kid piped in “no, equity”.

Wow. I did not see that one coming. At all.