Making diversity better: FIRE partners with Inversity

This special offer with Inversity is no longer available. Please go to inversitysolutions.com to learn more about how Inversity can help you!

Diversity trainings, despite best efforts to foster inclusive campus environments, routinely fail to recognize a critical component in their programming: ideological diversity. For this reason, FIRE is proud to announce our partnership with Karith Foster, a diversity engagement specialist, to lead an initiative focused on creating inclusive environments for everyone on college campuses through the newly developed Inversity™ Program.

For a limited time, FIRE is offering qualifying institutions free or discounted access to Inversity.

Inversity takes traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming to the next level by offering a truly inclusive way to communicate, learn, and grow. Tapping into her background as a stand-up comedian, Foster uses humor and engaging stories to help individuals connect with each other. 

By emphasizing the power and significance of each individual’s experiences and beliefs, Inversity encourages participants to engage in conversations about diversity without the shame, guilt, and politics which so often surround the topic. This DEI programming teaches students mutual respect and compassion for other participants in conversations about diversity, allowing for honest and constructive communication in which no party feels that their views and ideas are irrelevant to the discussion. 

Why Inversity?

The Inversity Program is an online, asynchronous DEI curriculum offering students seven engaging and interactive modules that celebrate inclusion as its core. The program’s modules guide students through a variety of introspective exercises that encourage them to examine their values and beliefs before diving into the program’s core teachings about curious and compassionate communication, responsible reactions, and self-expression. 

Inversity advocates for free speech as an avenue for social change — a crucial message for budding leaders to learn, yet which too few university students learn today. The programming seeks to teach students that free speech and diversity are constructive in their advocacy for societal progress, and not a foe. 

However, Inversity is not just for students. 

“Inversity is for any person who wants to have positive engagements and healthy relationships with other members of society,” Foster said. “This list is inclusive of, but not limited to, friends, classmates, co-workers, family members, neighbors — even strangers.” 

FIRE is especially excited about Inversity because it not only highlights the values of free speech, but also illustrates what those values look like in action. It models civil discourse, and how free speech in action can help to actually solve the societal issues that traditional DEI trainings typically seek to address. 

“Inversity emphasizes intellectual inclusivity to pave the path forward, working to set our society onto that path through one challenging conversation at a time,” Foster said. 

Through our partnership, FIRE is offering free or discounted access to the entire Inversity Program for universities or colleges who qualify. Any current student, faculty member, staff, or administrator are eligible to apply; just complete this simple application. For more information on this program, click here or email partners@thefire.org.