Challenges and Opportunities of Implementing Diversity and Inclusion

Abstract

A woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman: the central character of Blake Edwards’ 1982 musical comedy of errors Victor Victoria. Set in 1930s Paris, Victoria is a starving soprano played by Julie Andrews who comes up with the idea of posing as a gay man named Victor who in turn is a female impersonator. The ploy is an immediate success and Andrews’ character attracts both men and women. As well as being very entertaining, the movie invites us to explore our prejudices by putting ourselves in somebody else’s shoes, an exercise that some companies and business schools now include in their programs to raise awareness of diversity.