Diversity is such the buzz word in today's corporate world. Whether it's companies raving about their diversity strategy, diversity initiatives, or diversity recruiting, “diversity” seems to be the trend among the best companies in the world. The unfortunate trend that has become overly apparent to me is that diversity has really just become a numbers game. Organizations are spending their resources trying to diversify their candidate pool, hire more diverse candidates, do more in the underserved communities, etc. This work is GREAT work and I would not want to spend this time discrediting the great work that organizations have done in the diversity field however I want to spend a few minutes around the “what's next?” question. Once you get your numbers, then what? And if diversity is just that then it must end at race and gender, since those are the two dimensions of diversity that are visible. My question is: what comes after “diversity”?

Polished Cleveland's Generation Now series highlights the city's new generation of leaders. These are young professionals who represent the best of what Cleveland has to offer. For the latest feature in our Generation Now Series, Polished Cleveland interviews City Council candidate Curtis Thompson. The 28 year old jumped into the local political scene with an Internet-savvy campaign centered on bringing fresh ideas and economic growth to the Collinwood area. We had the privilege of sitting down with Thompson to discuss the ideals behind his campaign.