Six Stages Diversity Framework

05/09/2025

Who Is Shaking The Jar: When division is engineered. How can we hold the lid open for others?

https://youtu.be/F6IS7VILSrg

This post is such a striking reminder of how division is often engineered-and how easily we can become complicit in conflict without questioning its source.

🧠 In the Six Stages Framework, we call this Stage -1: "Distancing and Deflecting"—when individuals focus on difference and blame, without acknowledging the systems shaking the jar.
🫂 But transformation begins when we locate ourselves (Step 0) and move towards Stage +1: "Noticing and Naming". This means courageously asking:
* Who is shaking the jar?
* What systems benefit from our division?
* How can we step back and see the bigger picture?

🤝 When we develop equity literacy, we stop fighting each other and start dismantling the conditions that keep us trapped in the jar.
💭 What jar are you in? And how can we hold the lid open for others?

“This powerful metaphor was originally shared by [Fred Suadwa] — thank you for such a thought-provoking post. It prompted me to reflect using the lens of my Six Stages Framework…”

“A powerful reflection by Fred Suadwa: ‘If you put 100 black ants and 100 red ants in a jar... the real enemy is the one shaking the jar.’
This striking metaphor aligns deeply with my Six Stages Framework—specifically, Stage –1 (Distancing & Deflecting), where we blame each other rather than questioning what's shaking the jar.�From there, transformation begins with Stage 0 (Locating Ourselves), shifting to Stage +1 (Noticing & Naming). We must ask: Who’s orchestrating our division? and Which systems benefit from it?�Cultivating equity literacy lets us move beyond conflict, address underlying systemic conditions, and reflect on how we can hold the lid open for others.

Thanks again, Fred, for sparking this important conversation.


”

This post is such a striking reminder of how division is often engineered-and how easily we can become complicit in conflict without questioning its source.?...

02/09/2025

🎙️ BUILDING BRIDGES OF EMPATHY: How We Heal Through Connection
Podcast by Dr. Shungu M'gadzah assisted by AI Notebook LM.

I have just discovered Notebook LM and AI podcasts. I love the output from some of may material on Building Bridges of Empathy. Let me know what you think?

🔗 Listen to the first 5 minutes below — then head to YouTube or Spotify to experience the full episode.

In this episode, I explore a theme that runs deep across our schools, workplaces, homes, and systems: the unspoken feeling that “It’s not safe here.”

This sense of unsafety—rooted in racism, neurodivergence, gender bias, ableism, or systemic gaslighting—leads many of us to retreat into what I call "caves."

🔹 Caves of Fear
🔹 Caves of Privilege
🔹 Caves of Delusion

These caves offer temporary protection but, if left unaddressed, become barriers that cut us off from each other and perpetuate injustice.
✨ Yet healing begins with connection.
It doesn’t require a grand gesture. Sometimes, it simply takes someone willing to:
- Linger a little longer
- Ask a different question
- Share space with curiosity rather than assumption

In this episode, I also share my Six Stages Framework—a practical tool for individuals and organisations seeking to:
-Recognise bias
-Disrupt exclusion
- Move from silence to advocacy

Reimagine shared spaces of dignity and belonging
💬 I close with a question I'd love you to reflect on:

If empathy could build a bridge… what would your tool of change be?
👇🏽 Watch the first 5 minutes below
🎧 Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/40k9BG6ssQ03KFoU02oE7A?si=2f1118f96dd843e4
📺 Watch full episode on YouTube: youtu.be/oBPEax1emqw?si=HZ5eAxl1CwrdbXBa

Visit our website:
https://www.sixstagesframework.com/✨-episode-3-step-2-training-your-brain-for-equity/

03/08/2025

TRAINING YOUR BRAIN FOR EQUITY:

A Reflective Episode from the Six Stages Framework
By Dr. Shungu H. M’gadzah

Listen to the podcast recording: below.

Welcome to Building Bridges of Empathy. This is your space for reflection, transformation, and grounding in truth.

Today’s episode is titled: Training Your Brain for Equity.

🌱 Part One: From Calm to Equity
You may have heard people talk about training the body for calm—building mental resilience, rewiring the brain to respond to life’s stressors without spiraling.

This got me thinking: Can we train the brain—not just for calm—but for equity?

What would it mean to approach equity like a daily practice, the same way we train our breath, our focus, or our bodies?

🧠 Part Two: Rewiring for Equity Literacy
We are all carrying beliefs, values, and assumptions that we didn’t choose. Some are rooted in bias. Others in trauma or fear.

In the Six Stages Framework, we begin with Stage 0—Locate Yourself. Before we challenge the world around us, we must observe the world within us.
These are not fixed. They are habits. And like all habits, they can be rewired.

🪞 Part Three: Becoming Conscious of Equity Threats
Training your brain for equity means becoming more conscious of in-equity threats—not just in society but within our own thoughts.
These responses are signs of Stage 1 or 2 in the Six Stages: denial or minimisation.

Just as we observe our breath when meditating, we can learn to observe our thoughts—with curiosity, not judgment.

🔄 Part Four: From Reaction to Response
Equity work is not about perfection. It’s about practice.
Pause. Breathe. Create space between stimulus and response. This is where equity lives.

Over time, these new choices form new pathways.

🧘🏽‍♀️ Part Five: Visualising Equity Practice
Visualise yourself in a moment of challenge. Notice your breath. Ground yourself.
You don’t shut down. You don’t explode. You stay present.
This is training your brain for equity.

🌿 Closing Reflection
Equity is not a destination—it’s a practice.
The Six Stages Framework offers a map. This work offers you the tools. Your life offers you the moments.
Take a breath. Recall your values. You are not just reacting to the world. You are helping to reshape it.

To find out more about the Six Stage
Check out my book:
📘 Understanding and Dealing with Everyday Racism – The Six Stages Framework (2022).

A must-read for individuals and organisations committed to personal and systemic change. This book introduces the Six Stages Framework, a structured path to greater self-awareness and action.
📖 https://amzn.eu/d/0DQGxg9

The Six Stages Framework: Understanding and Dealing with Everyday Biases Discrimination and Racism · Episode