What are our obligations to one another?

I often think of the adage from Pirkei Avot that “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it (2:21).” Some translations say you are not free to “neglect” the work. What “the work” may be can change. In the context this quote is most frequently referenced in, it refers to tikkun olam or “repairing the world,” which I interpret to be trying to bring some increasing measure of justice into the world.

As I slowly explore these concepts in my master’s dissertation research, I encountered a paper by Anushri Rastogi that explores care and responsibility from a philosophical perspective. Rastogi draws on Stephanie Collins’ “care ethics” framework. One aspect of care that Collins highlights is that “morality demands not just one-off acts, but also certain ongoing patterns of interactions with others and certain general attitudes and dispositions” (Collins, p. 12, 2025).

The “ongoing patterns of interactions” immediately made me think of the Pirkei Avot passage. Our obligations to one another are not momentary, but continual. They are relational, and one hopes, are present in relationships that can endure and evolve. Showing up for each other, no matter the form it takes, does require some measure of ongoing work. These ideas really chimed with my understanding of how pushing for equity and change actually happens in journalism. It made me think about say, goals around having a more inclusive and diverse organization (or industry!). And the difference between:

a job ad that lists members of underrepresented groups “are encouraged to apply”
and a process that ensures there is a diverse applicant pool
and a process that results in actually having a diverse staff, slate of speakers*, fellowship participants, or similar
and … the part that would require truly ongoing work, once people are in roles, that they are supported and celebrated and set up for success, not because “diverse” people need extra help, but because the systemic factors that led to the underrepresentation aren’t solved by a single action in isolation

Thinking about “ongoing patterns” reminds me a lot of what Emma Carew Grovum and Kim Bui were exploring with the Sincerely, Leaders of Color series, sharing reflections of the maaaany challenges and strategies of institutionalizing even a modicum of repair for journalists of color into this industry. It resonates with Kim’s recent reflections on how experienced folks are feeling edged out of leadership or how plenty of NGOs say they value lived experience, till that experience calls for change.

The tension between what people or institutions say that they want and what they’re actually able and willing to do comes right back to Rastogi: “A personal relationship of care being a model for political relationships means that listening to one another and responding authentically and engaging in this ever-shifting dialogue becomes the model for care.” (p. 36). How we treat one another is always personal, and political, and we have obligations to one another—whether they be through relationships, through caretaking, through our political or moral values—to listen and act and keep acting to support one another.

I’m really curious about the ways that these big theoretical ideas actually show up in the practice of our work. The distinctions of intent versus actual impact in hiring processes immediately came to mind to me, and I would love to hear what examples (at all scales and sizes!) come to mind to you too.

* This fantastic paper from Ruona Meyer just came out. Still gathering my thoughts on it, but this line, damn: “When women and minoritised groups are less visible at a global conference, they are denied the power of defining the same field they labour in.” Also, there’s a brief summary on LinkedIn, and you can request a PDF. Even in that brief summary includes quite an indictment: “❗️For example, in the study period, only ONE Black woman spoke in the Data Journalism track of the world’s largest investigative journalism conference. That’s 1 out of 218 appearances.”

Last modified on March 17, 2026