The act of writing fiction can be viewed as a way of consciously expressing the subconscious biases of the writer. Almost invariably I look back on things I wrote years ago and cringe because of these biases expressing themselves.

Why did I include no female adventurers or characters of color in my fantasy epic? Not because of any real historical precedent, but simply because they were also absent from Lord of the Rings and the other old stories I would read. Why do my characters roughly conform to elf/dwarf/hobbit/human standards? See above.

This is why I feel like it’s important to have discussions about inclusiveness and diversity in all aspects of the writing process - artists only have a single viewpoint and it’s not uncommon to only realize too late that your subconscious crafted a message that you as an artist did not intend.

Of course it’s a different story if that diversity is mandatory and bureaucratic, but I can’t speak to that aspect of the creative process.