We live in a diverse world and companies should represent that.
A diverse workplace is one that employs people of all representations fairly. That means equal pay, equal opportunity for advancement within the company, and no marginalizing actions towards diverse individuals.
Diversity is defined as the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, and physical ability.
There are more personal variations that are considered diversity and it is important to accept and respect them all.
It is our differences that make people stronger and help us create a variety of ideas, so supporting diversity within a workplace should always be seen as a positive goal.
This goal, however, is a continuous one as diversity and education about inclusion within companies must be repeatedly assessed and altered for improvement.
Every single employee within a company plays a role in keeping it an inclusive and diverse working space. Let’s review the key components of creating a diverse community and how you can be conducive to positive change.
Data Drives Change
Companies are often required to compile demographic data on their employees, but this data is most useful if companies assess it themselves.
When data on the diversity of a workplace is compiled it can then be compared to the diversity of other companies in the area.
If a company truly cares about being diverse and inclusive they will take the time to review this data at least a few times a year.
The comparison of data paints clear pictures of areas in which the company is lacking or meeting expectations of diversity.
Companies may even collect data based on research-based personality or work-style test results. These are more recent, but they offer the opportunity to explore mental diversity, which is key for creating diverse ideas.
Tip: Demographic data must be personally filled out by each employee to ensure that it is accurate. This is known as self-identification. There should be no assumption of an employee’s identification in any area of diversity.
Identify Areas of Concern
Sometimes a lack of diversity can be blatantly apparent, but to assess all levels of diversity it is best to trust the data.
The data may show that there is one dominating identification amongst employees in a company.
For example, a company whose employees identify as 75% male, 20% female, and 5% other or prefer not to say clearly has a majority of male employees.
Other times areas of concern may be harder to identify at first glance.
Consider a business with employees that identify as 49% male, 46% female, and 5% other or prefer not to say.
There is a minority of others or prefer not to say, but females and males seem to be pretty even right? When you go deeper into the areas in which those females and males work that could be wrong.
Of the employees in the last example consider that the majority in positions of power identify as male while lower positions are majorly filled by female-identifying employees. This would point to a lack of diversity within the different sectors of the company.
Each level of diversity has layers so it is important that they are all considered. Even if one identity seems to be diverse amongst a company there may be others under it that lack diversity.
For example, a company with diverse gender identities, but a pay gap between those identities is not fully inclusive.
Tip: There are plenty of ways in which a lack of diversity and inclusion can exist, but be overlooked. If you have access to your company’s demographics be sure every avenue is explored and ask individuals of varying representations, who want to contribute to this study, where they believe discrepancies may exist.
If you do not have access to your companies demographic data, but you have noticed an inequality within the workplace brings it to the attention of whoever has access. Employers who truly care about inclusion will be sure to assess and work towards bettering any inequalities.
Break Down Problems of Procedural Origin
A lack of diversity and inclusion normally stems from procedural origins.
For example, employee referral programs can result in the recruitment of employees with similar identities.
If this trend is noticed actions can be taken, such as hiring through wide-reaching online sources.
Problems can also stem from bias, both conscious or unconscious, from people of power within a company. Any form of bias can lead to the exclusion of diverse identities, so suspected bias from hiring managers should be investigated.
Biased based hiring would appear as sectors within a company that are clearly less diverse than the rest of the company.
Problems can also arise from seemingly harmless activities that are actually un-inclusive.
Holding a yearly Christmas party can be a great team builder, but it leaves out individuals who celebrate other holidays like Hanukkah and Kwanza. This event can be made more inclusive by simply hosting a party that celebrities the holiday season as a whole.
Tip: As an employee of any ranking it is important to note any way in which one identity is being prioritized over others. Bring these inequalities up to trusted peers and advisors in a way that makes for positive change. By making events, hiring processes, and everyday conversations more inclusive you are helping support diversity in your workplace.
Educate Staff and Implement Goal-Directed Change
In a truly inclusive workplace, all employees must understand the importance of diversity and how to support it. It is the responsibility of the company to determine how diversity and inclusion will be taught and discussed within the workplace, but individual employees should have the opportunity to bring up constructive ideas.
Once a company has fully assessed any shortcomings in their diversity through data and evaluations of company culture it can set goals to improve its inclusivity.
By pursuing specified goals change can be brought about, but these goals should be constantly reviewed for improvement.
Feedback from staff, data-based results, and educational events can always be revised and improved upon. Fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment is a continuous task that requires the best efforts of every employee, so no matter your position know that your views and ideas are important.
Citations:
- Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/diversity?s=t
- Shrm. (2020, July 31). How to Develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative. Retrieved October 08, 2020, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/how-to-develop-a-diversity-and-inclusion-initiative.aspx
- Diversity and Inclusion: Getting Candidates to Self-Identify. (2019, June 03). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2019/02/diversity-and-inclusion-getting-candidates-to-self-identify.aspx