Diversifying leadership teams allows you to benefit from multiple perspectives when problem solving, yet it must be done without tokenism or white privilege.
Large organizations typically publish Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statements on their websites that include links to resources that expand upon this statement and can help explain how your organization prioritizes inclusion. These resources may help your visitors understand your commitment.
1. Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Racial and ethnic composition of populations can fluctuate drastically, often driven by demographic trends such as immigration, inter-racial relationships and fertility rates. A country’s diversity also depends on its history: for instance, forcing Africans into America led to three centuries-long discriminatory segregation laws that required anyone of African ancestry be considered black even if they married someone of European or Native American ancestry – something many states still enforce today with blood quantum laws that define a person with African ancestry as black regardless of whom their spouse might belong.
The United States is in the midst of an enormous transition towards multiethnic society. Minorities now account for more than half the population in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Miami and San Antonio and various other large metropolitan areas; within 25 years California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas may become “minority majority states”.
However, the transition towards a more diverse America is not happening everywhere at an equal pace. Whites in the South remain more likely to live in predominantly White neighborhoods that lack diversity than those found in the West and Northeast. Furthermore, although more minority politicians are being elected and an increasing number are earning graduate and professional degrees, disproportionate numbers of racial and ethnic minorities remain imprisoned due to criminal activities and face other barriers to economic mobility.
Still, most Americans (including a sizable majority of whites) believe that having people from various backgrounds enriches their community. This opinion can also be found across most advanced economies (with exceptions made for Japan and Greece). Wide majorities say their society benefits from people of different races, ethnicities, religions, national origins etc.
2. Gender Diversity
Gender diversity refers to the equitable representation of men, women and non-binary individuals within an organization or team. This can encompass gender identity, expression and preference as well as physical sex of one’s body. Gender is a social construct which differs across societies and cultures but can change at any point in time.
Gender equality is integral because it acknowledges the unique needs and perspectives of women and men that require unique strategies for their empowerment. By taking gender into account, gender equality ensures women can realize their full potential while men have opportunities unimpeded by barriers such as age or race.
Globally, women are significantly under-represented in decision-making processes that shape their communities and lives, creating barriers to progress for any society as it limits one-half of its population’s contributions and reduces access to critical services and economic opportunities. This situation must end.
Employers that support diverse workforces reap great rewards. Companies offering flexible work policies and fair pay can attract top talent while simultaneously helping employees balance family responsibilities with career ambitions. When employees feel satisfied and fulfilled in their role, they become more productive and engaged employees.
While progress is being made, the gender gap remains an acute problem across multiple sectors and countries. Women only make 77% of what men make and have less access to manager positions; 31% of managers in Canada are women due to discriminatory hiring/promotion practices resulting from gender bias.
Violence Against Women (VAW) sector organizations must take gender diversity into account when planning and implementing programs and providing services, especially frontline workers who interact directly with clients. They must understand how their attitudes and behavior towards gender diversity impact client experiences – this is particularly relevant to organizations providing support to survivors of violence.
3. Age Diversity
Diversity in the workplace has long been discussed from both a racial and gender standpoint; however, age diversity should also be recognized and celebrated as part of its benefits. By welcoming older and younger employees with different skillsets into our teams, age diversity allows everyone to contribute their unique skillset and perspectives and increase productivity overall.
Older team members can share their expertise with younger employees, helping to prepare the next generation for leadership roles within the company. Conversely, Millennials and Gen Z team members may provide innovative digital skills and solutions to address complex business problems.
Age-diverse companies tend to experience lower turnover rates than firms with all-age teams, according to research published by the Journal of Applied Psychology in 2020. Working alongside individuals of various ages increases job satisfaction and motivation for workers.
Age-diverse teams can present unique challenges, particularly when differing generations disagree about how best to tackle projects or which technologies should be utilized. To manage such disparities effectively, policies and cultures of inclusion need to be established so all employees feel their ideas are heard and respected.
With such an inclusive workplace culture in place, having employees of various ages on one team can lead to enhanced creativity and problem-solving as well as innovation and productivity gains. Furthermore, given Western nations’ longer lives expectancies, companies need to embrace age diversity more than ever and foster an inclusive working environment where both older and younger employees can collaborate efficiently together. It is ultimately up to each organization’s management to decide how best to implement age diversity into their workplace; sometimes this may involve consulting an HR specialist for employee engagement and retention services.
4. Disability Diversity
Given the rising awareness of diversity equity and inclusion (DEI), many businesses are taking steps to implement initiatives that promote diversity across racial, gender, age, and disability lines. Unfortunately, when it comes to DEI initiatives, disability communities can often go overlooked.
People with disabilities represent an incredible diversity in workplace culture. Their unique perspectives can help companies tackle complex business challenges more successfully while helping achieve success for themselves. Unfortunately, however, many businesses miss out on hiring and retaining workers with disabilities due to misunderstanding disability as an expression of human diversity.
Lack of understanding often results in the misconception that disability is a medical condition to be fixed, which can be harmful as it views disability as something to treat rather than as part of human diversity. Furthermore, such perception may foster views that those living with disabilities don’t belong in society in meaningful ways and therefore don’t contribute.
Lack of understanding translates to lack of awareness on how to support employees with disabilities, which can cause them to feel mistreated at work and prevent employers from hiring individuals with disabilities – thus further restricting employment opportunities for these individuals.
Business can take many positive steps to be more inclusive of people with disabilities, including providing accessible spaces and training on how to accommodate people with disabilities. Furthermore, encouraging employees to share personal stories related to disabilities could also help create more inclusion.
Businesses should take note that disability is part of human diversity and should embrace it accordingly, to create a more inclusive workplace in which every employee can succeed at equal rates.
5. LGBTQ+ Diversity
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning employees anticipate an inclusive workplace that respects them as part of its inclusive culture, as well as for any company looking to attract, retain and support its people.
Companies that fail to give their LGBTQ+ employees the respect and attention they require could risk losing them to rivals that provide more attention to this important minority group. As well, such businesses will likely lose support from that population who would rather invest in companies who honor and respect employees’ lives and values.
Make it clear that your company is an inclusive space for LGBTQ+ employees by including an explicit statement in your diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Include it in the hiring contract, employee handbook, onboarding process as well as specific training for new hires about not using language that may cause harm.
Provide benefits designed to support LGBTQ+ employees. This could include healthcare coverage or career development opportunities – and shows your company is committed to caring about all team members equally, not just those from minorities.
Encourage non-LGBTQ+ team members to become allies. An ally is defined as anyone who actively opposes discrimination and works to empower a minority group – such as LGBTQ+ people. By encouraging inclusivity for LGBTQ+ employees, your organization will benefit from their enthusiasm and ideas which contribute greatly to workforce. Prioritizing their contributions can create an environment in which these employees can flourish fully as members of your workforce, leading to increased productivity, reduced stress levels, happier work lives and ultimately better profits for your organization.