Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), or DEI for short, is a focus for many organizations. DEI encompasses including different races, genders, sexual orientations and religions into the workplace as well as people with various educational backgrounds, skill sets and beliefs into it.
Employees from diverse demographics value teams made up of diverse members. Young employees aged 18-29 place particular value on racial and ethnic diversity at work.
Gender
Women have seen considerable improvements since equal pay laws were first passed; however, true equality still eludes us. Simply hiring more women or making pledges toward pay equity won’t cut it – companies must explore inclusion at an even deeper level by considering how their policies and practices impact gender diversity.
It requires shifting away from thinking that “adding women will get more work done”, toward developing an inclusive environment where men and women of all identities can flourish; also examining how gender interacts with race, ethnicity, age religion disability sexual orientation etc.
As part of their leadership responsibilities, leaders should collect data that enables them to compare the experiences of different demographic groups such as an intersectionality audit (you can find instructions for conducting one here). It’s crucial that this data is handled carefully and confidentially so employees feel comfortable opening up about any concerns that they might have.
Data alone won’t ensure an inclusive workforce – managers need to understand and implement inclusive practices and have tools and training in place that promote diversity and equity at work, including coaching/mentoring programs, unconscious bias training courses and empowering employees to speak up when they notice discrimination and bias within their workplaces. Doing this will ensure all workers feel appreciated for their contributions while accounting for each person’s unique perspectives.
Race
Race Diversity and Inclusion The goal of race diversity and inclusion is to foster an environment in which every employee feels welcome and valued irrespective of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion or beliefs, disability status, age, sexual orientation or location. This requires creating environments and cultures which foster diverse perspectives, experiences and work styles which promote innovative thinking.
Companies often fail to give racial equity and inclusion their full attention in their workforces, failing to track overall representation of women managers but without providing specifics by gender-based categories; tracking progress towards goals for diverse hiring, promotion or retention goals; as well as not considering senior leaders’ role in driving and supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Diversity, equity and inclusion must go beyond hiring and retention metrics and policies – it must become part of their organization’s culture as a core priority. For this to be successful. senior leaders must take an active part in making it part of their organizational DNA. Promoting diversity requires encouraging different opinions and experiences, accepting various leadership styles, and confronting difficult questions such as how to prevent or address bias in decision making processes. At its core, diversity and inclusion entails eliminating unconscious bias through simple changes like using inclusive language or acknowledging correct pronoun usage. Furthermore, accountability must be enforced through holding managers responsible for meeting diversity and inclusion goals as part of performance reviews, with regard to performance reviews including progress against such goals.
Age
Diversity often refers to gender, race and religion; however age diversity should also be prioritized within companies. Employers that embrace age diversity will reap greater advantages from its employees’ expertise, knowledge and perspectives that come from working across generations.
Age-diverse teams can also be a source of creativity. Each generation brings different experiences to the table, providing invaluable perspectives that complement those of other generations and help spark innovative out-of-the-box thinking that keeps businesses competitive in today’s ever-evolving business environment.
Companies facing age-diverse teams face unique challenges, but this can be overcome by accepting and celebrating differences among generations. Leaders need to set aside any biases or prejudices which might be hindering interactions in the workplace and offer training on working effectively with diverse workforces.
Encourage employees to make the most of socialization and networking opportunities with colleagues of all ages by organizing recreational activities, leisure events, formal lunches and dinners open to all workers. This will create a positive work environment where employees of all ages can thrive and increase employee retention rates.
Disability
Disability is an integral component of diversity, and failing to include workers with disabilities could have serious repercussions for your organization. People with disabilities bring unique insights that can help tackle challenges head-on while increasing productivity and morale in the workplace.
Integrating people with disabilities into your company can give it an edge in the market. Businesses often struggle to attract and retain talent; employing employees with disabilities is an effective way to attract a more diverse pool of candidates while adding innovation and creativity into your workforce.
Feeling included at work makes employees with disabilities more engaged and loyal to your company, which can reduce turnover and boost productivity. Many companies recognize the advantages of diversity and inclusion initiatives; however, many overlook including people with disabilities in these initiatives. In order to be truly inclusive, however, organizations must recognize that individuals with disabilities are complex individuals with unique strengths and limitations that should be acknowledged within any efforts towards inclusion.
Education is the key to making your company more inclusive, and providing training sessions or webinars will make your employees aware of all policies. Furthermore, these initiatives will make your workplace more welcoming to those with disabilities who will ultimately become happier and more productive workers in your business.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation refers to an individual’s long-term pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to either men or women. Gender identity refers to aspects of one’s personal and social identity which reflect feelings, behaviors and membership within groups based on specific traits.
Diversifying workplaces is crucial in order to remove unconscious bias and make accurate hiring decisions, yet LGBTQ+ employees may feel isolated within their workplace and find it hard to come out publicly.
Deloitte research indicates that LGBTQ+ employees are more likely to report feeling uncomfortable talking about their identity at work and experiencing microaggressions, such as demeaning jokes and remarks, than their straight or cisgender colleagues.
Companies seeking to foster an inclusive workplace should implement policies that support gender identity and sexual orientation. They could implement this by including pronoun options beyond male or female in job applications forms and writing their commitment to nondiscrimination into employee handbooks or other written materials; alternatively they could make small but meaningful changes like replacing “he” and “she” with “they,” thus showing they take their commitment seriously rather than applying tokenization tactics.
Religion
People come into work with various experiences, beliefs, values and cultures; it’s therefore crucial that businesses prioritize diversity and inclusion to harness this potential. There are various aspects to this goal; diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) goes far beyond simply including demographic groups that aren’t widely represented; instead it addresses and mitigates unconscious biases (stereotypes formed without individual awareness) as well as microaggressions that might occur at work.
Truly diverse and inclusive teams and organizations place emphasis on all of the characteristics that define an individual, such as race or gender differences; but also including invisible characteristics like educational background, neurodiversity or economic status.
DEI can be an ambitious and difficult goal for businesses, yet one which they should all aspire to attain. A diverse and inclusive workplace is proven to attract top talent, meet customer needs effectively, promote innovation, ensure business sustainability and improve profitability – as studies show that companies with higher levels of DEI tend to outperform those without.