The concept of diversity and inclusion (D&I) has continued to gain traction in corporate circles in recent years, as business leaders are beginning to see the untapped benefits to corporate culture and business success.
Diversity is the “what”; inclusion is the “how.” Diversity focuses on the makeup of your workforce — demographics such as gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and veteran status, just to name a few, and inclusion is a measure of culture that enables diversity to thrive. When employees who differ in a lot of ways from their colleagues feel that their presence in an organization is valued and respected, they flourish, and the company, in turn, benefits from their unique ideas and skills.
To further clarify the distinction between diversity vs. inclusion, we can look at diversity as a globally accepted concept that brings different people into the same territory. Inclusion, on the other hand, introduces concrete methods and strategies to make diversity work.
Equity means giving everyone an equal opportunity at success, while inclusion refers to how well you accept those who are different from yourself; this includes both welcoming their culture as well empowering them so they can feel valuable in the workplace.
Workplaces and organizations with a strong culture of diversity and inclusivity are few and far between; although much progress has been made in creating a robust corporate culture that is all-inclusive, there are still barriers that impede its widespread adoption.
To ensure inclusion and fair treatment of your diverse workforce, you must identify their unique needs and understand their perspectives. Conduct a regular comprehensive evaluation of your company’s demographics and the unique needs of various employee groups to develop appropriate strategies to drive inclusiveness. These strategies are effective only when they address the needs that are unique to your brand.
Culture is what shapes us; it is the reason we have certain beliefs; influences how we behave and is what gives us our identity. Cultural diversity is the representation of different cultural and ethnic groups in society.
When talking about cultural diversity in the workplace, is the inclusion of employees from different backgrounds, different races, different sexual orientations, and different political views. The term cultural diversity encourages an environment of inclusion, with representatives from a range of various backgrounds that come together to work as a team.
We’ve touched on the idea of the benefits cultural diversity offers, but equality and diversity are something that hasn’t just received lip service within the media. There’s been extensive research into its positive effects and the importance of business inclusivity.
Studies looking at why cultural diversity is important give us solid statistics to work from when thinking about its benefits. For instance, economically, research shows that the 43 most diverse public corporations were 24% more profitable than the S&P 500. Other studies show that almost 95% of directors agree that diversity brings unique perspectives.
Ultimately, workplace diversity and inclusion allow businesses to build teams that bring different viewpoints and talents to the mix, increasing innovation and driving higher revenues. To be truly diverse, researching and considering other differences from marital status, to education, language, and accents, all come into the mix.
A few primary types of diversity characteristics to bear in mind are gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, disabilities, neurodiversity, and political standpoints.
Some strategies to de-bias the hiring and evaluation process include creating a blind system or algorithm to review resumes that de-anonymize a candidate. Personal identities, including gender and religion, are automatically wiped off when a hiring manager is reviewing resumes. Further, you may also need to set and review diversity goals to ensure recruitment into different levels is as diverse and inclusive as possible.
Another strategy to sustain this culture is by creating an inclusive council. The council should consist of influential leaders who have passion and dedication for driving and upholding an organizational philosophy centered on diversity and inclusion. The council also needs to be as diverse as possible otherwise it defeats the purpose of pushing an inclusive culture if the council itself isn’t inclusive.
The inclusion council would be involved in reviewing policies around recruitment, employee retention, and promotion, and addressing employee issues among underrepresented employee groups. The council must meet regularly to review policies, evaluate employee feedback, and proffer solutions and recommendations to the C-suite to sustain an inclusive work model.
To ensure inclusion and fair treatment of your diverse workforce, you must identify their unique needs and understand their perspectives. Conduct a regular comprehensive evaluation of your company’s demographics and the unique needs of various employee groups to develop appropriate strategies to drive inclusiveness. These strategies are effective only when they address the needs that are unique to your brand.
In the ever-changing world of business, one of the key drivers of success is people. As the world becomes a global village, you’ll have more people in your workforce that come from different backgrounds, religions, and countries. Harnessing and fusing ideas and experiences from this diverse team of workers is a huge boost to your business, and is a key determinant for your business success. This important metric has sparked a conversation around diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which for so long has received less attention than it required.
References:
Daley, S. (n.d.). What Is Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace? Built In. https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion
What are 3 major differences between diversity and inclusion? (n.d.). Quora. https://www.quora.com/What-are-3-major-differences-between-diversity-and-inclusion
- (2022, January 24). Diversity vs Inclusion: What is the Difference? | AttendanceBot. AttendanceBot Blog. https://www.attendancebot.com/blog/diversity-vs-inclusion/
Singh, G. (2022, July 18). OPINION: Creating a truly diverse and inclusive workplace — Sustainability through inclusivity. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/article/opinion-creating-a-truly-diverse-and-inclusive-workplace-sustainability-through-inclusivity/articleshow/92949079.cms
Shepherd, S. M. (2019, February 26). The challenge of cultural competence in the workplace: perspectives of healthcare providers – BMC Health Services Research. BioMed Central. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-019-3959-7
About the author
Tanvi is an Industrial Organizational Psychologist, she is comfortable employing sound research methodologies to maximize workplace mental health in stressful work conditions. She always review the latest industry psychological research to stay abreast of the newest findings. Understanding of how to improve industrial behaviour performance results and productivity.
