Building an Inclusive Workplace

What is Diversity?

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines diversity as “the collective mixture of
differences and similarities that include, for example, individual and
organizational characteristics, values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds,
preferences, and behaviors.”

Diversity
can be at the surface level as well as at a deeper level.  Examples of the former include, diversity in
relation to gender, race, age, physical disabilities, body-type, etc. Examples
of the latter are our values, attitudes and beliefs.

What is Inclusion?

SHRM defines inclusion as “the achievement of a
work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully,
have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to
the organization’s success

Addressing
issues of diversity and inclusion does not mean simply introducing programs to
hire more minorities or more women, or more transgender persons, etc. In order
for an organization to build an inclusive workplace, it is necessary for
leaders and indeed all workers within the organization to be educated about
unconscious bias and how this impacts on the ability to of an organization to
be truly inclusive.

Unconscious Bias

Our
values, attitudes and beliefs and the way we view the world, are shaped by a
number of factors including our culture and upbringing and, while we like to
think of ourselves as being unbiased, we are all susceptible to stereotypical
biases about gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. These biases are
reinforced subconsciously because it is natural for us to spend most of our
time with people who look like us, think like us and act like us.

Overcoming unconscious bias

 In order for us to overcome these unconscious
biases, we need to become more thoughtful and aware of the biases we hold as
well as how we unconsciously communicate these biases through our speech and
actions. Examples include, the words we use, the tone of voice we adopt when we
speak to someone we perceive as being different, and other non-verbal gestures
such as eye-rolling, sighing, looking away when someone is speaking to us, excluding
people when we are in a group setting, etc.

If we
make an effort to be more mindful of the biases we hold, then we can be more
fair, more thoughtful and more respectful in dealing with our co-workers.

Practical tips for employers

·        Educate leaders and employees
about unconscious bias

·        Build diversity and inclusion
initiatives into the organization’s leadership programs

·        Develop a diversity and
inclusion scorecard

·        Hold managers and leaders
accountable for creating a workplace in which all individuals
are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and
resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.