Experts in the fields of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) agree that an organization’s capacity to establish an atmosphere in which everyone’s voice is heard and every employee is treated fairly and with respect is critical to long-term success and sustainability of a DE&I effort.
Recognize that the relationship between diversity and inclusion is not only cyclical but also mutually reliant on one another. While diversity without inclusion can result in a poisonous culture, inclusion without diversity runs the risk of resulting in a stagnant and uninspiring business.
To be sure, establishing a culture that is really equal and inclusive will present numerous problems. The trap of tokenism is perhaps the most common of them. When firms make flimsy or symbolic efforts to look inclusive, employees (and applicants) from marginalised or underrepresented groups are more likely to perceive those efforts as phoney and fake, according to a recent study.
For example, consider the situation of a white manager of a medium-sized company with an 85 per cent white workforce who wants his organisation to take steps to promote employee diversity.
The manager was left perplexed as to what to do next as a result of this remark. Despite the fact that she did not want to mislead the firm or disrespect its employees, believed that having employees from underrepresented groups attend these recruiting events would be beneficial to the company’s attempts to increase the diversity of its workforce.
It is not uncommon for employees to express dissatisfaction with what they perceive to be a symbolic gesture. If an employee does not believe that DE&I gestures are genuine, there is a good chance that he or she would react negatively. In order to understand the employee’s relationship to their surroundings, it is necessary to do research. They require a sense of belonging in order to function properly.
The employee is signalling that she does not want to represent the company because the organisation is doing enough around diversity and inclusion. Make sure your employees feel involved and a part of the overall objective if you want them to be 100 per cent devoted and engaged.
It’s like a chicken-and-egg dilemma. If you claim to embrace diversity but do not have a diverse workforce, you may be viewed as being untruthful. However, if you truly want to attract a more diverse candidate pool, you must go beyond simply stating your commitment to diversity in your job postings.
More than just a set of demographics
Many organisations need to reframe what they mean when they talk about diversity. Most of the time, when we think about diversity, we think about demography. While demographics are a component of diversity, diversity encompasses a wide range of various viewpoints, thoughts, perspectives, experiences, and other characteristics.
Rather than concentrating solely on demographics, a more comprehensive approach that includes “psychographic”. This entails taking a more in-depth look at an individual’s ideas, values, goals, and other psychological characteristics.
Diversity falls short when it concentrates too much on numbers without creating human connection. Peer’s own professional existence was frequently constrained by the categories of Asian-American and Korean-American, which she found frustrating.
Race-based diversity mandates have conditioned us to think of people as labels rather than as individuals. It is only when we label someone that we establish a sense of “us” vs “them.” When we label someone, we create a sense of “us” versus “them.” However, when we meet the person behind the label, we create an environment conducive to personal interaction.
True diversity focuses on how we may all thrive in our differences as a community. Companies must take a step back and consider the question, “Are we connecting people?” A strategy’s success or failure should be measured against this criterion”.
Depending entirely on conventional demographic divisions can result in two unforeseen outcomes for businesses: They have the ability to instil a mindset of a majority against the minority that fosters division, and they can choose to ignore cohorts that would benefit from DE&I projects.
In addition to demographic factors, employers take into account physical and mental differences such as disability, neurodiversity, chronic illness, mental health challenges, and even different personality or problem-solving styles, all of which may have an impact on how employees perceive their jobs. The living circumstances, such as caregiver tasks and other family commitments, should be taken into account.
Members of the dominant culture, may require additional attention from DE&I activities. White males without college degrees who work in blue-collar occupations, particularly in manufacturing, can likewise feel that they are not truly valued or respected. You may receive negative feedback from those who believe their needs are being overlooked if you do not include them.
Identifying and Defining the Issue
When an employee has a negative reaction, it is critical to understand their point of view in order to identify how much of the problem is specific or particular to that employee, as well as whether there are bigger cultural or systemic concerns at play. There is frequently a problem in the relationship between the employee and his or her supervisor or boss.
In the scenario above, the manager probably needs to have a heart-to-heart chat with the employee in order to gain a deeper understanding of her perspective and experience. At the time of the chat, she was able to tell the employee that the objective was not to misrepresent the company, but rather to garner support in the effort to create a more diverse workforce. After that, Human Resources might reach out to other members of the organisation to see if they are experiencing similar problems.
Human Resources professionals to conduct employee experience or engagement surveys in order to develop metrics that can be used to assess organisational inclusiveness. Determine what is happening with the remaining staff in and around DE&I.
Find out what employees think about the diversity policies and procedures that are currently in effect. Their emotions, beliefs, and actions all contribute to the creation of a diverse climate. Employee sense of belonging is the biggest indicator of success, according to research.
Increase the Variety of Your Recruitment Strategy
It is also vital to examine a company’s current culture to determine whether it is inclusive or not. This should involve an examination of attrition data to establish whether some groups are more dissatisfied than others, as well as an examination of the promotion process to ensure that it is fair.
Firms evaluate their current recruitment techniques to identify what, if anything, they should be doing differently in the future. This could involve a review of job ads to ensure that inclusive wording is used, anonymized resume reviews to minimise bias, or a structured interview procedure to ensure impartiality and fairness during the interview process.
All new employees are asked to come up with someone who doesn’t look like them who they can use as a reference while working at the company.
Employers and hiring managers are encouraged to use a holistic approach to diversity-conscious recruitment and hiring in order to eradicate any unconscious prejudices. This consists of the following procedures:
- Create a varied pool of interview candidates.
- Recognize the most effective recruiters for a variety of various diversity indicators.
- Manage prejudice among members of the recruitment team by conducting both organised and unstructured interviews with candidates.
- Make use of focused recruitment techniques that are based on data from best practices for affinity groups and other relevant information.
- Provide job seekers with a pay range for the role rather than asking them about their income history.
- Candidates should be asked to complete a sample work test so that they can assess the quality of their work rather than subconsciously assessing them based on their characteristics.
- Create job descriptions that are both inspiring and balanced, as well as inclusive and fair.
- Make use of tools and services that are designed to help you decrease systemic bias in your work environment.
Providing anti-bias training, can be an effective strategy to “destigmatize bias” because it offers a psychologically safe environment in which people can become more conscious of how their biases are influencing their actions and contributing to inequity.
When the manager in our example singled out a Black female employee to assist with recruitment, it is likely that she did not understand how or why her actions could be interpreted as a microaggression against the employee. It is likely that she did not understand how or why her actions could be interpreted as a microaggression against the employee. In addition, he stated that anti-bias training can assist her in becoming more effective at both recruiting for diversity and cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging in which the individuals with whom she works feel valued, respected, and heard.
