By implying diversity, equity, and inclusion across your workplace, you convey the message that you genuinely care for all your employees.
Although diversity, equality, and inclusion are interrelated, each comes with a distinct concept. When implying your DEI strategy, understanding their differences becomes important.
What is Diversity in the Workplace?
Diversity is respecting, recognizing, and celebrating each other’s differences. A diverse environment is dotted with a wide range of backgrounds and mindsets, leading to an empowered culture of creativity and innovation. Diversity in the workplace means that you have a multicultural workforce. Diversity represents all of our many differences such as race, age, gender, sexuality, education, class, and disability. You need to consider all these factors of diversity.
It is also important to understand how diversity has evolved over the years. Where diversity was once associated with your workplace’s make-up of racial, sexuality, and gender demographics, in the modern workplace the meaning has changed. The definition now involves knowledge, culture, and experience. Employers are required to respect every voice.
What is Inclusion in the Workplace?
Inclusion means making sure that every employee is given the resources and opportunity to thrive. If diversity refers to creating a workforce belonging to diverse backgrounds and experiences, an inclusive policy is all about giving them a voice. That’s why diversity and inclusion go hand in hand.
Inclusion is when all of your people feel like they belong to your company. That means they can articulate their opinions and they don’t feel excluded based on their identity.
What is Equity in the Workplace?
The E in EDI stands for ‘equity’. Equity is the policies you incorporate to support diversity and inclusion in your company. It also means that you consider each unique and accommodate their requirements properly. By identifying the structural imbalances across your workplace, you will find tangible and practical solutions.
Equity-oriented businesses go through an ongoing process of making a situation balanced and fair for all.
How to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Workplace
Avoid Developing Unconscious Bias:
Unconscious bias refers to the feelings of bias that might be hidden underneath. It doesn’t necessarily integrate with our conscious beliefs or declared beliefs, meaning that unconscious biases should be addressed.
Leaders can pay attention to this by helping employees understand how unconscious bias can impact employees, as well as what actions can be taken to stop this. One way to raise awareness and deal with unconscious bias is to encourage your people to assess, question, and analyze their assumptions and biases. They can be asked to pen down their biases. This way, they can be aware when these unconscious biases become more conscious.
Make Pay Equity Important:
Fair opportunity should be provided to each employee. Identify which employees are being underpaid for similar roles or responsibilities.
Create a Strategic Training Program:
You can also impart diversity training to help employees understand the impact of cultural differences on people. It can encompass anything from concepts of time and communication styles to individuality and dealing with conflict. Make sure to convey the importance of training and the issues it can solve.
Consider Holidays of All Cultures:
One way to create awareness of diversity and promote greater inclusivity is to keep track of all religious and cultural holidays. Ask your people how they are going to celebrate their festivals.
Ask For Feedback:
Create a feedback culture to understand what’s going on under the surfaces. Conducting surveys across the workplace will equip you with the information required to make informed decisions and minimize or eliminate any traces of biases or discrimination within a particular department or area of the organization.
Review Company Policies:
Also, make sure to assess those things in your business in which discrimination can take place. You can start by revising company policies.