An average person spends around 80,000 to 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime. That’s almost 30% to 40% of your active time. Now imagine being disrespected, rejected, and feeling miserable because of a set of managers and recruiters who dislike something as natural as your colour, gender, weight, background, and even accent? Isn't that disheartening?
Sadly, we will never know how many applicants get rejected or employees lose promotions or other discretionary benefits due to such unconscious and sometimes very evidently conscious biases every year.
Most business managers and leaders understand that diversity, inclusivity, and belongingness are important. But what most managers don't understand is that none of them will stand relevant if even 1 out 3 is missing.
Having a diverse workplace becomes very critical for the employees and all the stakeholders but becomes irrelevant if inclusion isn't considered a part of it.
What is the point of having a diverse workplace if the employees cannot be who they truly are, being forced to hide their unique talents and ideas for the fear of being judged and being outcast for being different?
Recently, I completed this learning course on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs) by Pat Wadors on LinkedIn Learning which deep dives into the topic of DIBs at your workplace.
Here are some of my key learnings from this program:
Understand what DIBs really stands for. Merely hiring an opposite gendered individual to look good in your annual studies report to your Board members is not enough.
Take frequent surveys. No! 360 Degrees is not sufficient. Conduct more surveys and focus groups about how safe and included do the employees feel in the diverse working environment(if there is any) they work in.
Be it the employee or the employer at any hierarchical level, learn to look around and accept that there are DIBs specific problems in the organization.
Recruiters should stop de-risking failure. Hiring from a company X, with a college degree from college Y is no success mantra.
Encourage your managers and leaders to tell everyone “their story”. Why did they move from an A to C. Ask them what made them take that step? How did they deal with that situation? The biggest challenges? Did they have mentors to guide them? This will automatically get a lot of people to share, open up, and create a potential culture change because then they might empathize and put you in their place.
Stop living in an algorithmic world. Be vulnerable. Have a growth mindset. Learn to be empathetic and compassionate.
Start listening! Stop talking. Do you want the most attractive trait one can have? It is to be heard. Keep away your devices, seek to understand, reflect on what you hear. Create an environment where everyone can speak and share. Respect everyone. Try understanding your diverse audience. Not everyone is an extrovert.
DIBs should come naturally in everything you do; the way you think, the way you act, the way you are seen. The moment you add DIBs to your Induction & Training module, then you've already lost. Duplicating models won’t help. As a role model/leader, make sure you make it relevant to the country and culture you live in and the country and culture your employees belong to.
Questions to ask yourself:
How do you feel about Diversity & Inclusion as an individual?
Employing the right kind of talent is great. But is it enough? Are letting unconscious bias take away a potential individual’s chance to succeed?
Do they feel a sense of belonging? Zoom out and think deeply about it. Would you recommend your children to join the same organization you work at? Would it be a good place for them to grow as individuals irrespective of the choices they make and the gender they belong to?
Types of diversities that tend to go unseen frequently:
Cognitive Disabilities- An example of cognitive disabilities would be Dyslexia, ADHD, and Dyspraxia
Physical Abilities and Disabilities
Mental Health- Depression, Hyper Anxiety and others
Neurodiversity includes those labelled with Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome, and others.
Cultural Background
Physical Looks like the colour, weight & size of an individual.
Language Linguistic and accents
Social Roles- A common example is that of gender roles, which are assigned to individuals the moment their sex is identified. Social roles and stereotypes go hand in hand.
Gender Identity and gender roles are social constructs that are assigned to individuals at birth based on their biological sex.
Education
Income
Privilege
Age
Marital Status
Religious and spiritual beliefs.
It is extremely important to understand that not all the fingers on your hand can be the same. It is a set of these differently sized fingers that makes your hand complete. Individuals coming from diverse backgrounds and having a feeling of inclusiveness and belongingness is what makes the team unique and provides a wholesome platform for everyone to learn, excel & grow at the workplace.
Be the change you want to see.
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