Diversity in the workplace is important, and in the current market, companies are working diligently to ensure they’re considered a “diverse” workplace. On the surface, diversity seems like a win-win for all those involved. Diverse workforces have been proven to generate more innovative ideas and increase market share. Diverse companies attract more top talent. Not to mention, diverse companies can avoid the type of detrimental diversity headlines that have plagued other businesses like Twitter, Pinterest and Google. It seems the fix to the problem is establishing and meeting a quota. If you hire enough women or people of color, you’ve solved diversity for your company. But the issue isn’t simply getting new faces in the door. The real problem lies in what you do with those employees once they’re in.
It’s important to note that diversity and inclusion are not the same thing. Diversity is a statistic; inclusion is so much more. It’s team-building. It’s contribution. It’s encouragement. So many companies have latched onto diversity as the buzzword of the moment, but they’ve failed to think critically. Simply put, diversity is a band-aid on a much bigger problem.
Inclusion is harder to grasp because it isn’t measured in a sea of numbers. It’s a cultural concept that involves changing perceptions from the top down. It’s not about ensuring 10% of your workforce is non-white. It’s about giving that 10% a chance to generate ideas, speak in meetings with the CEO and always have a seat at the table.
The practice of inclusion is about reducing unconscious bias and truly seeking the value of having a diverse team.
A company’s inability to foster inclusion can often be identified in the reasons it’s never bothered with diversity in the first place. Some executives fear that focusing on a more diverse team will lead to a drop in quality (a claim that dogged Twitter in recent years). Others believe it takes too much time. Ultimately, these companies have a deep-rooted prejudice that can’t be adjusted by hiring practices alone. There must be a change in how they conduct business.
In 2015, Forbes conducted an in-depth analysis of hundreds of top-tier companies. The goal of the study was to understand how inclusion factored into these companies’ greater business successes. Of those companies that ranked highly in this study, there were 31 behaviors they all had in common.
Among those findings, the number one behavior was an integration of diversity and inclusion. These companies went beyond stats. They incorporated inclusion into their succession planning, leadership skills assessments, ongoing learning and performance management.
Diversity is important, but by no means is it the final step. Once companies have assembled a diverse team, there’s still work to be done. Inclusion is an ongoing process that must continue long after these diverse employees have joined the team. They’re fighting against years of pre-conceived notions. Giving them a seat at the table isn’t as easy as checking a box on a list of requirements.
When your company starts to think about how it can truly turn the tide with diversity, think bigger. Go further. Diversity is a number. Inclusion is a behavior. Your company needs both, but one without the other will lead to poor results.
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Diversity = I am different, Inclusion = I am here, Belonging = I am heard
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