Over the past year, we have seen a tremendous shift in how Canadian companies view racial justice and fairness, including sincere commitments to improving diversity in the workplace. HR Leaders are posing challenging and important questions about the future of work, such as whether their company truly values diversity and if equal access to opportunities is guaranteed across the talent lifecycle.
Organizations may take a few actions to make sure that these issues are being addressed in a meaningful way:
1. Making diversity a priority. Organizations become more innovative and resilient the more they are receptive to viewpoints from people with various backgrounds. Diversity not only boosts productivity but also generates constructive conflict that encourages thoughtfulness and challenges conformity.
A company’s brand is strengthened by diversity inside the organization, which also makes it more fascinating and appealing as a place to work. A business develops a positive reputation and image when its staff is diverse because it is perceived as having ethical hiring procedures.
A diverse workplace promotes professional and personal development. Employing expats or individuals with international origins might benefit employees by exposing them to fresh viewpoints and opportunities to network professionally. Employees benefit from this since it broadens their perspective on how the market and industry operate.
A varied business can bring in and keep skilled, seasoned, and young employees, giving it a competitive advantage. The sense of belonging is enhanced by possessing a unique set of abilities and a strong command of several diverse and/or exotic languages. This gives the business the opportunity to compete on the global stage or to broaden its pool of different customers.
2. Improving Inclusivity. Simply developing a diverse workplace culture is significantly different from fostering an inclusive workplace culture. A diverse workforce entails counting employees of different ages, cultural backgrounds, geographies, physical abilities and disabilities, religions, genders, and sexual orientation.
only for commercial reasons. An inclusive corporate culture, on the other hand, sets itself apart from any potential unconscious bias in the workplace. Regardless of who they are or how they identify themselves, employees feel included.
There is no Diversity without inclusion,
“Diversity is a mix; inclusion is making the Mix Work!” – Andrés Tapia
• Some Steps you can follow to improve inclusion at workplace:
1. Celebrate differences to make everyone feel included.
“It’s when we care for each other, choosing inclusion and love over division and hatred-that this great country is at its greatest” – Tulsi Gabbard
2. Create workshops for managers about inclusion at the workplace.
“Inclusion in the workplace is not simply the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do”. – Alexis Herman
3. Fostering Inclusive culture through Rethinking Workforce policies.
“Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness; it is the key to growth” – Jesse Jackson
4. Communicate Inclusion Goals and track progress.
“Diversity and inclusion are a competitive advantage that a smart leader would not overlook” – Brian Ka Chan
5. Open Opportunities for employees to perform, not specific.
“Diversity and inclusion, which are the real grounds for creativity, must remain at the center of what we do” – Marco Bizzarri
Honest conversations and real measures are two difficult but critical steps for any organization seeking to prosper in the post-pandemic era. The course of action for any organization should begin with identifying the diversity needs, embracing the required changes and challenging personal and institutional biases in a journey to a fair and inclusive workplace.
