By now, most in the corporate world—and beyond—have heard of the term “DEI.” And many know that it is an acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. But understanding what these words truly mean and how to successfully adopt their practice into your corporate culture takes time, study, practice, and commitment.
The Purpose
So, where do you start? It is critical for every employee to understand the purpose of DEI policies, practices, and initiatives— even the creation of new, dedicated positions or departments—because without this understanding, your business is less likely to achieve successful cultural buy-in.
The purpose of any DEI effort is simple: to ensure ALL people of various backgrounds, identities, and experiences feel safe, welcome, and that they have the equitable support necessary to perform the job they were hired to do. Sounds straightforward enough, right? It’s what you’d want, if not required, in any job. However, even though the purpose is simple enough to understand and even agree with, the application of DEI efforts into your workplace culture can prove difficult for many corporate cultures. Why? Change, fear, and accountability.
Change, Fear, and Accountability
Even though all DEI practices and policies are innately human, in that they require our workplaces to function as communities where all feel welcome, included, valued, and respected for their contributions, experience, and individual backgrounds, they can easily fail because of the innate flaws we possess as humans. As humans, we tend to resist change, fear indifference as well as the unknown, and we haven’t all learned the skill of accountability—defined as answering for the outcomes of one’s choices, actions, and behaviors—or consistently put this skill into practice. But this is no excuse!
Our flaws as humans shouldn’t derail or prevent us from pursuing DEI efforts in our workplace. Quite the contrary, our humanness should supply us with enough desire to ensure DEI has a presence in our corporate culture. So how do you start? Or how do you “improve” your company’s DEI efforts?
How do you start? How do you “improve”?
The good news is that you’re currently taking the first step: research. In reading this blog post, you’re participating in the due diligence necessary to get started…or improve your efforts. Hopefully, this is just one of many sources you’re absorbing. As a key tenet of DEI, ensure your research includes sources from varied voices. For example, if you’re a member of your company’s leadership team, be sure to seek out sources you might not “normally” hear on a daily basis. This can be as simple as reading employee large-scale DEI surveys sponsored by companies like Glassdoor or by offering an anonymous survey of your own employees. But before we get into tactics, let’s review some of the fundamentals more in-depth.
FUNDAMENTAL DEI DEFINITIONS
DIVERSITY
A simple way to define “diversity” is: a variety of unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recognizes this list of facets of diversity:
- Age
- Religion
- Gender identity
- Socioeconomic status
- National origin
- Ethnicity
- Sexual orientation
- Race
- Disability
- Veteran status
- Vocational experience
EQUITY
Equity simply means that every employee receives fair treatment—regardless of any of the facets of diversity listed above. The most visible form of equity in the workplace is pay equity, which is the practice of paying employees their fair market rate.
INCLUSION
Inclusion is sometimes the hardest to pin down and define for organizations because it involves abstract—feelings. Inclusion can be “measured” by how much employees feel like they belong, are respected, and are valued. When employees feel these emotions, they are more likely to take risks, support a shared vision, or even politely disagree, all of which can be beneficial to an organization’s bottom line. In fact, according to a 2021 Forbes article entitled, 15 Key Benefits to Communicate with Team Members, “Highly inclusive companies are more likely to hit their financial target goals by up to 120%.”
Next steps
If achieving your financial target is your primary motivation for implementing DEI policies and practices, you might not succeed. Because true DEI efforts demand motivation that transcends financial gain and recognizes that profit is merely an outcome of the gains we reap when we capitalize on our humanity.
But failing to prioritize or improve your company’s DEI efforts could prove to negatively impact your company over time. Especially when you consider that according to the 2020 U.S. Census data, the U.S. population is more racially and ethnically diverse now than it was 20 years ago. So, can you afford not to start or not to improve?
DEI adoption takes time and commitment and often requires mindset and behavioral changes across the organization. And there are no easy “fixes” when it comes to DEI. So, it’s often recommended to consult with an expert in the field. This person or firm can help your company identify the best DEI solution for your workplace community.
If your company can’t afford a consultant at this time, consider starting with a DEI Committee. There are many excellent free resources on the web that can guide you on the do’s and don’ts of successful DEI Committees, but the best rule of thumb is to have clear, defined initiatives aligned with actionable goals that can be monitored and measured.
If you’re interested in getting started or improving your company’s DEI efforts,
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