DEI Breaking Barriers: The Power of DEI (Chapter 1)

Taken from DEI Matters: A Comprehensive Guideline for Creating a Culture of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, 2023

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are more than just buzzwords or trends. They are essential elements for creating a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence in any setting. According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, companies with more diverse leadership teams are 36% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability. Similarly, a report by Deloitte found that inclusive workplaces have higher levels of employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. These are just some of the many examples that demonstrate the power of diversity.

Diversity is the presence of differences among individuals or groups in any given context. Diversity can be seen as a spectrum or a continuum, rather than a binary or a fixed attribute. Diversity can be influenced by various factors, such as genetics, environment, culture, education, and personal choices. Diversity can also be expressed in different ways, such as through appearance, behaviour, communication, or performance. Diversity can be classified into three main types: demographic diversity, cognitive diversity, and identity diversity.

Equity is the fair and respectful treatment of all people according to their needs and circumstances. Equity is not the same as equality or justice. Equality means giving everyone the same thing regardless of their differences. Justice means giving everyone what they deserve according to their actions or merits. Equity means giving everyone what they need according to their situation or context. Equity can be divided into two categories: formal equity and substantive equity.

Inclusion is the active and intentional involvement of all people in any given context. Inclusion is not the same as diversity or equity. Diversity is about the differences among people. Equity is about fairness and respect for people. Inclusion is about the participation and contribution of people. Inclusion can bring many advantages to any setting, such as enhanced creativity, collaboration, satisfaction, and productivity. However, inclusion can also pose some difficulties, such as managing different opinions, expectations, or values. Inclusion can be promoted by adopting various strategies, such as soliciting feedback, celebrating achievements, providing support, and encouraging dialogue.

CASE STUDY

How did a diverse team of engineers at Google create a groundbreaking product for people with disabilities?

One example of how diversity can drive innovation is the story of Project Euphonia at Google. Project Euphonia is an initiative that aims to improve speech recognition technology for people with speech impairments caused by conditions such as ALS, Parkinson's or stroke.

The project was started by Dimitri Kanevsky, a research scientist at Google who has been deaf since childhood. He wanted to use his own experience and expertise to help others who face similar challenges in communicating with voice assistants or other devices.

He assembled a diverse team of engineers from different backgrounds, disciplines and locations who shared his passion for solving this problem. The team included people with speech impairments themselves or who had family members or friends with speech impairments.

The team leveraged their diversity to understand the needs and preferences of their target users, generate innovative ideas, test different prototypes and communicate their value proposition. They also collaborated with external partners such as nonprofits, universities and hospitals who provided them with data, feedback and support.

As a result, the team created a groundbreaking product that uses artificial intelligence to adapt speech recognition models to the unique speech patterns of each user. The product enables people with speech impairments to use voice assistants or other devices more easily and accurately. The product also empowers them to express themselves more fully and confidently.

The project has received positive feedback from users who have tried it out. One user said: "It's like magic. It understands me." Another user said: "It makes me feel like I have a voice again."

The project has also received recognition from the industry and the media. It was featured in Wired magazine as one of the 25 best innovations of 2019. It was also nominated for the AI for Accessibility award by Microsoft.

The project is still ongoing, and the team is working on improving and expanding the product to reach more users and languages. The team hopes that their product will not only improve the quality of life of people with speech impairments but also raise awareness and empathy for their challenges and abilities.

Activity 1

1. What are the main goals and challenges of Project Euphonia?
2. How did the team use their diversity to generate innovative ideas and solutions?
3. What are some of the benefits and limitations of using artificial intelligence to adapt speech recognition models to each user?
4. How did the team collaborate with external partners to collect data, feedback, and support?
5. How did the team measure the impact and effectiveness of their product?
6. How did the team communicate their value proposition to the users, the industry, and the media?
7. What are some of the ethical, social, or legal implications of using speech recognition technology for people with speech impairments?
8. How can the product be improved or expanded to reach more users and more languages?
9. What are some of the lessons learned from this case study that can be applied to other problems or domains?

Diversity can help you grow personally and professionally in many ways. Here are some of the benefits of diversity for an individual:

• Diversity can broaden your knowledge and skills. By interacting with people from different backgrounds and perspectives, you can learn new things, acquire new skills and discover new possibilities. You can also share your own knowledge and skills with others and contribute to their learning.
• Diversity can stimulate your creativity and problem-solving. By exposing yourself to diverse ideas, opinions and experiences, you can ignite your imagination, spark your curiosity and challenge your thinking. You can also create more innovative solutions, find better alternatives and avoid group thinking.
• Diversity can enhance your communication and collaboration. By engaging with people from different cultures and languages, you can improve your communication skills, such as listening, speaking, writing and presenting. You can also improve your collaboration skills, such as teamwork, leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution.
• Diversity can increase your confidence and resilience. By embracing diversity as an opportunity rather than a threat, you can develop a positive attitude, a growth mindset and a sense of curiosity. You can also develop resilience to cope with uncertainty, ambiguity and change.

Diversity is an asset for any business. It can bring many advantages, such as:

• Diversity can boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. By catering to the diverse needs and expectations of your customers, you can offer products or services that are more suitable, helpful and attractive. You can also create a positive customer experience that fosters trust, loyalty and advocacy.
• Diversity can spur innovation and growth. By leveraging the diverse skills, insights and perspectives of your employees, you can create a culture of innovation that encourages creativity, experimentation and risk-taking. You can also create a competitive edge that sets you apart from your competitors and opens you new markets and opportunities.
• Diversity can improve performance and productivity. By creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected and supported, you can increase employee engagement, motivation and retention. You can also lower employee turnover, absenteeism and conflicts.
• Diversity can enhance reputation and social responsibility. By showing your commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, you can improve your reputation as an employer of choice, a partner of choice and a leader in your industry. You can also fulfil your social responsibility as a corporate citizen who contributes to the well-being of society. Here are some ways to achieve this: -Modify how you screen and search for candidates. This can be done by eliminating any biases from job descriptions and using a diverse variety of recruitment channels.

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So how do companies and organizations apply what we’ve learnt today?

We could follow the example of other organizations such as Vedanta Group, using the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks Model to assess the companies’ state of diversity and equity. This benchmark is used to evaluate a company’s internal, external, foundation and bridging policies to ensure that certain targets are met and that certain standards are maintained within the organization. These internal policies could include HR training on diversity management and the application of point systems for the assessment of potential employees and applicants. The external policies could include involving members of communities in the design process of PR campaigns, making sure to include the voices of diverse members of your consumer market. The foundation policies might include training and evaluating employees in management positions for both competence and to reduce the influence of their biases. The bridging policies could be a set of indices used to measure the effectiveness of the above policies, rating the application and outcomes.

In this chapter, we have introduced the concept and importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in any setting. We have defined what each term means, how they relate to each other, and what benefits and challenges they entail. We have also provided some examples and best practices of how to create a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in any organization or community diversity is a powerful force that can benefit individuals, businesses and society. However, diversity also comes with challenges that require us to be aware, inclusive, equitable and accountable. That's why we need to keep learning about diversity, keep having these conversations and keep acting.