Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering Tolerant and Productive Workplaces

While the overall effort to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we’ve all been witness to the continued traumas engendered by racism, hatred and discrimination across the country.

With the recent incidents and acts of violence against African Americans – including the killings of George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia – there is a new spirit and energy taking hold across the US to address these systemic issues head-on.

The goal, as always, is to continue working toward ensuring equality for every individual under the laws of our communities, our states and nation. And as is common, large-scale societal problems and challenges, such as racism and discrimination, also manifest in the workplace.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 45% of US workers experienced discrimination and/or harassment in the past year. And the US workforce is growing more diverse every year. The millennial and Gen Z generations, for example, are the most diverse in US history: of the roughly 87 million millennials in the country, only 56% are white compared with 72% of the nearly 76 million Baby Boomers.

With these evolving employment demographics, workers, more than ever, are proactively seeking workplaces that practice diversity and inclusion. According to Glassdoor, 67% of job seekers “consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities, and more than 50% of current employees want their workplace to do more to increase diversity.”

In addition, recent research shows companies that foster diversity and inclusion in multiple ways outperform, in revenue, those companies that are less diverse and inclusive.

So, how can companies and organizations move toward fostering more diverse, inclusive and tolerant workplaces? Here are several key steps to consider taking:

Establish a diversity policy: To make diversity a priority in your workplace, train your employees on diversity issues to understand the benefits of a diverse workplace. Also provide a uniform, consistent set of expectations for everyone in when it comes to supporting diversity and eliminating unacceptable racist and/or discriminatory behaviors.

Promote an open-door policy: Ensure an open-door policy is in place – whether in the HR department or with managers – for employees to make complaints related to alleged discrimination and harassment. Employers should work to protect the rights of employees to make legitimate complaints anytime.

Ensure compliance with applicable laws: Key US laws related to employment – such as the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act – provide substantive protections for (and prevention from) problems related to diversity and inclusion.

Create a respectful and dignified work environment: Company and organization leadership, across all levels, should work to treat everyone on staff – as well as customers, contractors and vendors – equally and with respect.

Ultimately, diversity in the workplace means having a team of employees with a range of different backgrounds in terms of race, age, gender and many other characteristics. Having a diverse workforce, with all the strengths and skills each team member brings, is good for companies and organizations both internally and externally.

Yet, to be sure, fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion can be challenging and it takes time to build. It’s about creating and maintaining a cooperative, productive work environment by respecting one another’s diverse backgrounds. This is one of the keys to optimizing employee performance and business growth in today’s economy.