How "multiple diversities" can broaden our definition of inclusion

To have a comfortable workforce - you want people to feel safe at work so they’re able to be their best selves and they can display their talents. Books like Bring Your Whole Self To Work by Mike Robbins and articles like “How Much of Your ‘Authentic Self’ Should You Really Bring to Work?” have begun to address the concept of “whole selves,” but with multiple diversities there’s an intentional deep-dive into the many parts that may make you, you.?

The data speaks for itself. For instance, if we only looked at women through the lens of their gender — where discrepancies in pay and opportunity are widely reported — we would miss out on all the other parts of their identity that they need to navigate in order to show up at work first thing in the morning.?

For instance, 65% of unpaid family caregivers are women, according to a 2020 study commissioned by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Most are balancing their own personal responsibilities and work with the added responsibility of caregiving.?

While the number of unpaid family caregivers increased from 43.5 million in 2015 to 53 million by 2020 and men were also impacted, the burden, particularly in families of color, falls traditionally to women.?

Adopting a multiple diversities framework when approaching HR and work culture helps in creating an environment where employees can bring all parts of themselves to work and managers, or team leads, understand what to do next.

Why is multiple diversities important??

A multiple diversities framework allows companies to take advantage of diverse workforce pools and increase the potential for innovation while doing so. Adopting a multiple diversities mindset is one straightforward way to begin to center the concept of “cross-pollination.” In practice, “cross-pollination” is the theory that when multiple different perspectives are brainstorming together, a team is more likely to come up with an out-of-the-box solution. More importantly, those solutions will be more likely to serve a diverse pool of stakeholders because a diverse team will by default have less blindspots.

On the other hand, when there’s minimal to no diversity on teams, it’s hard to see how a final product might exclude some people. For example, Amazon’s Alexa may respond better to my husband’s voice than it does to mine (as a woman), or people of color have a harder time opening their phone screens using facial recognition.

What are traditional types of diversity??

At the heels of 2020, many companies and thought leaders began to have more robust conversations around what diversity meant to them and the work cultures they had been harboring.?

Traditionally, diversity had been solely defined to include:

• Race and ethnicity - how someone identifies in terms of their ethnic background and race.
• Gender identity - broadly, people tend to identify as female, male, or non-binary.?
• Ability or disability - that can include anything from what you traditionally consider in terms of physical disability, but it should also take into account mental health and other hidden disabilities.?
• Religion - how someone identifies for their religious practice, such as Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, agnostic, etc.??
• Sexual Orientation - heterosexual or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual, etc.?

And while many companies still subscribe to a more limited definition of diversity, it’s indisputable that an intersectional view on diversity is only beneficial (instead of detrimental) to any organization.?

For instance in 2021, L’Oreal USA became the first company to earn a new certification (EDGEplus) which enables organization to “go beyond gender and measure the intersectionality between gender and race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and nationality.”?

The certification was launched by the World Economic Forum in 2011 and developed by EDGE Certified Foundation as a first of its kind methodology for gender and intersectional equity. It allows, and encourages, companies like L’Oreal to view diversity through a broader lens, similar to the non-traditional types of diversity I’ve included in the multiple diversity framework.?

What are non-traditional types of diversity??

Unlike traditional types of diversity, non-traditional types of diversity are meant to feel like starting points. Each can (and should) be combined with one or multiple types of diversity in order to embrace the full scope of perspective and innovation.?

Non-traditional types of diversity can include:

• Age - having people on both ends of the spectrum can be a real strength. When you're thinking about digital natives versus people who have seen the space evolve over decades, both add valuable perspective to the organization (in different ways).
• Political Beliefs - different ideological beliefs provide added perspective. Otherwise, we're talking within our own silos and contributing to a more and more polarized society.
• Socioeconomic status - including factors like income and education. Socioeconomic status is often closely tied with race and ethnicity.
• Lived experience - these could be experiences in their current life e.g. whether they’re a parent taking care of kids at home or in their past life, e.g. whether they have experienced food insecurity, or homelessness, or other issues that really impacted their lives in a serious way.
• Introversion vs. extroversion - the working world is tailored towards extroverts, and introverts bring something different to the table. We need to cater to them in a different way, especially in this virtual environment.?

How do you begin to fold in a multiple diversities framework in practice??

While each of the non-traditional diversities can have their own guide for implementation, starting to fold a multiple diversities strategy into your company can be quite easy, as long as you’re committed to change.?

The first thing managers and team leaders can do is audit your current team for existing gaps. Even using the above list as a checklist can be a good starting point for larger conversations around hiring or encouraging current employees to feel safe to bring other parts of themselves to work.?

When thinking about diversity challenge yourself to think about intersectionality first, not as a last resort. For instance, if a new hire is being recruited, think to expand the search beyond the traditional forms of recruiting. Looking for talent in other spaces can be a good step in the right direction to enable “cross-pollination” to occur down the line.?

Lastly, think of small ways to continue conversations that may have started in the hiring process, but were not spoken about since then. One example of this is how often people tick a box on their application saying they might have a disability, but then no one follows up and asks if they need accommodation. You need to have more of a conversation to actually make that person feel comfortable and be successful.?

When you adopt a multiple diversities approach, those human and layered conversations become much easier to start and have.?