Promoting Inclusivity in the Workplace

A diverse and inclusive workplace is one that ensures each employee feels equally involved and supported in all areas of work. It is vital for ensuring an organization’s success and must be a priority for all.

We asked our five expert authors to share their personal experiences and insights to help promote the benefits of diversity, inclusivity and equality at work.

This is what they've told us.?

What does inclusion mean to you?

Advita Patel and Priya Bates, ABC, MC, SCMP, IABC Fellow : Inclusion for us is when every person feels they can fairly contribute to conversations in their workplace without the fear of being ostracized for having a different point of view. It’s also about ensuring that everyone has equitable opportunities to progress in their careers, despite their background or demographic. It’s about creating a space where people feel like they belong and be able to be whoever they need to be to do their job well and help others do the same.

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Do you think inclusivity should be a collective responsibility for everyone in an organization? Why?

Stephen Frost : Yes, obviously. Inclusion is leadership and you can’t delegate that. You can’t outsource your own behaviour to the Head of DEI. The problem comes with accountability. It’s so easy for a corporate website to say “everyone is responsible for inclusion” but what does that actually mean? What it should mean is that whilst certain people might have paid accountability for strategy, data, workstreams and so on, everyone should have a specific measured accountability for their own behaviour. The Board are responsible for overall organizational conduct, including inclusion. The Executive are accountable for their departments and every person in the organization is accountable for their own behaviour.

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If all organizations were inclusive, what impact would that have had on you during your career?

Salma Shah PCC : I always had a ‘just get on with it’ mentality and forged ahead regardless of lacking a sense of belonging or not feeling psychologically safe. In hindsight, not feeling safe or seen took me close to burnout and the resilience I was showing was actually dysfunctional resilience from running on empty. There is only so much emotional detachment and rising above one can do before it impacts loyalty and performance levels. Having said that, I worked with many great colleagues and the lesson I learnt was to work with those who respected and valued me.

How do you think organizations can promote inclusion?

Advita Patel and Priya Bates, ABC, MC, SCMP, IABC Fellow : Encourage curiosity to help build connections. People don’t know what they don’t know. But, in the world of hybrid working and the polarizing views often shared in the media and across social channels, we’re prone to more misinformation and disinformation than ever, leading to biased opinions. To address the disconnect, we need to learn about the people we work with. This means we have to be intentional with the time we spend together at work. How often do you check in on colleagues and ask how they are doing, or if they need anything from you to help them do their job better? It shouldn’t be difficult to personalize the employee experience depending on the needs of your team. That is how inclusivity starts.

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To allow inclusive cultures to thrive, you must build a psychologically safe environment. People shouldn’t fear speaking up if they feel they are being treated differently. Getting defensive is not helpful and will diminish trust quickly. Once trust is broken, it’s hard to rebuild.

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What steps can each of us take to promote workplace inclusivity?

Sheree Atcheson :

1. Listen - listen to perspectives both like and unlike yours.
2. Self-reflect - reflect on why we’re drawn to certain people over others, recognizing that we may provide different experiences to different people.
3. Change - know that we don't have all the answers but that if we're willing to make even small changes for big impacts, that we can create healthier, more inclusive environments.

Feeling inspired? Discover more about creating an inclusive workplace on our website: https://bit.ly/46sbyBY