How to Build a More Diverse & Inclusive Workplace: A Step-by-Step Guide

In a world of over 8 billion people, there are approximately 223 nationalities and ethnicities! On average, we interact with or encounter at least one or more individuals every day who differ from us in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, or nationality. With such a diverse population, having an equally diverse and inclusive workplace must be imperative to accommodate all types of people.

In this article, we will explore diversity and inclusion in the workplace and its importance. After which, we will list ten ways to promote diversity in the workplace. Let us begin by understanding what diversity and inclusion are.

What Does Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Look Like?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a strategy that encourages every employee to be valued, respected, and treated equally. It ensures that gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, abilities, and class do not hinder an employee’s worth in the workplace; instead, it paves the way for these differences. It utilizes these distinctions to encourage meaningful and diverse opinions. Doing so not only cultivates a sense of belonging within the workplace but also enables better decision-making, drives creativity and innovation, and encourages employee engagement and retention rates.  

Before we move on to ways to promote diversity in the workplace, let us consider these statistics on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

A recent study by Indeed revealed that 24% of employees face discrimination in their workplaces. 

• The same study also revealed that 25% of employees feel their companies need to take action to combat these discriminatory practices. 

• According to a study conducted by Glassdoor, 76% of employees say they consider a diverse workforce a critical factor when looking for or accepting job opportunities.

• Research conducted by PwC showed that 86% of female employees are looking for employers that employ diversity and inclusion strategies at their workplaces.

• A Deloitte study showed that 71% of organizations aim to be inclusive, but only 12% can achieve this goal.

These statistics highlight the lack of diversity in the workplace and the dire need for diversity, equity, and inclusion training among its workforce. While organizations aim to be more inclusive in theory, they fail when it comes to actually implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives. Let us delve into ten ways to promote diversity in the workplace. 

10 Ways to Promote Diversity in the Workplace

Implementing diversity and inclusion in your workplace may seem daunting, but we assure you it is not! Here is an extensive list of ways to promote diversity in the workplace effectively: 

Include Diversity and Inclusion in Your Mission Statement
The first step to promoting diversity in the workplace is to begin with your company’s foundation - your mission statement. Your mission statement indicates your business’s purpose and goals, how you plan to achieve them, and your company values. By including diversity and inclusion in your company’s mission statement, you automatically make it a priority. Moreover, setting it as a company value helps you enable executives and employees to implement it within the workplace proactively. 

Evaluate and Prioritize DEI Policies
Every organization has a set of policies and regulations that they require their employees to adhere to, such as employee code of conduct, safety and health policies, sexual harassment policies, attendance and leave policies, anti-harassment policies, and employee grievances or redressal policies. While most companies have anti-discrimination policies, they are poorly implemented or adhered to. To promote inclusion in the workplace, your organization must begin by evaluating existing diversity and inclusion policies to identify any areas of improvement. 

Develop Inclusive Policies and Regulations 
The next step to evaluating your company’s existing policies is to craft inclusive policies and regulations. These policies must address the needs of the underrepresented in the workplace and uplift them by providing them with a safe space to express their opinions and concerns. By regulating DEI policies, your company can proactively accommodate and retain diverse employees.

Eliminate Unconscious Biases 
We all tend to have biases - be it positive or negative. While your company may have DEI policies in place, it might not be enough to motivate your employees to do away with their internal and subconscious biases. Your organization can conduct diversity and inclusion training and workshops led by diversity experts who can encourage your employees to introspect and challenge their inner biases. This will not only aid in promoting an inclusive work culture and help your employees become empathetic and well-rounded individuals. 

Offer Mentorship and Sponsorship Programs 
Offering mentorship and sponsorship programs can be an effective way to uplift the underrepresented within your organization. These programs can help the less privileged bridge the gap and gain access to resources and opportunities, encouraging them to grow to their fullest potential. Moreover, these programs would encourage and retain employees from various financial and cultural backgrounds. 

Promote Gender-Neutral Language 
In today’s politically charged world, great importance is given to a person's gender and sexuality or how they choose to identify themselves. Hence, it becomes crucial for workplaces to accommodate people who identify as different genders or sexualities. To make them feel comfortable, your organization can encourage using gender-neutral language. You could conduct workshops on inclusion in the workplace to avoid any kind of sexist or misogynist terms or behaviors. Additionally, to promote a safe conversion around gender and sexuality, you can encourage your employees to educate themselves and approach members of the LGBTQAI+ with curiosity rather than animosity. 

Recognize Cultural and Religious Practices
A significant component of diversity and inclusion initiatives is recognizing and becoming socially aware of one another’s cultural and religious differences. Learning about each other's cultural and spiritual practices will help foster a sense of belonging. Your organization can also sanction special leave requests for cultural or religious festivals not part of the official calendar to honor them. This will encourage employees from underrepresented sections of society to reclaim space within your organization. 

Create a Safe Space for Employees 
A critical part of implementing diversity in the workplace is creating a safe space for your organization's employees and leaders. Your organization can work towards designing this space by empowering them to voice their opinions without any inhibitions or fear of losing their jobs. Organizing diversity, equity, and inclusion training and workshops would help your employees interact and push them to express themselves. Additionally, you could build employee resource groups within your organization where employees can openly interact, freely communicate, and connect personally. 

Cultivate a Flexible Work Environment 
Most individuals have several responsibilities apart from their professional responsibilities, including caring for their children, families, or elderly parents. Your organization must consider such needs to imbibe a truly inclusive work culture. To accommodate working moms or adults caring for their elderly parents, you can introduce flexible work hours to help employees fulfill their personal commitments. Organizations can either alter their work timings to assist them in getting home earlier or offer them work-from-home options whenever required. Additionally, leaders within your organization must support employees by being patient and empathetic towards those with additional familial responsibilities. 

Enable Ownership and Accountability
Lastly, inculcating a diverse and inclusive workplace culture is only possible when leaders proactively lead organizations with diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values. Organizations must implement diversity and inclusion initiatives and ensure that leaders are responsible for promoting inclusion in the workplace. Most importantly, organizations must hold leaders accountable for discrimination in the workplace or nonadherence to corporate diversity and inclusion policies. Like they say, a good leader leads by example. Employees look up to these leaders, so ensuring they are responsible and accountable will encourage them to follow suit.

Empower Your Employees with Kahilla

Kahilla is dedicated to uplifting leaders and helping them achieve their potential through leadership skill development programs. Research shows that a lack of diversity in leadership positions puts organizations at financial risk. Here is where we step in! 

We believe in equal and fair opportunity, which is why we offer leadership training opportunities to early and mid-level professionals from various backgrounds and ethnicities. We aim to help your organization recognize, reskill, and retain talent by enhancing their portfolios. 

Are you ready to enhance your professional journey? Explore our leadership programs for individuals and businesses with Kahilla!  

FAQs

1. What is diversity management?
Diversity management refers to the process of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. It includes implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives and organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion training programs to help employees feel empowered.

2. What are some examples of diversity in the workplace?
Some diversity and inclusion examples include offering equal pay to female and male employees, providing flexible work modes for working moms, using gender-neutral language to create a safe space, providing nursing rooms or creches for working moms, celebrating diversity by celebrating various cultural events, creating employee resource groups, etc. 

3. What is the complete form of DEI in the workplace? 
The complete form of DEI in the workplace refers to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.  

4. How can my organization build a diverse team? 
Your organization can quickly build a diverse team by recruiting talents from various backgrounds, eliminating unconscious biases through implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives and programs, creating a safe space for your team to express their opinions, and accommodating the needs of your team members through diverse and inclusion policies. 

5. What are the 5 critical steps to implementing a successful diversity program? 
The 5 critical steps to implementing a successful diversity program are: 

• Evaluate existing policies to identify the lack of diversity in the workplace. 

• Define a straightforward diversity management procedure with tangible goals. 

• Implement diversity and inclusion initiatives to encourage communication and empowerment among employees.

• Enable leaders to conduct diversity training for employees and hold them accountable for results. 

• Create a supportive and safe environment to make your employees feel valued by empowering their needs.