An inclusive, diverse and equity focused environment. It's a no-brainer. Right?

'Woke' might be the term a type of leader might use to describe the idea of inclusion, diversity, and equity.

When faced with these words, some managers might assume this stuff just happens when recruiting the best. 

Worse, they may consider that inclusion and diversity is something for the wider world. Our staff (we’ll cover that word later) are here to do a job and just get on with it! Right!

Certainly, when my working life started in Scotland in the early 1990s, the idea of equity or success through diversity just didn’t exist. 

Diversity meant the Pakistani guy who ran the corner shop where I'd buy my copy of the Glasgow Herald each morning and equity, well that was something discussed in heated and negative terms around the housing market. 

Only in the last 10 years have we considered the positive social impact of people feeling valued for who they are. 

Why would it take so long to understand our people more? It seems obvious that in valuing individual needs, wishes, and wants on a personal level, outcomes for business and individuals alike might be significantly improved. 

I’d suggest that what lies behind this seeming lack of insight is that we’re not dealing with dictionary definitions here. We’re dealing with human beings who have feelings. Arrrggggggg! Feelings! 

We all use emotions, or our experiences of emotions every day. Happiness and enthusiasm are great right! They help get that big deal done. With a smile and a high-five, heaven forbid a sales bell, we’ll support and encourage a bit of happiness all day long. 

But what about someone who’s head is down? We’re not so keen on dealing with that. 

Some might elect to have a delicate chat with glib ‘how are you?’ or ‘are you okay?’ questions knowing at a human level we should show concern. But few will spend time getting to the real issue. 

The result can be souring of relations, changing staff, learning and development stalls and business productivity declining. No, sad is bad. 

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in the US suggested 57% of leavers said they felt disrespected in their working environment. 

In a similar piece by news group CNBC, 75% of executive level workers said they’d leave their current employer to join another that valued diversity. 

The Harvard Business Review explains that 48% of LGBTQIA employees remain ‘closeted’ while at work and few senior executives were openly gay. 

"This appears to be the case largely because closeted workers suffer anxiety about how colleagues and managers might judge them and expend enormous effort concealing their orientation. Further, LGBT workers who feel forced to lie about their identity and relationships typically don’t engage in collegial banter about such things as weekend activities—banter that forges important workplace bonds.”

Bringing it closer to home. An article on Seek.co.nz explains research that 53% of resignations were the result of a dissatisfaction with working environment. 

My feeling is that three factors are causative.  

1. We may understand the concepts/are sympathetic to the idea, but don’t know how to create environments that feel inclusive, diverse, or equitable.  
2. Senior leaders are not from minorities who suffer from inclusive or diversity issues, therefore may be blind to their effects. 
3. We don’t understand the specifics of inclusion, diversity, and equity.

For example, we choose our beliefs, right.
Background, culture, and identity are all hardcoded.
If we create environments noted as being sensitive to all ‘beliefs’, it may be that in prioritizing choice over a non-choice issue, we end up unwittingly empowering division and isolation.  

What does all this come down to? Well, some pointers. 

Inclusion: 

• At a simplistic level, never describe your employees as ‘staff’, especially to them. (I said I’d get to that word).
• Your employees are human and deserve to feel part of something. ‘Staff’ were those lesser oiks in Victorian era mansions. Your people are team members. 
• Build a space that empowers team members to feel as valued as each other. Never take one team member out to lunch and leave others back in the office. 

Diversity:

• Encourage your team to be themselves. Do you need a ‘dress code’ conforming to a vision of ‘appropriate’? Why not allow people to be free to be who they are? (Within reason)
• It’s obvious we should make every effort to not employ one demographic, but it’s not about numbers. Proactively engage with team members around bringing out their identity, their culture and sharing that with the team. 

Equity:

• Old boys clubs? No, just no! Employing your mates, your family, or your Aunty’s friend Janet may be easy, but it’s not equitable.  
• Make sure to challenge your recruitment and encourage those capable to advance themselves.
• Encourage the shy team member to success with supportive inclusion. Allow them to be themselves and they will be as loyal as the day is long. 

Inclusion, diversity, and equity should be a no-brainer. Firstly, organisations will suffer fewer headaches from churn and will be much happier environments. But secondly and most importantly, in creating a space where people can thrive, where everyone can hold their heads up high and be proud of themselves, you’ll have created something amazing. 

#youbeyou Tauranga Moana

Till next time.

Gordy

♥