Recently, I looked at the concepts of diversity, inclusion, and equity in my informational emails. LinkedIn reports that the most in-demand position currently is Director of Diversity. The following are overviews of three insightful articles on these topics I wanted to share with you.
Tips to Increase Diversity The Workplace
This article by Jennifer Kim, a Diversity & Inclusion Strategist, covers 50 + Ideas for Cultivating Diversity & Inclusion at Your Company. The ideas are all accessible. Her suggestion is to consider these initiatives as less “all or nothing” and more momentum-building to make a positive impact. Some highlights for me:
- Writing results-based job descriptions. I have talked about this idea before in my sourcing and hiring series. A results-based job description includes achievements the candidate should hit at the three, six, and one-year marks to be considered successful in the position. This process opens your candidate field in my experience.
- Structure your interview process so each candidate is asked the same basic questions. This suggestion does not mean you can’t expand from these questions. But having a basic set of questions for comparison helps to provide a data set.
Inclusion Practices
This blog is entitled “3 Ways to Bring Your Remote Team Together and Create an Inclusive Culture”. The author, Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson, is an Associate Professor of Management at CU Boulder Leeds School of Business. She is also the author of the national bestseller, Inclusify: Harnessing the power of uniqueness and belonging to build innovative teams.
Her recommended small but powerful steps include:
- Set up E-Meetings by sending out questions and topics in advance. Employees can email some of their feedback before the meeting. In the meeting, round-robin the discussion by calling on people one at a time to hear all voices.
- Divide workload by listing all tasks and then categorizing them by career-building and maintenance. In many offices, the housekeeping tasks automatically fall to women. Dividing those tasks equally helps everyone achieve their goals
- Organize varied social opportunities. Hold both mid-day coffee hours and after work virtual happy hours. This practice will include people who have family obligations after work or do not drink.
How Do We Define Equity?
The article “The Difference Between Workplace Equity and Equality and Why it Matters” is by Jim Link. Jim Link is Forbes Human Resources Council Member and Chief Human Resources Officer at Randstad North America.
Key Takeaways:
- Jim Link maintains that diversity, inclusion, and equity exist on a continuum. Each step needs to be fully integrated into a company culture to get benefits.
- Defining equity in purely qualitative terms in the sense of salary equity is too limiting. Once all employees feel equally valued, equity will occur naturally.
The benefits of following a set equity process include employee retention and better outcomes, and a sense of community and engagement.
Many of us in the human resources space are knowledgeable about these concepts, but I found the overviews helpful. Is your company changing the way they work with these concepts and institute them in the workplace? I would love to have a further discussion on any of these topics – feel free to DM me on LinkedIn, email, or call!
