Diversity measures for more inclusion in the workplace

In my work, managers often get caught up in discussions about "the system". I once worked with a research institute and it seemed to be impossible to co-create measures for a more inclusive work culture - because everyone was so distracted with the hurdles by "the system". This was in spite of the fact that through an employee survey we had a very clear understanding of people's pain points and needs. To me, it seemed obvious that change was in our hands- and to my workshop's participants it seemed obvious that there was little we could do.

While I understand that initiating change is more difficult for some than for others, I strongly believe that hiding behind "the system" is a harmful strategy. Harmful not only because it inherently means resignation, but also because others will not resign and your company might end up being in a very bad position.

Yes, it is difficult for a statistics lab to attract more female professors when there are such few women on the market. However, if you consequently decide to not do anything about your companies' attractiveness to women - the few women will go somewhere else. I see this happening all the time, particularly in male-dominated sectors. While most companies burry their heads in the sand and say: 'well, there are just too few women graduating from the universities within our fields', there is this one company that manages to attract more women than the others. And while the rest is still busy blaming skewed gender ratios, this one company develops counter-strategies and wins over the few remaining women that used to work for the other companies.

We need to acknowledge that no institution is completely isolated; we all have to cope within a certain framework that is determined by policies, incentive structures, social norms and many other factors. At the same time, we have power. It is us who make hiring decisions, live and set a certain culture, define social codes and norms and therefore reproduce or redefine "the system". Striving for change always entails, to a certain degree, changing the system - by reinventing your area of impact.

Of course, change takes effort and usually does not happen over night. Yet, there are plenty of other measures you can take to make a difference:

1. Inclusive Hiring Practices

• Placing your job postings strategically so that they attract specific stakeholder groups such as women or people with a migration background.

• Reconsider where you post your job descriptions, how you present your company on the website, and what questions you ask during interviews.

• Check your job ads for biased language using tools such as the gender decoder. Gender bias can be very subtle, but even so, it may discourage women from applying.

  
  

2. Workplace Accessibility & Accommodations

• Consider whether your workplace is accessible to a wide variety of people. Are the desks, software, toilets, etc., suitable for people with physical disabilities? How about accommodations for neurodivergent people, such as quiet spaces? What’s your toilet, changing room, or gendered uniform policy for trans and nonbinary people?

• Making your company more family-friendly can positively impact employees of any gender. Think about how you can make part-time work possible even in leadership positions (e.g., through job-sharing), encourage men to take an equal share of parental leave, allow for more flexible working hours to accommodate care responsibilities, etc.

• Introduce mentoring (or reverse mentoring) to support marginalized employees in advancing their skills and careers.

  
  

3. Promoting a Diverse and Inclusive Culture

• Do an empathy workshop with your team and immerse yourself into the shoes of others: What would they look out for? What would be important in your company culture? How can you convey that?

• Promote conversations about diversity and inclusion topics, for example by regular check-ins, providing informational materials, or hosting lunch talks. Encourage employees to share about diversity topics they feel passionate about.

• Lead by example. If your employees see you championing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and speaking up about discrimination, they will eventually follow suit.

• Make diversity and inclusion part of your company’s DNA by including it in your values, code of conduct, employee handbook, onboarding materials, cooperation agreements, etc.

4. Feedback & Continuous Improvement

• Make sure honest feedback across hierarchies is a regular and formalized part of your work.

• Introduce regular employee satisfaction surveys to find out where they might experience discrimination or other obstacles to doing their best work.

• Formalize networking opportunities to make their benefits accessible to every employee, rather than relying on in-groups.

5. Support Systems & Resources

• Nominate a diversity officer or start a diversity task force to tackle inequalities and support employees who experienced discrimination or are in need of accommodations.

• In larger companies, consider sponsoring employee resource groups for diverse employees such as women, BIPoC, LGBTQ+, employees with disabilities, etc.

• Provide information on diversity and inclusion for your employees (and possibly clients or customers as well). You can put up posters, share resources on your intranet or Slack, create a small library in your break room with works on diversity topics, and so on.

• If your employees (and/or customers) are culturally diverse, be mindful of cultural differences. For example, allow employees to take paid time off for their religious holidays (or other culturally important events) without using up vacation days, take dietary restrictions into account when planning for a company event, and so on.

• Do a user-testing of the public materials with potential employees, e.g., university students to learn what they find important.

Finding the right diversity measures for more inclusion in the workplace is a journey

Although it is not easy, striving for inclusion is possible. Finding the right diversity measures for more inclusion in the workplace requires paying attention to diverse employees' and potential employees' needs.

In the longrun, your company culture will benefit from the advantages of diversity as put forward the World Economic Forum and leading consultancies: Companies with diverse employees show an improvement in productivity and economic growth. They perform better at problem-solving and managerial decision making. This makes sense if you think about the variety of perspectives a diverse team can rely upon, taking into consideration individuals’ lived experiences and knowledge. If you want help with getting started on your company journey, check out our starter's kit.