Real Cultural Care

Diversity & Inclusion in the workpace.

It is refreshing to log into LinkedIn and see many companies support Pride Month. But don’t allow this to be the only reason we talk about diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Diversity and Inclusion is a company’s mission, strategies, and practices to support a diverse workplace and leverage the effects of diversity to achieve a competitive business advantage. A diverse and inclusive workplace is one that makes everyone, regardless of who they are, or what they do for a business, feel equally involved and supported in all areas of the workplace.

Diversity in the Workplace

Workplace diversity is understanding, accepting and valuing differences between people, including those:

Of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities and sexual orientation
With differences in education, personalities, skills set, experiences and knowledge bases

It is important to note that these are not just ‘buzz words’ a company can use, it is very helpful that these are understood within the workplace. While both diversity and inclusion are inter-connected they are not interchangeable. It is therefore important not to fall into the trap of having one without the other.

Your company may have an environment of different nationalities and sexual orientations but only certain groups carry any authority or influence. This is where your company may be diverse, but not inclusive!

Why is it Important?

Following on from the difficult year that was 2020 and the impact of Black Lives Matter, it is clear that conversations around diversity and inclusion are becoming more mainstream. The benefits can be found throughout companies:

Directly tackling racism and prejudice
An increase in employee satisfaction
Stronger, more consistent performance
Greater diversification of skills and creativity
Higher prospects for innovation
A wider, more global impact
An improved company reputation
Reduced employee turnover
Wider talent pool

Where do I Start..

The first step is to incorporate training that focuses specifically on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. However, it is important to remember that it shouldn’t stop there. This is where you need to over-communicate with your staff and start measuring their attitude with tools such as staff surveys. From here you can establish the level of understanding employees have on this topic and what level of trust they have for the company. Any measures put in place need to lead from the top-down as everyone needs to be a part of embedding this into the culture. You may not see a change overnight, however, but it is certainly a good place to start.

Policy, policy, policy

It is no better time to bring it back to basics and have a review of your current policies. This includes updating job descriptions and ads to re-vamping your recruitment process to ensure your company is being diverse and inclusive. If you would like further advice/guidance on any above, please do not hesitate in reaching out.

What’s Coming Next?

Minister Roderic O’Gorman has now announced that he intends to complete a review of the Employment and Equality and Equal Status Acts. The review will take place around introducing socio-economic ground for discrimination and the amendment to the gender ground. This strengthens the need to place a focus on Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace as the legislative proposals are due to be brought to Government in 2022.