Lately, diversity in the workplace has become a stronger case in the world of HR. In the human resources department, there have been attempts to make the recruitment process more inclusive through the use of diversity recruiting software and company policies, and corporate strategies to make the employee experience more inclusive by the professionals. HR professionals’ efforts on DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are countless but let us start with explaining the basic concepts.
Diversity in the workplace can be described as the employment of people from a variety of backgrounds and demographics. A diverse workforce includes people from different genders, ages, religions, languages, ethnic backgrounds, countries of origin, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and so on.
Equity is an effort to understand and address the unique needs of people from different demographics. Equity can involve having a variety of meal options for the employees to meet their specific needs such as for religious, health, and ethical reasons.
Inclusion is treating all employees equally regardless of their different backgrounds and demographics. Inclusion involves providing the same opportunities for every employee such as promotion and learning opportunities.
According to Forbes’ 3 Benefits of Diversity In The Workplace article, the most important benefits of having a diverse workforce are:
Diverse teams improve creativity and innovation by offering various ideas coming from different experiences and backgrounds.
A diverse workplace creates greater opportunities for professional development. A diverse team can be a chance to develop professionally and personally because of the exposure to different cultures and perspectives in life and work.
Diverse teams are better at making decisions thanks to the broader perspective and more information that can be brought to the table.
“A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.” — Sundar Pichai
A diverse workforce does not only have benefits for the employees already working in the company, but it also has an impact on the possible job seekers as well.
According to Glassdoor’s research What Job Seekers Really Think About Your Diversity and Inclusion Stats, an inclusive workplace is a strong factor for job seekers while considering their next career move.
3 in 4 (76%) job seekers and employees reported that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers.
McKinsey’s 2019 analysis showed that in the case of ethnic and gender diversity, companies in the top quartile are 36% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile. The Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics report also found that diverse companies earn 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee and inclusive teams are more productive by over 35%. These research shows us that the benefits of diversity are not limited to employee or candidate experience. Diversity affects the companies' performance and bottom line as well.
83% of millennials were found to be actively engaged when they believe the organization fosters an inclusive culture by Deloitte. According to the research, millennials are less engaged than members of older generations, the reason behind this might be organizations' inadequate efforts on diversity and inclusion.
To sum up, we need different opinions to develop and grow professionally. One of the best ways to get unique perspectives in work is by having a diverse team with various backgrounds. Diversity can seem intimidating for some traditional companies but in the future diversity will be a stronger topic for organizations because of Gen-Z’s involvement in the workplace. For this reason, it might be a good idea to start from somewhere to implement more on DE&I.
To manage a diverse workforce, creating psychological safety in the workplace can be very beneficial. To read more about psychological safety take a look at our recent blog.
References
Deloitte - The Radical Transformation of Diversity and Inclusion The Millennial Influence https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/about-deloitte/us-inclus-millennial-influence-120215.pdf
Diversity wins: How inclusion matters https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters
Forbes- 3 Benefits of Diversity In The Workplace https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/12/17/3-benefits-of-diversity-in-the-workplace/?sh=5a5022cf22ed
Glassdoor - What Job Seekers Really Think About Your Diversity and Inclusion Stats https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/diversity/
https://www.yahoo.com/now/diversity-inclusion-d-global-market-102300289.html
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