By Social Chorus | July 14, 2021
A substantial diversity and inclusion strategy can help organizations attain top talent, driving innovative outcomes.
Promoting and improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a crucial initiative that many companies are now taking.
Aside from being simply the right thing to do, savvy executives understand the many benefits of a diverse workplace and know that it’s part of improving the employee experience. Below we look at specific benefits of diversity and inclusion and explain some simple things your company can do to improve it.
Diversity and inclusion workplace benefits
A diverse workforce, in terms of age, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientations, gender, gender identity, and national origin brings diverse viewpoints and perspectives to the company.
Among other things, these elements can help you develop great new products and new ways to cater to customers. Looking at statistics on the impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives, the benefits of workplace diversity include higher revenue, more innovation better decision making, equal access, treated fairly, higher rates of job acceptance when you make offers to qualified candidates, and better performance than competitors.
Therefore many execs have no problem embracing policies, initiatives, and tools designed to increase levels of diversity among employees. A diverse workforce, however, is just the first step.
That’s because diversity in the workplace does not necessarily mean inclusivity in the workplace. Yes, making diversity a priority is important; but so is the next logical step: creating a culture where people from all backgrounds feel included. Inclusivity is the key to maintaining (not just creating) workplace diversity.
When it comes to establishing and following through on a commitment to diversity and inclusion, however, you can have a big impact. Here are the top 15 ways you can support inclusion and diversity in your workplace.
1. Use the “Inclusive Workplace Model”
What’s the difference between diversity and inclusion in your workplace? If your company doesn’t score high inclusivity marks, you risk alienating some of your workforce.
For example, consider the employee who’s a native Spanish speaker but doesn’t feel entirely comfortable speaking any language other than English in workplace common areas. Or the breastfeeding mother just returning to work who has no space to pump her breast milk. Or the Muslim employee who feels insecure about maintaining his daily prayer routine on company grounds.
Inclusive cultures make people feel valued and proud of their culture. Diversity in the workplace statistics shows that inclusive companies are more likely to create a workforce that reflects a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
By first acknowledging the differences that may exist in your workforce, you can more consciously introduce inclusion efforts and diversity initiatives in your organization.