Inclusion and diversity remain essential topics in workplaces and offices worldwide. Every company needs to stay aware of these problems to develop effectively because employees are the engines of every structure. Every worker deserves a respectful and equal attitude and care during their working time and outside their workplace. Different points of view and perspectives are crucial for business challenges, increased productivity, and solving problems. However, no matter how this area changes, there will always be room for improvement.
After the beginning of World War II, women in America started to get jobs because the majority of the male population went to war. However, they were paid less than men, leading to other unequal treatment. It led to changes in this area and ignited a wave of other groups demanding equal treatment in their workplaces. One of the first steps to change the situation was an executive order by John Kennedy in 1961, which required employers to treat their workers equally regardless of religion or ethnic origin. In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act trod the path for people with disabilities to work without discrimination. Later, in 1878, the Supreme Court recognized the sexual harassment of a black woman Mechelle Vinson as an offense that deserved prosecution for the first time. Every step led to the 2020 Supreme Court statement about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its dissemination to the LGBTQ+ community.
Even though humanity has been fighting this issue for decades, the gender and racial gap still exists. It is stated that “black workers make seventy-six cents for every dollar white workers make, as well as women earn seventy-six cents for every dollar men make” (Gooden, n.d.). At the same time, Latino employees earn even less – seventy-three cents for every white person’s dollar (Gooden, n.d.). Idaho, Louisiana, Utah, and Wyoming have the worst gaps in salary between men and women (Gooden, n.d.). However, Idaho is the only state where an average black worker gets paid more than a white worker (Gooden, n.d.). Humanity needs to continue fighting for equal rights for every group of people.
Workers can be discriminated against for many different differentiating factors like gender, age, sexual orientation, race and ethnic origins, disabilities, etc. Diversity issues can cause harm to mental health as well as physical. It also can cost the organization reduced cohesion of the team, their performance, productivity level, and negative attitudes of workers towards the company. Studies show that “more than eighty percent of Millennials want to work for companies that actively foster inclusion” (Firstup, 2021). Besides being right, employers need to understand that making the workspace diverse can be beneficial for their organizational goals and numbers. According to Martic (2019), “Companies that have more diverse management teams have nineteen percent higher revenue and are almost twice more likely to be innovation leaders in their market”. They outperform competitors by thirty-five percent because of their diverse politics (Martic, 2019). However, diversity and inclusivity are not only profitable for the workforce but also can form the ability of the company to be competitive in global and local markets.
It matters that diversity is not the same as inclusivity. Making the staff diverse is vital, but providing inclusivity and the feeling of acceptance for every employee is what maintains a friendly and efficient atmosphere in the collective. According to research, there are positive developments in this issue. Thomas et al. state that “almost sixty-five percent of employees with mental health problems are treated better at work since 2007” (2019). However, there should not be a maximum level of diversity. This value needs to be trained and improved in every organization around the globe. Studies show that “LGBT workers experienced extremely high levels of sexual harassment (sixty-eight percent), with one in eight LGBT women reporting serious sexual assault or rape” (Callister, 2022). These numbers only show how serious the problem remains even though there are promising developments. One of the significant changes in companies’ plans was the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020. People who worked in offices mostly started working remotely, which affected the cohesion level in companies’ teams.
After more than two years of lockdowns and quarantines, companies start bringing workers back to the office. It leaves them in a situation where the inclusivity efforts need to be started again to provide a comfortable and polite working environment. Companies can embrace the differences of their workers in different ways. One of the binding rules is to treat everyone fairly in daily questions like promotions, salaries, recruitment, etc. Employees should feel safe and not inequal during their work time. One of the common ways people get offended not only in their workplace, is wrongly chosen words. Every company needs to have rules about forbidden topics and words and respect pronouns. Another crucial principle of inclusivity is to be objective in decision-making. There should not be preferences on any level, while decisions made by groups of people can and should be encouraged. Human resources and legal departments should be involved in diversity work and provide high-quality services for different groups of workers. Things like firing employees and other complex decisions should be done correctly in respect of people. Equality in the workplace is a crucial element of a company’s success.
The makeup of the company’s superiors speaks directly about its culture. It is crucial to have people of different ages, gender, race, and sexual orientation in top management. This factor demonstrates cultural awareness and the ability to be unbiased in professional questions. It is found that “among the Fortune five hundred companies, only twenty-four CEOs are women, which represents just five percent of the total number of CEOs” (Firstup, 2021). At the same time, only three of them are black, the same amount is gay, and one CEO is lesbian (Firstup, 2021). Religious freedom and acceptance are also essential in creating inclusive workspaces. Organizations can focus on holidays because it is a big part of most religions. For example, the Christmas day-offs are basic for many companies, but there are other celebrations during the winter season like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Yule that people celebrate. Another feature that makes employees feel accepted is connection and respect. People need to feel included and that their voice is essential to the company. Every organization should provide the freedom to express the feelings of employees.
Pay inequality due to gender is an issue common for many jobs and professions worldwide. Companies need to be transparent in their policies and show their desire to move in the right direction in this question. In fact, if the company has similar problems, it is vital for them to provide clarity in their future reforms and changes. However, if different factors like pregnancy can affect the data, they need to be transparent and honest about that. Language barriers are common issues for international companies with teams located in different countries and for companies situated in multi-cultural cities like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. It is crucial to provide a way of connection, such as a translator, but it is also great if an organization allows its workers to study other languages. It looks like a waste of money, but it will bear fruit in the future. There are also many specialists outside the United States that can bring fresh impulses to the companies they join. Even though the coronavirus affected many areas in the wrong way, remote workers can become findings for companies.
It is clear that society nowadays is different from its past versions. Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, #StopAAPIHate and other movements fighting for equality that appeared in recent years were the ones of the most massive protests in the history of America. That is why the topic of inclusivity is crucial for every company that wants to care about its workers and be modern. Every person wants to feel valuable and needed to do their job. It can be wrongly assumed that inclusivity is about forgetting principles of fairness to provide special treatment to black, indigenous, and people of color, but it is nothing like that. Auger-Dominguez (2022) declares that “fairness requires treating people equitably, which may entail treating people differently but in a way that reduces systemic disparities” (p. 117). One of the methods to hire professionals regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, age, or race is to get rid of the resume system and use other more progressive ways to test possible future workers. HRs can use questions in their interview and skills tests or brain games to understand the level of people’s knowledge and readiness.
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace became the subjects of focus for many companies. It is frequent nowadays to put people first, which is a good tendency. Surveys show that “forty-three percent of business leaders said there’s room for improvement when thinking about how much their company invests in systems and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion” (Sweetman, 2022). Companies continue to cultivate the development of their policy toward minorities. It is also interesting that another survey showed “that sixty-three percent of respondents said that the pandemic has had a positive impact on diversity and inclusion in their organization” (Sweetman, 2022). However, it is important to understand that coronavirus affection was not only positive. Other problems distracted the management of companies from the development of this area. However, it does not affect the need to put people first, not technology, innovation, or profits. That way, the companies secure their long-term success and activity.
To conclude, modern companies need to be aware of diversity and inclusion issues and continue to grow and develop in that aspect. Every worker deserves a workspace where they can feel safe, accepted, and loved. It is not only for workers but also for companies’ improvement. Different perspectives bring new ideas and are crucial for organizations’ growth and progress. Even though humanity has come a long way in changing the wrong doctrines and teachings of the past, companies need to transform this area further.
References
Auger-Dominguez, D. (2022). Inclusion Revolution: The Essential Guide to Dismantling Racial Inequity in the Workplace. Basic Books.
Callister, L. (2022). Seven tips for workplace equality & diversity. Skillcast.
Firstup. (2021). Fifteen ways to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Firstup.
Gooden, T. (n.d.) History of Diversity and Inclusion Policies in the Workplace. Kazoo.
Martic, K. (2019). Top five workplace diversity statistics. Medium.
Sweetman, A. (2022). The Future Of Diversity & Inclusion: It’s A People Thing. Finance Monthly.
Thomas, L., Baynton, M. A. & Chandrasekera, U. (2019). Discrimination prevention and inclusivity. Workplace Strategies for Mental Health. Web.