What We Mean When We Say Diversity, Equity And Inclusion In The Workplace
When it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace, it is often difficult to describe exactly what this work is about. That’s why we’ve written this blog post, which acts as short FairForce’s Manifesto for DEI. DEI is ever-evolving, so this is by no means a static or final guide. More so it’s a conversation starter that hopes to show the importance of DEI, and examples of what it looks like in practice to spark new ideas for your own workplace.
Many practitioners use “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or “Belonging” as overarching terminology to refer to their mission and help their audience understand what their job is about.
However, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion soon became overused or abused words, buzzing all over the media, and often being associated with performative practices.
The consequence is that many organizations distance themselves from doing this work because they cringe when they hear about “diversity and inclusion”.
Practitioners from the field have started to move away from using this terminology too, as it is not offering a good picture of what the diversity, equity and inclusion work really entails. So let’s get clear on what DEI is and why it matters!
The reality is that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work is complex and comes with many variabilities.
Speaking concisely about it isn’t easy.
On one hand, companies expect Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practitioners to be brief and explicative when they propose their services. On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to provide an in-depth overview of what DEI commitments and practices more specifically look like in the workplace.
At FairForce, we believe that language matters and is a powerful tool to help connect people over shared goals.
Constraining the language around the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work risks constraining the potential and the scope of this hugely important work.
So, when the language doesn’t serve our purpose, we want to make an intentional space to rethink the language, unpack the nuances behind the terminology of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and step beyond the buzz.
In this blog post, we want to expand on what we mean when we say that we foster “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace”.
Think of this post as a mini manifesto that can help organizations understand more tangibly what topics, challenges, structures and goals we address with workplaces when we’re brought in to do DEI work.
This is by no means an ultimate, final list of what we do. DEI work is an ever-evolving practice and it is unique to each context. But hopefully the below list starts to get you thinking about how DEI can be integrated into the workplace and what hiring in support can look like in practice.
We serve people, not brands
The principle driving our work in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is very simple.
We don’t focus on the what, but on the “for whom”.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is about creating equitable systems in the workplace. This work is radically community-centric, as it points to the needs of specific groups.
When we look at DEI from the question of “who we’re doing this work for?”, the compass of our scope significantly shifts.
It goes from “we need to do something about DEI” to “we need to start serving the needs of the groups within and around the organization who are the most affected by a lack of DEI commitment”.
“Who are we doing this work for?” is a driving question helping us reaffirm a key principle.
The DEI work is about committing to understanding and serving the needs of those historically marginalized groups and whose experience in the workplace is still affected by traditional systems of inequality such as sexism, racism, white supremacy, identity biases and many more.
Our Approach To Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion can include, but is not limited to:
Challenging outdated practices in the business-as-usual system.
We get to the root of what is inequitable about the traditional way of doing business, and implement more inclusive, equitable systems.
This involves finding a better alternative to every “we’ve been doing this forever” and “but that’s what everybody does”.
We help companies rethink their business practices (hiring process, leadership, organizational structure, hierarchies, etc.) through the principle of: each practice, structure and process in the company needs to foster diversity, equity and inclusion.
We help companies with strategies that support them to build thriving businesses AND do good.
A key part of this work is about unpacking diversity, equity and inclusion and finding context-specific meaning. That means assessing each business/workplace to create tailored strategies/plans rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Making workplace accessibility a non-negotiable.
Most diversity, equity and inclusion work boils down to making workplaces and work accessible.
We help companies operate through the concept of work as a right. Everyone has the right to access labor activities and companies need to ensure people have access to work.
One of our specialisms is supporting companies to build workplaces through an accessibility-by-design model. Inclusion in the workplace isn’t a perk or after-thought, it is a necessary requirement by law.
We must shift our thinking. There’s an ableist assumption in our culture that making accommodations for disabilities is a special favor done for someone rather than a normal requirement to ensure workplaces adhere to granting ALL employees' their right to access work.
This benefits everyone in the workplace and contributes to the overall success of your whole team.
“I am often invited to give talks at corporations and government agencies, and the first thing I tell managers is that they need a neurodiverse work force. Complementary skills are the key to successful teams. Studies have shown that diverse teams will outperform homogeneous teams.”
Challenging power dynamics and rethinking attributes that define leadership.
The work we do on equity primarily centers around challenging power dynamics and designing modern leadership cultures that align business AND people needs.
We help companies rethink and shape their leadership cultures through attributes that make sense for their unique context, serve their business purposes and are radically rooted in principles of empowerment, growth mindset and humanity.
Ethical businesses are all about leadership. Businesses are led by humans and humans can shift the dial from profit-driven to centering people, nature and community.
At FairForce, we talk a lot about changemaking leadership in business. Yet, we know it’s not always easy to understand what it concretely means. Learn more in our IG reel here.
Doing identity, experience and backgrounds: bringing humanity to the center.
We help companies understand that people’s identity, experience and background matter and are a reason why people are systematically excluded, underrepresented or discriminated against at work.
We help companies understand that identity needs to be discussed at work to create awareness and build tools to fight discrimination and exclusion.
We provide educational and operational support for them to “see colors”, “do gender” and know how to establish inclusive practices.
We talk to companies about race, ethnicity, religion, queerness, migration, disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and make identity, personal experiences and backgrounds relevant to the process of shaping cultures of inclusivity.
Advancing Equity by mitigating profit-first and oppressive logics while knowing we inherently exist within them.
We acknowledge that companies are inherently embedded into capitalist logics, and therefore their structures are historically set to reproduce oppressive practices.
We work on DEI topics by committing to do our best with the resources we have and based on the context we work in. This means that we operate within the limits of working with DEI within spaces that are, by-definition, profit-oriented and under the pressure of business-first logic.
Nevertheless, we help companies mitigate the effect of their inherently capitalist nature and address the areas, cultures and habits that can be shaped toward more inclusive and equitable systems.
Some tangible ways to do this are ensuring pay equity and transparency and having a clear compensation philosophy.
Advancing people-first principles & practices
Our approach to DEI is community and people-first.
We look at people from a human-not-asset perspective and look at serving their needs through an equity-driven and inclusive approach.
We encourage companies to lead and manage people with humanity, for example by looking at people through a holistic approach – (e.g. we help companies promote potential, talent, interest and holistic view on skill sets).
We help organizations strategize the existing potential within the team instead of adopting a disposable mindset, and a fire-to-rehire or hire-or-fire approach.
Questioning traditional talent and performance criteria and the way companies have historically hired.
We help companies understand that building a diverse workforce is a structural process that starts with removing biases from organizational practices and setting new criteria for evaluating talent, company “fit” and performance quality.
By questioning traditional talent and performance criteria, we help companies shift the way they assess excellence and eligibility for a role, unpacking and deconstructing biases to allow an organic and structural change in their recruitment, hiring and promotion systems.
We help companies look beyond the limitations of traditional roles, positions, titles, responsibilities and function schemes. We find organizational models that create fair hierarchies while helping organizations scale through inclusive practices that benefit people and the business.
Read more in our blog post 6 Unconventional Hiring Strategies for Inclusive Recruitment
Helping teams work better together & set people up for success
We firmly believe that streamlining operational functions within the organization helps people access tools and knowledge to perform their best in their role.
We help teams build routines, habits and collaboration practices that help them create more synergy and more empowering systems of work. We improve meeting, email, Slack, project management, goal-setting, retrospective and win celebration routines, so they can work better together and enjoy the process.
A transparent access to knowledge, tools, systems of collaboration and communication in the organization sets people for success in their role, empowers their professional growth and helps the company achieve higher rates of inclusion and sense of belonging.
We help companies build better processes that support people’s skills, connection and sense of purpose through a cleaner, smoother and easier hands-on experience.
Building workplace community and strengthening connections.
We empower groups within the organizations that already pour energy and capacity into advancing the DEI work within the company. We work side by side with ERGs, task forces, DEI committees and leverage their leadership potential, so they can strengthen their impact, get management buy-in and achieve the results they aim for.
We prioritize creating connections and bringing people closer, so as to reengine their sense of purpose, engagement and proximity while working toward a shared goal.
Workplace community building is intrinsically linked with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and when both are prioritized it leads to a thriving workplace culture that fosters a sense of belonging for all.
Ultimately people quit because of disempowering workplace cultures. Read our 10+ Tips To Build A Thriving Workplace Culture In 2023.
There is so much more we could add to this list, but as we’re writing a blog post, not an entire book, that will have to do for now!
While Diversity & Inclusion might not seem like an easy field to understand, taking a first step towards creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace is not as difficult as it seems. In our blog post 5 Steps to Start a Diversity And Inclusion Strategy in Your Workplacewe offer some insights on how you can start with a D&I Strategy.