Breaking Bias Barriers: Identifying Concerns and Charting a path to ethical aI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various industries, but concerns about bias within AI systems have emerged. In this blog post, we will explore the key concerns surrounding bias in AI, including data bias, algorithmic bias, lack of diversity, and unintended consequences. Additionally, we will discuss actionable steps to address these concerns and pave the way for a fair and inclusive future for AI.
Concern 1: Data Bias
AI systems heavily rely on the data they are trained on. If the data used to train an AI system is biased, the system itself will be biased. To mitigate data bias, it is crucial to ensure that the training data is diverse and representative of all users. By incorporating a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we can minimize bias and promote fairness in AI systems.
Concern 2: Algorithmic Bias
AI algorithms can also be biased if they are designed or trained in a way that reflects the biases of their creators. To combat algorithmic bias, it is essential to develop algorithms that are free from prejudice and ensure fairness for all. This requires careful scrutiny of underlying assumptions, regular testing, and ongoing refinement to minimize bias and promote equal treatment.
Concern 3: Lack of Diversity
The lack of diversity in the tech industry contributes to bias in AI systems. If the people designing and training AI systems are not diverse, the systems they create may not be inclusive or representative of all users. To address this concern, it is crucial to diversify the tech industry. By fostering a diverse workforce, we can bring different perspectives to the table, leading to the creation of AI systems that are fair, unbiased, and inclusive.
Concern 4: Unintended Consequences
AI systems can have unintended consequences, such as reinforcing existing biases or creating new ones. Regularly auditing AI systems is essential to identify and address any biases that may arise, ensuring fairness and accountability. By continuously monitoring and evaluating AI systems, we can detect and rectify biases, making AI more reliable and trustworthy.
Addressing the Concerns:
To address these concerns, several steps can be taken, including:
Diversifying the tech industry is crucial to ensure that the people designing and training AI systems are diverse and representative of all users.
Regular audits of AI systems should be conducted to identify and rectify biases.
Using diverse data for training AI systems is essential to avoid perpetuating unfair biases.
Developing ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI systems is crucial to ensure fair and responsible practices.
Involving stakeholders, including users, in the development and deployment of AI systems is vital to ensure inclusivity and representation.
Bias in AI is a significant concern that requires proactive measures to address. By acknowledging and tackling bias, we can pave the way for a future where AI empowers and benefits all.
strategies for calling people in: building bridges, not walls
When you call someone out, you’re satisfying your own ego. It doesn’t always improve the situation, and it can more likely damage a relationship.
But when you know someone has done something wrong and it’s hurting you or others, how do we approach them without making matters worse?
In today's world, addressing problematic behaviour or attitudes is crucial for creating a more inclusive and supportive environment. While calling people out may be necessary in some situations, it's important to recognize that calling people in can often be a more effective approach.
Calling people in involves engaging in private and constructive conversations to address behaviour or beliefs. It focuses on creating a safe space for dialogue, understanding, and education. By inviting individuals to reflect on their actions or views, we can foster personal growth and create allies who actively work towards positive change and social justice.
Here are some strategies to effectively call people in:
1. Establish a safe and non-judgmental environment: Creating a space where individuals feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and concerns without fear of being attacked or shamed is crucial. This encourages open dialogue and fosters trust, allowing for meaningful conversations to take place.
2. Focus on education and empathy: Instead of immediately criticizing or condemning someone, approach the conversation with empathy and a willingness to educate. Share personal experiences, stories, or resources that can help them understand different perspectives and the impact of their actions.
3. Encourage self-reflection and growth: Rather than simply pointing out problematic behaviour, ask open-ended questions that encourage individuals to reflect on their actions and consider alternative viewpoints. Help them understand the potential harm caused by their behaviour and guide them towards personal growth and change.
4. Offer support and resources: Provide resources, such as articles, books, or workshops, that can help individuals further educate themselves on the topic. Offer support in their journey towards becoming an ally, and be available to answer questions or provide guidance along the way.
5. Foster ongoing dialogue: Building allies is a continuous process. Encourage ongoing conversations and check-ins to ensure that individuals are actively learning and growing. Celebrate their progress and acknowledge their efforts, which can further motivate them to continue their allyship journey.
By embracing the approach of calling people in, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment. It allows for personal growth, empathy, and understanding, ultimately fostering the development of allies who actively work towards positive change and social justice. Let's choose to call people in and build a better future together.
Change Management: The Key to Successful EDI Strategy Implementation
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are critical components of any organization's success. However, implementing an EDI strategy can be challenging, and it requires a change management approach to ensure its success. Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of incorporating a change management approach to EDI strategy implementation.
1. Change management helps to identify the need for change
The first step in implementing an EDI strategy is to identify the need for change. Change management helps organizations to identify the gaps in their current EDI practices and develop a plan to address them. By conducting a thorough analysis of the organization's current state, change management can help to identify the areas that need improvement and develop a plan to address them.
2. Change management helps to create a sense of urgency
Creating a sense of urgency is critical to the success of any change initiative. Change management helps organizations to communicate the need for change and create a sense of urgency among employees. By communicating the benefits of EDI and the risks of not implementing it, change management can help to create a sense of urgency and motivate employees to support the change initiative.
3. Change management helps to develop a plan for implementation
Change management helps organizations to develop a plan for implementing their EDI strategy. This plan should include specific goals, timelines, and metrics for measuring success. By developing a plan for implementation, change management can help to ensure that the EDI strategy is implemented effectively and efficiently.
4. Change management helps to manage resistance to change
Resistance to change is a common challenge in any change initiative. Change management helps organizations to manage resistance to change by identifying potential sources of resistance and developing strategies to address them. By involving employees in the change process and addressing their concerns, change management can help to reduce resistance to change and increase support for the EDI strategy.
5. Change management helps to monitor and evaluate the success of the EDI strategy
Monitoring and evaluating the success of the EDI strategy is critical to ensuring its long-term success. Change management helps organizations to monitor and evaluate the success of their EDI strategy by tracking progress against specific goals and metrics. By regularly reviewing progress and making adjustments as needed, change management can help to ensure that the EDI strategy is successful in the long term.
In conclusion, incorporating a change management approach to EDI strategy implementation is critical to its success. Change management helps organizations to identify the need for change, create a sense of urgency, develop a plan for implementation, manage resistance to change, and monitor and evaluate the success of the EDI strategy. By incorporating a change management approach, organizations can ensure that their EDI strategy is implemented effectively and efficiently, leading to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.
The Importance of Inclusion in the workplace: benefits, consequences, and steps to foster inclusion
When we stop to consider an inclusive workplace, what does that look like? Inclusion involves valuing and embracing diversity to ensure the active participation and feeling of belonging of all individuals and groups. It’s about creating a workplace culture that values and respects diversity, ensuring that every employee is encouraged to participate and has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Exclusion, however, is when certain employees are not included in decision-making, feel unwelcome or disrespected, and miss out on growth opportunities. Inclusion or exclusion can be identified in how managers lead meetings, who has a seat at the leadership table, and how people address acts of exclusion or marginalization.
This blog will highlight the benefits and importance of inclusion and how leaders can foster a more inclusive work environment.
The Consequences Of Exclusion In The Workplace
Exclusion can occur when managers unconsciously select employees from their own networks or cultural backgrounds. This is why companies should also focus on diversifying their leadership and management teams. Managers should be encouraged and trained to recognize and prevent exclusionary behaviors and be accountable for promoting inclusion.
The negative effects of exclusion on workplace culture and employee well-being can be significant. Being excluded registers as pain, as if you've been slapped in the face or worse. Perhaps because emotional injury is just as threatening to our survival as physical injury. Here are some of the negative effects of an exclusive work environment:
1. Reduced Productivity and Participation
When employees feel excluded, they might disengage from their work, leading to reduced productivity and poor performance. They also may be less willing to speak up or share their ideas, which should worry any organization that wants to promote innovation on their teams.
2. Increased Levels of Stress and Burnout
Exclusion can lead to feelings of isolation and stress, leading to burnout and reduced job satisfaction. The effects of long-term exclusion are even worse. Sufferers often experience anxiety and depression, which can lead to self-harm and suicide. Some victims of exclusion turn those emotions outward, becoming aggressive and violent toward others.
3. Higher Turnover Rates
Research shows that employees who feel excluded are more likely to quit their jobs, leading to increased turnover rates and recruitment costs. Organizations that don’t make the effort to promote a culture of inclusion are at risk of losing exceptional talent who will look for work where they feel a sense of value and belonging.
The Benefits Of An Inclusive Workplace
Inclusion, on the other hand, is essential for creating a positive workplace culture that encourages employee engagement, collaboration, and innovation. Employees who feel included report higher levels of job satisfaction and are more engaged in their work. Inclusion also fosters a culture of trust, teamwork, and collaboration.
A sense of belonging matters. We don't need to be popular or liked by everyone, but we do need to have a sense of belonging somewhere. This has implications for workplaces today. Employee engagement is not just a measure of work pride and productivity; it's also an indicator of inclusion and exclusion.
Here are some of the key benefits of an inclusive workplace:
1. Increased Diversity
An inclusive workplace encourages diversity by creating an environment where employees from different backgrounds feel comfortable sharing their perspectives, ideas, and unique experiences. This can lead to improved innovation, problem-solving, and decision-making.
2. Improved Employee Morale
When employees feel included, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and the organization. They feel valued and supported, leading to higher levels of engagement and productivity. Employees who feel a sense of belonging are more likely to give their all at work and be better team members for it.
3. Higher Retention of Talent
Employees who feel included are less likely to leave their jobs or take extended periods off due to stress or burnout. This can save the organization a ton of time and money in recruitment and training costs, as well as create more productive teams. Organizations that show they value their employees for who they are and make them feel included will reap the benefits.
How can organizations foster a more inclusive workplace? It will require some effort, but it’s far from impossible.
Four Steps To Fostering Inclusion In The Workplace
A culture of inclusion starts with leadership that can walk the talk and truly lead by example. Inclusive leaders recognize the value of different perspectives and actively seek diversity in their teams. They are empathetic, approachable, and give recognition and feedback fairly, providing equal opportunities for everyone to advance.
Here are four steps that organizations can implement for a more inclusive work environment:
Step 1: Awareness
Be aware that employees who may be in a minority demographic, who lack quality relationships, or who have experienced a failure in the workplace, may all be at risk of experiencing a sense of not belonging.
Step 2: Support the Development of Relationships
Encourage the development of empathetic and genuine relationships in the team. Support employees in establishing social networks through informal ‘off-task’ activities or social events.
Step 3: Make People Feel Valued
Make sure employees are clear about the expectations and requirements of their job, are trained in the necessary skills to do it well, and have some level of autonomy over their role.
Step 4: Foster an Inclusive Culture of Psychological Safety
A psychologically safe culture is one where employees feel safe to contribute and comfortable expressing their concerns and vulnerabilities, as well as their diversity.
To promote inclusion, employers should offer diversity and inclusion training, establish clear policies on respect and inclusivity, and provide accommodations for employees with disabilities. They should also ask for employee feedback to communicate their questions and concerns around diversity and inclusion, and how they can do better by their teams.
Conclusion
Creating a culture of inclusion in the workplace is essential for organizations that want to attract and retain talented employees from diverse backgrounds. Inclusive practices promote higher job satisfaction and morale, better communication, and more innovation. On the other hand, exclusion can lead to missed opportunities and a less cohesive team. To better foster inclusion in the workplace, organizations must prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in their recruitment, policies, and training practices.
Fostering Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Behind every successful team is a culture of psychological safety. Organizations that don’t take the necessary steps towards creating a psychologically safe workplace are not only at risk of a toxic environment, but can struggle to meet their business goals by silencing their team members, stifling creativity and putting a halt on innovative ideas or new opportunities.
A psychologically safe workplace is also necessary for any organization that strives to achieve equity, diversity and inclusion. This blog post will explore what psychological safety means, why it matters, and strategies leaders can use to foster psychological safety in the workplace.
The Importance of Psychological Safety at Work
Let’s start by defining what psychological safety actually means. In the workplace, psychological safety is the empowering and inclusive ability to take risks, make mistakes, ask questions and share opinions without fear of humiliation, rejection or being reprimanded.
Psychological safety acknowledges that:
Everyone has different perspectives, insecurities, and vulnerabilities
There’s strength in diversity
Everyone wants to feel respected, appreciated and happy
On the other hand, here is what psychological safety is not:
Coddling
A shield from accountability
Unearned autonomy
Consensus decision-making
When team members feel as though they are able to use their voice, they’re more likely to be engaged and satisfied in their roles.
In a research study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, they discovered that teams with high degrees of psychological safety reported higher levels of performance and lower levels of interpersonal conflict.
Teams who achieve psychological safety tend to be more productive, creative and effective in meeting their goals. Psychologically unsafe workplaces, however, can have real repercussions: by holding back new ideas and failing to effectively collaborate with each other, teams risk falling short of their full potential.
Overall, organizations who effectively create psychological safety in the workplace are better for it. So, where should leaders begin? First, let’s take a quick overview of what they should avoid.
Avoiding a Psychologically Harmful Work Environment
While there are many benefits to promoting psychological safety, there are also some risks to be aware of that can lead to a toxic environment and low employee morale. For example, some individuals may take advantage of a culture of openness to criticize others or engage in harmful behaviours, like excluding certain members of the team or forming alliances.
That is why it’s important for leadership to create clear guidelines for acceptable behaviour, provide support for individuals who are struggling and remain open to feedback from their teams on ways they can improve. Here are some important questions for leaders to consider when measuring psychological safety in the workplace:
Is team morale persistently low?
Is employee turnover persistently high?
Do team members share their ideas, or stay quiet?
Do team members ever challenge the status quo?
Does leadership dominate most conversations during meetings?
Is feedback periodically shared or requested by leadership?
Are ideas, concerns and requests addressed when brought up, or ignored?
By utilizing these questions as a starting point, organizations can determine where they may have fallen short in the past and hopefully make strides towards a more psychologically safe workplace in the future.
How to Improve Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Promoting psychological safety begins with strong leaders and will have a ripple effect within an organization. Here are just a few ways to lead by example and contribute to a psychologically safe and inclusive work culture:
Encourage open communication and actively listen.
Celebrate diversity, including different ideas and opinions.
Create an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth.
Set clear expectations and goals.
Model positive behaviours and attitudes.
Celebrate the wins, big or small, and give credit where its due.
The best way to assess your workplace’s level of psychological safety is to ask employees directly. Conduct surveys or other forms of feedback to help you gauge their level of comfort with speaking up, sharing their ideas and asking questions. This is just another step to show how much they matter, as long as their feedback is actually taken into consideration for future improvements in the workplace.
Conclusion
Creating a culture of psychological safety is an ongoing process that requires attention, effort and a commitment to putting people first. By valuing open communication, collaboration and a growth mindset, leaders can help their teams thrive. Keep in mind that psychological safety is not just a ‘nice-to-have' for an organization; it is a fundamental aspect of any healthy workplace that strives to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion.
Equal Pay Day: Closing the Gender Pay Gap
April 4th is Equal Pay Day in Canada, a day to raise awareness of the gender pay gap that persists in our society. It also marks the additional number of days women would have to work in order to earn the same amount as men in the previous calendar year.
That means if you’re a Canadian woman who works full-time hours, it’s as if you have been working for free since the beginning of the year. Read that again.
So, how can organizations achieve pay equity in the workplace? Leadership must take the necessary steps to address pay discrimination and ensure all employees feel valued and are compensated fairly for their work, regardless of gender. The time to take action is now.
What Is the Gender Pay Gap?
The gender pay gap refers to the difference in average earnings based on gender. No matter how the gender pay gap is measured, it still exists. Despite more women entering the workforce than ever before, as well as outnumbering men in pursuing university degrees, wage inequality is an ongoing human rights issue that affects women around the globe.
In fact, Canada has the eighth worst gender pay gap in the world according to the OECD (2022) ranking of countries. In 2022, Statistics Canada showed that women who worked full-time hours only earned 89 cents for every dollar men earned. From this data, we can see that women in Canada must work 15 and a half months in order to earn the same wages as men in one year.
For women of marginalized communities, the pay disparity only increases. In Canada, Indigenous women working full-time earn 65 cents for every dollar a man earns, or 35 per cent less on average. Racialized women who work full-time earn 67 cents to every dollar a man earns, or 33 per cent less on average. For women living with a disability, they earn 46 per cent less on average than men living without disabilities.
Pay discrimination is also prevalent for LGBTQ2S+ women. Based on a report from the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, people who self-identified as a sexual minority had “significantly lower median annual earnings compared with heterosexual men. In descriptive analyses, heterosexual men were found to earn the most ($55,959), followed by gay men ($50,822), lesbian women ($44,740), bisexual men ($31,776), and bisexual women ($25,290)."
It’s clear that not all women are impacted the same by the gender wage gap. Race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and disability are contributing factors to income inequality.
Why is Closing the Pay Gap Important?
Pay equity is defined as “equal pay for work of equal value.” While there are laws in place that are meant to protect women from pay discrimination, cultural factors and structures still result in women consistently being paid less than men.
Research shows that women-dominated industries, or work that is seen as traditionally “women’s work,” are undervalued and earn lower wages. It can also be difficult for women to make career advancements in male-dominated industries due to gender bias.
Another factor that contributes to the gender pay gap is lack of affordable childcare. Women with families are often expected to uphold the bulk of domestic responsibilities, sometimes involving more interruptions and absences from work that can lead to fewer promotions and salary increases over time in comparison to men.
Although the difference is slowly closing over time, the existence of the gender pay gap continues to perpetuate gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace. It’s also one of the root causes of women’s poverty, which follows them into retirement. According to the Mercer CFA Institute, there is a gendered pension gap of 22 per cent, where women are retiring with only 80 percent of what men are retiring with on average.
If present trends continue, it’s estimated to take approximately 276.6 years to close the gender wage gap worldwide.
The gender wage gap impacts the economic wellbeing of women and is a symbol for the value women placed on their work in comparison to men. Until women are paid equally and given fair opportunities to advance in their careers, they have not received economic justice.
Moving Towards an Equitable Future
While there is still a ton of progress to be made, it’s never too late to start working towards equality in the workplace. Here are three methods organizations can start implementing today to close the gender pay gap:
1. Run the Numbers
It’s not enough for an organization to say they don’t have a gender pay gap without the data to back it up. Performing yearly salary audits can help determine if there are any inequalities in employees’ wages based on their gender, or in advancement or leadership opportunities.
2. Promote Pay Transparency
To ensure fairness in pay across the board, organizations must provide clear frameworks for calculating salaries and have open communication about employee earning potential. Leaders can go the extra mile and ask employees confidentially about their perception of the organization’s progress towards pay equity.
3. Diversify Recruitment
Representation matters. Involving more women during the recruitment process, including marginalized women, ensures more women are being hired in underrepresented roles. It’s also important for organizations to give the same mentorship opportunities as men, allowing for more women to exist in high-paying leadership roles.
Not only does closing the wage gap help achieve equity in the workplace; it also helps organizations retain talent and stay competitive as employers. A 2019 study reported that 48 per cent of working Canadian women would consider quitting if they learned their male colleagues received higher compensation for similar roles.
Visit the Equal Pay Coalition of Ontario’s website and read their multi-level strategy of 12 Steps to Closing the Gap for more information on how your organization can achieve pay equity.
Moving from Exploitation to Empowerment
Nonprofits are encouraged to tell stories that make their work both memorable and fundable. However, this propensity for storytelling in the sector has raised concerns about what many call “poverty porn” — the portrayal of certain groups as helpless victims in order to generate necessary sympathy for increasing charitable donations.
Another form of this exploitation is called “trauma porn,” which includes any type of media (written, photographed, or filmed) that exploits traumatic moments of adversity to generate buzz, notoriety, or social media attention. It essentially gives people a front row seat to consume someone else’s pain at arm’s length.
Trauma porn can be seen within many marginalized groups, including those who are chronically ill or disabled. Imagine subjecting yourself to pervasive imagery of people who look like you in constant distress. The act itself can be considered a form of psychological racism: the indirect mental stressors we experience in our minds while consuming trauma.
How do nonprofits move away from exploiting the vulnerable populations they serve and instead, empower them through ethical storytelling?
Trauma Porn in Fundraising
Constant subjection of trauma porn is harmful because it exploits those who are suffering, and desensitizes us from caring. Incite Journal writes: “Not only is trauma porn ineffective in forcing people to act, instead turning us into disenchanted cynics who are painfully aware of their own powerlessness and growing desensitization, it is also profoundly dehumanizing.”
The more we highlight the plight of minorities as a commodity, the more desensitized we become. Consequently, this cycle leads to social inaction over time.
Many nonprofits will ask survivors of trauma to provide the emotional hook for their cause. But what tends to be overlooked are the ways in which these survivors may experience a number of unexpected personal and emotional challenges in the aftermath of sharing their stories.
No one talks to survivors about the impact of telling your story — what it does to you, or what it ultimately means — because in an ideal world, everyone is moved with compassion by the stories we share. That is not always the case. It’s important to examine the ethics of this type of storytelling, and ask some hard questions about the imbalance of power between trauma survivors and the nonprofits whose mission is to serve them.
Savior Mentality
Savior mentality stems from the desire to help others who are struggling, which sounds great on paper. However, the issue with this type of mentality is the way saviors tend to reject any guidance from the groups they are trying to help. Saviors want to support communities that are not their own, but believe they are the one who must remain in charge — they want to lead, not follow. When saviors are told by the people they are trying to rescue that their methods are not helpful, they refuse to listen. Instead, it’s taken as evidence that they need more help.
Community-Centric Fundraising
Community-centric fundraising is a model used by nonprofits that is grounded in equity and social justice. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments of individual nonprofit organizations, this approach prioritizes the entire community and fosters a sense of belonging and interdependence.
This movement evolves how fundraising is done in the nonprofit sector. Its goal is to re-examine every fundraising philosophy and practice they have been taught, engage in vigorous ongoing conversations, and explore fundraising in ways that reduce harm and further social justice.
Foster a Sense of Belonging, Not Othering
So, how can nonprofits fundraise to support communities in need without causing more harm?
Fundraising should always avoid ‘othering’ those the nonprofit serves, which only reinforces the savior complex. Nonprofits should instead practice an ethical approach to storytelling and ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Here are some important questions to consider:
What is the purpose of this story?
Who is the targeted audience?
Do we have the person's consent to tell their story?
How will society react to the story?
Whose needs and desires are at the centre of how the story is presented?
Who is the protagonist of the story, the person or our organization?
Who is empowered, and who is disempowered?
Are we telling the story in a way that reinforces harmful stereotypes or stigmas about a social issue or the people who are affected by it?
What will happen to the person after we tell their story in this way? Could it cause them harm? Are we going to continue to help them and be in a relationship with them, or are we leaving as soon as we get what we need?
Conclusion
In a world that is becoming increasingly desensitized to the suffering of marginalized groups, it’s more important than ever to take an equitable, social justice-based approach to fundraising. By empowering those you serve, rather than exploiting their pain, nonprofits can eliminate the harm perpetuated by the savior complex and trauma porn in storytelling.
Developing an EDI Strategy
Developing an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy can seem like an overwhelming task. This document will act as your roadmap to ensure an intentional approach to identifying and achieving organization-wide EDI priorities and goals. So, where do you start?
Identify opportunities
Leaders need to take charge. In order to set a direction, create alignment, and generate commitment to EDI initiatives in your organization, leaders must articulate their individual and collective perspective, identity, values, and culture; consider how experiences of power and privilege may impact their approach and effectiveness; and evaluate how diversity may impact the organization’s overall direction and strategy.
Your EDI strategy must be tailored to the organization in order to be credible and get buy-in from staff. You cannot simply duplicate diversity initiatives that seem trendy or effective in other organizations. Those within your organization will see through this. Instead, this work involves doing the research (staff surveys are a great start) to understand the types of diversity across your organization, and the context in which equity, diversity and inclusion play out for individuals, teams, and your organization as a whole. By exploring their specific context, leaders can engage others in the organization to identify the most relevant opportunities for change, and then select strategic actions that will drive the desired results.
Put equity first
Without a proper understanding of equity, efforts to promote diversity and inclusion are admirable, but not sustainable. It may be helpful for your organization and leadership team to have an organizational definition of equity, to ensure that it isn’t conflated with equality. Something simple like: “To enact equity is to provide all people with fair, (but not necessarily the same) opportunities to reach their full potential.”
To make progress on EDI, leaders need to acknowledge societal inequities and recognize that, unintentionally, their organization may mirror those inequities. That’s okay. The first step to moving things forward is acknowledgement. When organizational leaders express their motivation, as well as acknowledge any barriers, for countering inequity; set clear goals toward greater equity; and take action, they signal a commitment that becomes the foundation of the organization’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
Diversity
Diversity is the collective of differences and similarities that includes individual characteristics, values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, and behaviors. Activating that diversity is a process that involves recognizing and engaging differences within your employee and client base. You must equip managers and teams to explore the impact of diversity on perspectives, assumptions, and approaches, and identify ways to enhance the contribution of all.
Note: The discourse around diversity sometimes gets conflated with representation (i.e. the proportion of women, racialized people, LGBTQ2S+ people in positions of leadership in your organization). While representation has value, in order to get the full benefits of diversity, leaders have to dig deeper than trying to increase diverse representation. Your organization must create a culture of inclusion and belonging.
Inclusion
Inclusion requires active, intentional, and ongoing efforts to promote the full participation and sense of belonging of every employee, client, and partner. It involves policies and practices, but also the ability to envision and enact new ways of leading. Leaders need tools, resources, and support as they improve their ability to identify and mitigate bias, respect differences, build empathetic relationships, foster allyship, manage conflict, and bring out the best in others.
Communication
Communication is the most important task of leadership. The topic of EDI can be emotionally charged for equity seeking groups or employees within your organization who have been waiting for acknowledgement and meaningful action to be taken, as well as others that are only beginning to understand the hardships experienced by these groups. People will have questions. Some may even feel that they are being left behind. The role of leadership is creating a psychologically safe environment for meaningful engagement on the issue. When done well, this creates allyship and, more importantly, a higher functioning organization.
Creating a sustainable culture change requires an intentional approach to EDI. This is not something that happens overnight; it will require ongoing commitment. But if you are looking for tangible things to do that go beyond well-worded tweets and proclamations, we hope you consider these steps as you begin this journey.
Written by Michelle Okere