Powerful Ways to promote DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) in the Workplace | Amit Singh| CEO| TelioLabs

Several companies dive headfirst into becoming more diverse. However, overlooking the intertwined nature of diversity, equity, and inclusion is a mistake. The corrective measure herein involves promoting DEI as a cohesive framework. That’s because equity and inclusion not only serve individual purposes but make room for diversity to flourish. Think about it yourself. Where would someone from a marginalised community want to work? In a place where they are doomed to become token bearers of their community? Or in an organisation that structures hiring policies as such to make them feel a sense of belongingness? The answer’s the latter. However, let’s hold back on discussing the mechanics of DEI for now, and focus instead on some actionable tips. Here are six powerful ways in which you can promote DEI in your workplace:-

Make inclusivity a part of company culture

The best way to foster DEI is to make diversity, equity, and inclusivity guiding forces that shape your company’s culture. From how teams communicate to even the events that you host, DEI considerations must be given their due. Also, remember that culture has a way of trickling down from the top. So, if the higher-ups in your organisation don’t share a commitment to fostering DEI, efforts at the grassroots level may fall flat. All in all, conceptualise your company’s culture such that DEI becomes an ever-present consideration.

Make DEI an organisation-wide priority

As we mentioned above, higher-ups must showcase their commitment to fostering DEI. Expanding on this further, it’s important to ensure that DEI-related considerations are not siloed to certain factions of the organisation. That’s because you’ll open yourself up to absurd payoffs if you don’t approach DEI as an organisation-wide priority. In other words, it’s not pragmatic to expect one department to be DEI-oriented and others to act out willy-nilly. Not only will doing so tarnish your attempts at cultivating a DEI-focused company culture but also give rise to a non-ubiquitous and inefficient code of conduct across departments.

Tweak your talent acquisition process

Fostering DEI is not restricted to making changes within the workplace. The way you approach talent acquisition can also make a huge difference. For instance, merely modifying the language in job descriptions can entice a more diverse applicant pool. Herein, even something as simple as eliminating gender-coded language counts. Secondly, blind resume reviews are also conducive to greater DEI. When decision-makers are not subjected to attributes that may trigger their biases (schools, names, addresses etc.), they’re more inclined to make inclusive hiring choices. Using standardised interview questions is yet another effective way to increase DEI. The logic here is that when all applicants undergo a similar interview progression, they share an equal footing. In other words, structured interview questions make sure that talent acquisition remains equitable and no applicant receives special treatment.

Address and eliminate pay inequity

It takes a certain amount of indifference to deny the presence of the wage gap in today’s day and age. We strongly urge you not to fall into such trappings. Instead, address the problem for what it is and dig deep for solutions. Herein, higher-ups can gauge organisational hierarchies to look for policies that promote favouritism and inequity. Even when deciding pay scales for new hires, you can choose to adopt a purely meritorious approach and refuse to consider their salary history.

Conclusion

Making DEI into one of the core tenets of the business world is going to be a long journey. However, it is one that all of us must choose to take together. By imparting continuous DEI education and perpetually pursuing these three intertwined goals, there’s a lot we can achieve over time. So, let’s just keep the ball rolling!