In the light of recent societal movements, such as #metoo or #TimesUp, and the increased focus on the conversations around race and gender from both a political and economic viewpoint, the concept of Diversity has started to become charged with a negative connotation that often dismisses what it really means.
For many Diversity is a word associated with fear & doubt. For example, for a white male, it might translate into looking around to make sure there are few minorities and/or women somewhere in the organization (“check marking the boxes”). For a minority and/or a woman, it might be associated with a sense of doubt of belonging. One of the main reasons Diversity has shifted from being an empowering concept to being fear-driven is that it’s often misunderstood, misinterpreted and misused. Many can think of Diversity more as a Compliance driver vs a Cultural driver.
It’s critical to fully understand what Diversity is NOT. Diversity isn’t linked to discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age or disability; that’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)– a Compliance/legal aspect of the workforce & organizations at large -. It’s also not about improving opportunities of hiring and promoting historically excluded or underrepresented groups in our country (women, minorities, veterans…); that’s driven by Affirmative Action (AA) plans that define an employer’s standards – another Compliance/legal aspect of the workforce and organizations -. Both EEO and AA focus on legally driven mandates that benefit protected classes based mainly on demographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, age, disability, …) and completely unrelated to the organization’s business and strategic goals. So, what’s Diversity?
Diversity is a much broader and deeper concept, directly linked to business levers that influence the bottom line as an integral part of an organization’s strategic goals. Diversity is not just about representation of multiple identity groups (including white males); it’s about recognizing, respecting and valuing these differences and fully leveraging them as true assets of the organization by infusing these diverse perspectives and alternative approaches to further contribute and enhance: employee engagement, customer relations, innovation, flexibility and sustainable growth as true competitive advantages. As such Diversity includes a much wider range of attributes or dimensions than just demographics: cultural styles, functional backgrounds, unique experiences, ideas and opinions – defined as Cognitive Diversity -. Furthermore, Diversity is a voluntary, proactive process of organizational culture based on valuing differences at all levels which creates a true sense of belonging for ALL and fosters Empowerment, breaks down walls and leads to a truly fearless and integrated collaboration.
In an increasing competitive global landscape where innovation, agility and employee & client retention are critical for sustainable survival and growth, organizations should start looking at Diversity as a key strategic lever that starts at the Leadership level and authentically permeates through all the levels and aspects of the organization creating a true Cultural competence to help them to not only stay a relevant player today but as they plan and build their future.