Diversity and Inclusion – are they the same thing?

Modern workplaces have begun to look and feel very different over the last 15 to 20 years as society and culture has changed to reflect the increasingly diverse outlook that defines British life in the 21st Century.

For businesses this has meant a seismic shift in the policies and thinking that underpin recruitment and reward processes.

The bad old days of mostly white, mostly male organisations may not have been totally consigned to commerce and industry’s history books, but we are certainly in a much better place now than we were in, say, up to as recently as the 1990s.

Yet the question of equality is still a daunting one for many businesses and their leaders.

This is partly fuelled by the fear of being tripped up by a constantly changing landscape of what is considered acceptable language, partly because the education tools and resources that businesses need to be able to navigate HR issues is still woefully thin on the ground (and especially so when it comes to finding free or low-cost reliable advice), and partly because filling the knowledge gap is not always seen as a priority when it comes to personal and professional development.

One area that can become easily confused is in understanding the difference between Diversity and Inclusion, or D&I as it is often referred to.

The two go hand in hand, and it’s understandable that some businesses find it hard to not only understand the fundamental differences between the two, but also to develop policies and processes that support both themes.

Even those involved in helping businesses to improve their internal processes and policies to prioritise D&I in the workplace can’t always agree on how to approach these two themes.

For example, an associate of mine would argue fiercely that D&I puts the cart before the horse and that it should be I&D, since she believes you can’t have a truly diverse workplace until it is truly inclusive.

So, regardless of which way round it appears when you write it down, what is the difference between diversity and inclusion, and how can you ensure that you understand those differences well enough to develop and implement policies and processes that support your work in this area?

Inclusion

Let’s take my friend’s lead and start with Inclusion.

Inclusion is not specifically about celebrating or prioritising differences. It isn’t about colour or gender or disability or age or sexuality or religion, or about any other personal or cultural difference in your staff.

Inclusion is about creating a culture of value, of safety and of trust. To be truly inclusive requires you to value everyone in your workplace and to ensure that you foster an environment in which they feel supported and able to express and share how they feel or what they think without fear or favour.

Non-inclusive workplaces are those in which people are afraid, for whatever reason, to question how things are done. Organisations that don’t actively encourage their employees to openly share concerns and create safe spaces in which to do so are more likely to encourage their staff to hide their opinions, feelings or personal challenges for fear of being singled out.

But talking the talk isn’t enough, either. Telling your staff that you want them to speak and act freely without worrying that their opportunities will be limited as a result is all well and good, but true inclusion is also about listening to what they then say and acting on it.

That doesn’t mean you have to ask how high when an employee says jump. But it does mean creating opportunities, systems and processes that ensure that an employee believes that what they have said has been heard and that they have been given a considered response – even if the response is not what they want to hear back.

Inclusion, then, is about ensuring that the contribution, skills and knowledge of every single employee are visibly and meaningfully acknowledged.

Diversity

In contrast to Inclusion, Diversity is largely about difference and about ensuring that the differences in your workforce are celebrated, championed and encouraged.

Diversity is also about ensuring your internal policies and processes treat every individual equally, regardless of whether their characteristics conform to your own world view.

Diverse organisations understand that the lived experience – the experience of seeing life as a person of colour in a largely white community, or a transexual individual in a largely straight world, a person with a disability in a world largely built for the able-bodied – adds depth and richness to collective knowledge, skills and thinking.

But Diversity isn’t a box-ticking exercise. It is possible – in fact, it’s a legal requirement – to have processes and policies that safeguard equality in how you recruit, reward, develop and retain people. But that doesn’t make your organisation diverse. It just makes it legally compliant.

To be truly diverse, those who lead businesses need to believe – truly, in their hearts as well as in their minds – that the differences that make us who we are will also serve to make their organisations better employers, with better human values and more progressive thinking that leads to improved productivity, exceptional talent retention and a healthier bottom line. 

If you’d like to find out more about how Constantia Consulting can help you or your HR team to create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace, please get in touch for an informal chat.