Workplace Inclusion: A focus on Practice and Culture

We hope you are keeping safe and healthy. Thank you for your constant feedback and support thus far… We have been reflecting on the workplace as a catalyst for Inclusion at a systemic level. How would you rate inclusion at your workplace? Whilst we would be happy to guide you on what we call a Social Inclusion audit for your organisation, we are using this blog post to share a few resources around workplace inclusion that you may find helpful.

1. Please have a look at a series of four recent webinars by Korn Ferry that explore Inclusive Leadership, Being an Ally, Inclusive Boards and Inclusivity in Talent Systems. You can access the truly insightful Inclusion Matters series here.

2. We would also like to share a report from the New York Times ‘Building a culture that works for all of us’ that is based on an internal review of the organisation. We can all as organisations learn a lot from this report and the approach and actions taken. We wish NYT the best in this journey. An extract from the report follows below:

‘After several months of interviews and analysis, we have arrived at a stark conclusion…Our current culture and systems are not enabling our workforce to thrive and do its best work. This is true across many types of differences: race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, socioeconomic background, ideological viewpoints, and more. But it is particularly true for people of color, many of whom described unsettling and sometimes painful day-to-day workplace experiences…People will inevitably question our plan, and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we know some will worry that in focusing on people of color we are leaving them behind. We want to be clear about our commitment. Diversity is not in tension with our journalistic mission: Instead, it helps us find the truth and more fully understand the world’

3. The PearnKandola organization also ran a series of webinars on gender equality in organizations that are very practical in the application. The ‘Big talk, little progress’ series covers gender stereotypes in leadership, the gender pay gap, micro incivilities, and what to do about them at the workplace- very useful topics for discussions and policy. You can access this information here.

4. Another great resource on leadership, culture and practice at the workplace is the Harvard Business Review- HBR. Please follow this to engage on varuous topics that affect our workplaces here.

5. We welcome you to go through the Edelman Trust Barometer report and the McKinsey Inclusion report.

‘ This year’s study shows that business is not only the most trusted institution among the four studied [Business, NGOs, Government, Media], but it is also the only trusted institution with a 61 percent trust level globally and the only institution seen as both ethical and competent. When the government is absent, people clearly expect businesses to step in and fill the void… The heightened expectations of business bring CEOs new demands to focus on societal engagement with the same rigor, thoughtfulness, and energy used to deliver on profits.’

2021 Edelman Trust Barometer.

‘… to achieve lasting progress, companies must go beyond the systematic approach to I&D we have previously advocated and …. companies will typically require a step-change in the level of courage and boldness [and] be ready to tackle sensitive topics around cultural norms, and to shine a spotlight on and apply consequences for individual behavior, including that in management and leadership. Moreover, they need to sustain these efforts over time… fostering a diverse and inclusive culture is a critical success factor’.

Diversity Wins by McKinsey & Company. 2020

6. Looking inwards, whether as consultants, employers, or employees, it’s been an exhausting year of keeping up with COVID-19 related changes to our way of doing things. Few ask how we are doing as this is now seen as the new normal. As the Embrace Everyone team, we hope you are well and we leave you with these words from rawsignalgroup ‘the beginning of the end’ that aptly summarise how most of us feel.

‘Isolating ourselves also means isolating others. Because another thing that suffers when everyone in a workplace (or a society) pulls inward, is allyship. The scarcity creeps in. Of time. Of attention. Of energy to reply to a message asking the group for help, not knowing where those reserves are going to come from. Of willingness to go to bat yet again to make sure the right people are even included on a meeting invite. It’s fair to need rest. To have moments when you know you’re no good to nobody. But what happens when we all withdraw at the exact same time? The only way to get your range of motion back is through slow, intentional, careful stretching. It starts when you notice that you’re hunched over… The reconnecting is important. …We can’t tell you what kind of stretch you need. It might be about connecting with people on your team that you’ve never met outside of a zoom window. Or replying to the email asking for help, that you keep marking as unread. Whatever it is, it’s gonna feel awkward to extend again, to re-integrate with stuff you’d shut out. Physio folks say “discomfort is okay, pain means we stop for a bit.”

Finally, we are still requesting those with Global south-based workplace resources on inclusion to share what they have so we can add to this list. This is an ongoing information-gap that we would like to resolve through your support! Keep safe!