leadership matters
Want a Truly Inclusive
Workplace?
By Brenda Clark, CHRE
As you’ve seen, the cover theme
for this issue is all about diversity
and inclusion. Those are
concepts that have truly gained
ground in the workplace over the past two
decades, and they continue to do so.
But while it has become the norm for
organizations to fly the diversity flag
– including inclusive language band statements
in recruitment materials, crafting
solid policies and the like – what’s a little
less clear-cut is the matter of how those
statements and policies translate into the
actual culture and fabric of the workplace.
It’s easy to put a policy on paper; it’s difficult
to create true cultural shifts. And as
study upon study has shown, human beings
have implicit and unconscious bias
that we are usually not even aware of.
That’s why a critical piece of the puzzle
is consistent policy application for everyone,
follow up and evaluation to determine
if the policy to doing what you want. Part
of this includes ensuring you have all the
information needed to improve. It makes
no difference to minority groups or disenfranchised
individuals in the workplace
if you have a really stellar D&I policy on
the books and a strongly written commitment
to human rights – they need to see it
in action.
If an issue arises that could be a matter
of workplace discrimination, HR needs to
GETTING ALL THE FACTS IS KEY
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