Actively Combating Inequities at Work
Let's talk about advocating for yourself before, during, and after experiencing inequities at work.
Here are some inspiring stats:
Gender-equal companies earn 41% more revenue
Racially and ethnically diverse companies perform 35% better
Diverse teams are 87% better and decision-making
Inclusive cultures can generate 2.3x more cash flow per employee.
Yet, 41% of leaders say they are too busy to implement a diversity and inclusion framework that would lead to more inclusive practices and equitable outcomes for their employees.
Which begs the question:
Do your employees feel represented? Do they feel psychological safety at work? Do they get to take the holidays they observe off even if they're not a company-wide holiday? Are they given the tools, information, and experiences they need to succeed at work and in life?
Following Juneteenth and in celebration of Pride month, you’ve likely seen a lot of content around diversity and inclusion in the last few weeks. Some of it may have been productive, some of it...not.
While it’s fantastic to see more and more organizations adding Juneteenth to their company calendar as a paid holiday, and to see organizations supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, there is still much work to do regarding depth of inclusivity at many organizations.
It’s not enough to acknowledge a company holiday or put up a rainbow flag if you’re not also willing to put in the internal work to create a sustainable culture of impact and inclusivity. Juneteenth is not just an added day off, but a marker of traumatic history and reminder that the fight for equality is far from finished. Leveraging Pride for promotional campaigns makes no difference if your LGBTQIA+ employees don’t feel safe at work.
Here are a just a few things you can do:
- Ask for inclusive policies and guidelines to be created and included in every part of the employee experience. For example, raise a request for pay and career pathing transparency
- Raise a request for a corporate giving program
- Flag content that isn't inclusive, gender-neutral, or representative. Consider implementing inclusive language tools that help with combating biased language.
- Negotiate (or renegotiate!) inclusivity of paid holidays.
- Vocalize when you feel marginalized or when you see other employees being marginalized
- Ask for staff education, and opportunities to amplify voices and experiences
Looking for support? Workplace culture is always evolving, and we’re never “done.” Reach out about our offerings that partner with you, side-by-side to assess where you are in your culture journey (a reality check that goes beyond the surface) and identify the impact you’d like your culture to make in an intentional way. We focus on depth of behavior change and depth of enrollment across your organization.
