What is inclusion?

Inclusion is the actions or practices that ensure that individuals feel welcome in a particular environment – ​​regardless of their background. These practices include behavioural and social norms that provide:

• Safety and comfort
• Equal access to opportunities
• Tools and resources that help people contribute to the success of the organization to the best of their abilities

Why is inclusion important?

Inclusion is important in helping individuals feel a sense of belonging and purpose. It respects people's unique characteristics, backgrounds and skills, such as:

• race and ethnicity
• National origin
• Religion/beliefs
• gender
• age
• Marital status and socio-economic status
• educational background
• Persona

In a society where people come from different backgrounds and cultures, inclusion fosters a culture where people feel respected and valued for who they are. This motivates them to form meaningful relationships with those around them and do their best work.

What is workplace inclusion?

An inclusive workplace is an organization where individuals from diverse backgrounds are hired and, more importantly, receive the support they need to do their best work.

A business that promotes inclusion can build a diverse workforce. Not only is it ethically right to do so, but it also creates a more positive and productive work environment. For example,  according to McKinsey & Company  :

• Companies in the top quartile of ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to outperform companies in the bottom quartile.
• Occupations in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percentage points more likely to perform better than those in the bottom quartile.

Building an inclusive and diverse workforce  starts with recruitment. Employers should avoid limiting their hiring criteria to a specific gender, race, and/or nationality, as this can limit their ability to find qualified candidates. Instead, they should focus on the candidate’s ability to do the job regardless of their race, religion, gender, etc.

Diversity vs. Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have been used together so often that they are often considered synonymous, but there are differences. While inclusion refers to a sense of cultural and social connectedness, diversity refers to the qualities and characteristics that make up a given group.

Inclusion is needed to make diversity efforts successful. In other words, diversity is the wide range of qualities, characteristics, and identities in your organization, while inclusion aims to motivate this diverse group to work together.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Employers should prioritize diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This can include:

• Encouraging feedback:  Business leaders can encourage employees to speak up and embrace the input of employees from different backgrounds and experience levels. This feedback loop can create a healthy workplace environment influenced by the core values ​​of its employees.
• Providing guidance and coaching:  This can include leadership and training opportunities for minority groups to help underrepresented individuals get promoted to leadership positions. Women of color who have mentors are  81 percent more likely to be happy with their career progression  than women who don’t have mentors.
• Offer flexible options/benefits:  This can help reduce recruitment efforts where a candidate may be right for a role but is not able to meet logistical requirements such as working from the office 5 days a week or relocating. Providing remote or work-from-home options can expand opportunities to promote inclusion and diversity.

Examples of Inclusion in the Workplace

Here are three companies that have set examples of inclusivity and diversity in the workplace, which   will help inspire your team with more ideas :

• Chevron: Chevron   has established diversity councils, employee networks, personnel development committees, and employee development functions to build and sustain  its inclusion and diversity efforts .
• Buffer:  This social media software company   has created  a useful guide on inclusive language for startups and tech. They also keep an updated public record on the diversity of their employees  , keeping them accountable to both themselves and their audience for constantly promoting inclusion and diversity.
• Estée Lauder:  This skin-care and make-up company  has 39 employee resource groups across all geographic regions  . Each group was started by Estée Lauder employees and includes groups for women, veterans, families, LGBTQA individuals, and more.