Author: Tori Grant Welhouse

George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. It’s a date to be acknowledged and remembered for many years to come. Since that day, words like “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion” have been swirling in our social consciousness, known collectively as DEI.

But why exactly is DEI important? For individuals and for organizations?

Because Future Workforce Employees Will Be More Diverse Than Ever

Early benchmarks show that “post-Millennials” are on track to be the most diverse, best-educated generation yet. Other key indicators:

• Nearly half of post-Millennials are racial or ethnic minorities. One-in-four are Hispanic.
• More post-Millennials are pursuing college.
• Post-Millennials are more likely than Millennials to live with a college-educated parent.
• Post-Millennials are slower to enter the labor force.

As alluded to in our last blogpost, this generation is being shaped by changing immigration patterns.

This is the generation that will be shaping our future. They will expect – if not demand – that their workplaces reflect this greater diversity.

Because Companies Can’t Afford to Lose Women Leaders

Workplaces have been turned upside down with the events of 2020. Many employees are struggling to do their jobs with the stresses aggregating as work and home become blurred. Women are especially affected as the pandemic intensified challenges they already faced.

Senior-level women are significantly more likely than men at the same level to feel burned out, under pressure to work more, and “as though they have to be ‘always on.’” And they are 1.5 times more likely than senior-level men to think about downshifting their role or leaving the workforce because of COVID-19 burnout.

The possibility of losing so many senior-level women is alarming to organizations for several reasons:

• The financial consequences would be significant as profits and share performances are almost 50% greater when women are represented at the top.
• Company culture will suffer as senior-level women are more likely than senior-level men to champion gender and racial equity.
• Workplace women and other diverse communities lose their advocates.

Because You Leave Money Off the Table if You Don’t Embrace DEI

According to McKinsey & Company insights, there is $12 trillion in additional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the table if we can find a way to close the gender gap by 2025. And there’s $2 billion in potential revenue if we can expand “financial inclusion efforts” to extend more services to black Americans.

Because Moving DEI Forward Gives You a Competitive Advantage

Here are three primary ways that organizations benefit from developing and supporting DEI programs:

1. It helps businesses attract top talent.
2. It will help your company grow and innovate.
3. Workplace discrimination has moral, ethical and financial consequences.

Embracing DEI has become a new organizational imperative, stirring us to reconsider everything we thought we knew about workplace culture. Start at the top with key leaders and decision-makers. If your organization says you’re committed to elevating and protecting diversity, equity and inclusion, but your leadership team doesn’t reflect that, you will lose credibility, and no one will buy into your mission.

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CLARIFICATION ABOUT THE TERM ‘POST-MILLENNIAL’
The generation labeled “post-Millennials” in this report – referred to also as Generation Z, the iGen or Homelanders – includes those born after 1996. Pew Research Center uses the label “post-Millennials” as a placeholder until more consensus emerges as to their name.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Develop a deeper understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion and ensure your business or organization protects and elevates now and for future generations. UW-Green Bay is now enrolling for a Level 2 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program, designed for HR professionals, business and government executives and leaders, managers and team leaders, parents and nonprofit and community leaders, who have completed Level 1 or its equivalent. Starting in March for five weeks. Learn more and register.

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RESOURCES:
Ideal. “Why is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Important to Organizational Success?” Somen Mondal. December 3, 2020.
McKinsey & Company. “Women in the Workplace 2020.” September 30, 2020.
Pew Research Center. “Early Benchmarks Show ‘Post-Millennials’ on Track to be the Most Diverse, Educated Generation Yet. November 15, 2018.

What Does It Look Like?

It is not enough to diligently and proactively hire a diverse workforce. Successful organizations ensure that they are also creating inclusive environments in which all employees feel valued, welcome, integrated and not isolated. If not, experienced talent recruiters report, new hires will self-eject from the work situation in three months to a year.

Diversity and inclusion are not the same. A diversified company might not have an inclusive culture, and an inclusive organization might not have diversity among its employees.

Diversity represents the full spectrum of human demographic differences – race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status or physical ability. In fact, in a previous blog post we make the case for a broader definition of diversity.

Diversity lends itself to policy, enabling an organization to clarify internally and externally. Diversity efforts at all levels of an organization can be measured and compared against the local community or larger social order, promoting multigenerational, multiracial and multibackground progress.

World populations are not static. They are moving seas of dynamic factors. In fact, in the next two decades, the United States is facing three monumental demographic turning points. These turning points will call many of us to challenge our assumptions and work harder at identifying and understanding the unique differences among people.

• By 2030, one in five Americans is projected to be retirement age.
• Immigration is projected to become the primary driver of population growth in America – the net result of falling birth rates and rising deaths, as opposed to an increasing percent of immigrating peoples.
• By 2045, Non-Hispanic Whites will no longer makeup the largest race or ethnic group in the United States.

Inclusion is harder to quantify and requires a much more nuanced approach. Ideally, diversity and inclusion are approached separately as two distinct tenets of culture-building.

In essence, inclusion refers to a cultural and environmental feeling of “belonging.”

So, what does an inclusive environment look like? The COO at Startup Institute did something groundbreaking. They asked. Below are some of the answers their employees gave:

• All gender-friendly bathrooms
• A nursing room for mothers
• Using gender neutral language throughout company benefits and policies
• Not everyone drinks alcohol
• A space to disconnect
• Acknowledge all religious and cultural holidays celebrated by the organization’s employees

In addition, respondents suggested it’s more than just policy and procedure. It’s the daily actions – conscious and unconscious – that contribute to the everyday experience for employees.

Listening carefully to employees’ answers and thoughtfully laying them alongside quantitative data will often illuminate how an organization can take definable actions in aligning their culture with their mission and values.

And organizations can start today by asking the questions.

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OF INTEREST:

The changing racial makeup of the United States is most visible among children.

Racial and Ethnic Composition of Children Under Age 18 (In Percent)

* The other race group includes children who are American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Develop a deeper understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion and ensure your business or organization reflects larger society. UW-Green Bay is now enrolling for a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program, designed for HR professionals, business and government executives and leaders, managers and team leaders, parents and nonprofit and community leaders. There are two levels with the foundational level starting in February for five weeks. Learn more and register.

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RESOURCES:

Forbes. “What Should Inclusion Really Look Like in the Workplace?” Peggy Yu. January 17, 2018.
Gallup. “3 Requirements for a Diverse and Inclusive Culture.” Ella Washington and Camille Patrick. September 17, 2018.
U.S. Census Bureau. “Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060.” Jonathan Vespa, Lauren Medina and David M. Armstrong, March 2018 Revised February 2020.

Diversity

“Diversity” is a trending cultural keyword on browsers like Google, Bing and Yahoo, and the top-ranked search results relate to meaning. What is the definition of diversity?

Merriam-Webster has this to say about diversity:

1: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements : VARIETY
especially : the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization
programs intended to promote diversity in schools
2: an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities : an instance of being diverse
a diversity of opinion

Dictionary.com records its meaning as follows:

1. the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness:
diversity of opinion.
2. variety; multiformity.
3. the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation, etc.:
diversity in the workplace.
4. a point of difference.

In essence, both are saying that there are many different kinds of people in the world.

Associations around the word can make the meaning more complex, if not confusing. The word “diversity” might mean different things to different people. We also might welcome diversity in some contexts but avoid it in others.

Diversity of expertise is not only accepted but desired. Car manufacturers wouldn’t think of building a new car without engineers, designers and quality-control experts.

In our neighborhoods and workplaces, we talk, engage, consult and laugh across a diversity of social roles, education levels, skills, earning capacity and countless other domains. In addition, advocates have recently argued for recognition of neurodiversity, which refers to the range of differences in brain function.

Yet social diversity gives us anxiety, causing discomfort and awkward interactions, especially when it comes to race, gender and sexual orientation.

This avoidance of certain kinds of diversity can be counterintuitive as research across all kinds of dissimilarity has shown that navigating difference makes us more creative and diligent.

Is it harder? Yes.

When people come together who are different, they anticipate differences of opinion and perspective. They don’t assume agreement like they might in a more homogenous group. They understand they might have to work harder to come to a consensus. This is the problem and the promise of diversity.

In fact, difference leads to informational diversity, which is the same principle at work in any kind of multi-disciplinary endeavor. People from different walks of life bring unique information and experiences to bear on the task at hand, expanding the possibilities. This should be worth the work, right?

Perhaps the Google searchers for meaning are a sign that as a society we might finally be ready for a broader definition of diversity.

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Realize the true promise of diversity, equity and inclusion by developing a deeper understanding about how to give everyone a voice in your organization. UW-Green Bay is now enrolling for a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program, designed for HR professionals, business and government executives and leaders, managers and team leaders, parents and nonprofit and community leaders. There are two levels with the foundational level starting in February for five weeks. Learn more and register.

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RESOURCES:
 Forbes. “What Processes are Taking Place in our Brains When We Learn New Things?” January 26, 2018.
Greater Good Magazine. “What is Diversity?”
Greater Good Magazine. “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter?” Katherine W. Phillips, September 18, 2017.