WHAT HAS THIS TO DO WITH DIVERSITY & INCLUSION?
A lot of organisations are (thankfully) interested in incorporating Diversity and Inclusion in the organisation. Which is a good begin. But what most organisations struggle with is the ‘Inclusion’.
WHY D&I DOES NOT WORK?
There are organisations who believe that by treating all their ‘diverse’ employees equally, inclusion can be achieved. Believe me, this is where inclusion utterly fails.
A SHOE FOR EVERYONE
Imagine that a construction organisation wants to present everyone of their employees with a pair of safety shoes, so that everyone can work safely at the construction site. Conclusion, everyone is treated equally and one is excluded. This is EQUALITY.
SHOE SIZE 34.5 CM!
‘Living among giants’ is a chapter in my book, Dutch-ess from the Himalayas, where I explain that, I have been gifted with a feet size of 34.5 cm/ 1.13ft. There are thousands of shoe shops here in the Netherlands and yet, I cannot find a shoe that fits me!
So I am literally excluded from wearing a pair of shoes. Even thought there are shoes a plenty for everyone. So inclusion fails when EQUALITY is the norm.
ADDING THE ‘E’ FOR EQUITY IN D&I
In order to ensure ‘inclusion’ within the construction company, it is essential that the shoes provided are a perfect fits to the diverse feet within the company. This is what EQUITY is about. Everyone getting what they need. EQUITY is thus the bridge to inclusion. But what if I told you that DEI is not enough to ensure inclusion.
ADDING THE ‘A’ FOR ACCESSIBILITY in DEI
Going back to my shoe problem: “Children shoes!” an ‘Eureka!’ solution that almost everyone exclaims when they hear about my plight, is something that I reaction that does not surprise me anymore. Well, the children shoes exists in size 34 which is too small and size 35 that is too big for me.
SHOES, SHOES EVERYWHERE AND YET MY FEET ARE BARE
So even if there are thousands of shoes available in the Netherlands, I still struggle to find one fitting pair. Having ACCESS to the right pair of shoes is what ACCESSIBILITY about.
I know this is a real but difficult situation, but the message I am trying to provide is that DEI is a complex but very essential part of an organisation that strives to create an INCLUSIVE work place with sustainable employees. DEI is a complex, yet attainable goal though.
MAKING DEAI/IDEA ATTAINABLE
As we are all aware of, INCLUSION does not happen overnight it is a process that requires time. I would like to share 3 tips to get you started:
- Awareness: make your employees aware that everyone is unique with their diverse unique needs to function optimally in the organisation
- EQUITY: provide the ‘tools’ needed to support the unique situation of the employee and not what the organisation wants to provide.
- ACCESS: provide access to the ‘tools’, like (intercultural) trainings that your employee needs
CONCLUSION
Successful INCLUSION is about providing shoes that fits every feet in your organisation.
