Diversity and Inclusivity in The Workplace (Include Discrimination)

WHAT IS INCLUSION?
• The act of including or the state of being included.
• Inclusivity in the workplace mean as the achievement of a work environment in
which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to
opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s
success.
• Inclusion is a sense of belonging.
• The process of inclusion engages each individual and make people feel valued as
being essential to the success of the organization.
Inclusion in leadership
 Listen before leading
 Encourage employees to speak up and respectful communication
 Openly discuss the value of diversity, and diversity of thought, in achieving team
goals.
 Stay conscious of your own bias

What is diversity?
• The fact or quality of being diverse; difference
• A point or respect in which things differ

Ms. Thel Duran

 • The ways we are different; the condition of having unique
characteristics. the condition of being diverse; variety; especially; the
inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in
a group or organization.
• Diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate a groups and people
from one another. In a nutshell, it’s about empowering people by respecting and
appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity
religion, etc.
• Diversity allows for the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive and
nurturing environment.
TYPES OF DIVERSITY
1. RACE- has to do with a person’s grouping based on physical traits Examples of
races are caucasian, african, latino and asian.
2. Gender/ sexual orientation-can be used in the traditional sense of male and
female employees. For example you may hear the term “gender balance used by
companies trying to achieve a 50-50 balance between employees.
3. Religion- This type of diversity refers to the presence of multiple religions and
spiritual beliefs (including lack thereof) in the workplace.
4. Disability- There are various types of disabilities or chronic conditions included
here, ranging from mental to physical.
5. AGE DIVERSITY- age diversity means working with people of different ages and,
most importantly, generation.

6.

Benefits in understanding generational differences

• More effective communication
• Less misunderstandings
• Increased recruitment and employee retention
• Increased productivity and teamwork
Importance of Diversity
• Diversity is more than just tolerating differences. It is:
• Respecting, appreciating, and understanding the varying characteristics of
individuals.
• Everyone is unique and no single person is a representative of a certain group.
Stereotypes and other racial biases/prejudices are damaging to a business.
• This design allows each team member to focus on their strengths.
• It increases the number of job opportunities for minority workers.
• Employers have more chances to cross-strain workers and teams.

Ms. Thel Duran

 • Companies have access to more talent.
• Creates more revenue-earning opportunities
• Increase the creativity of an entire team.
• Productivity levels improve because of diversity in the workplace.

Challenges of diversity in the workplace

1. Communication barriers
Hiring employees from a range of cultures and backgrounds has fantastic
benefits for businesses’ but can occasionally result in communication or language
barriers within a team. This can sometimes lead to frustration amongst
employees and productivity loss.
2. Conflict
Diversity has inherent challenges in terms of conflict among genders,
ethnicities, and age groups. Conflict arise because of distrust and lack of
confidence among group members.
3. Time consumption
There are differences in the way people carry-out instructions.
4. Discriminations
When diversity is not accepted in an organization, much of the time this is due to
varying levels and kind of discrimination. Some types of discrimination which exist are
gender, religion, disability, economic class or cultural background.

Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964 makes it unlawful to discriminate in hiring,
discharge, promotion, referral, and other facets of employment, on the basis of color,
race, religion, sex or national origin. This is enforced by the equal employment
opportunity commission.
Types of Discrimination
1. Family Status Discrimination
I was applying for a job and the interviewer kept trying to find out if I had any
kids. I managed to keep dodging the questions but they were very persistent. I have
heard that the company doesn’t’t like to hire a new moms because new moms are
reluctant to work late or overtime.
2. Religious Discrimination
It is illegal for employers to discriminate based on an individual’s religious
customs. Businesses are required to make reasonable accommodation of an
employee’s religious beliefs, as long as doing so doesn’t have excessive negative
consequences for the employer.
3. Gender discrimination
My boss told me we don’t hire men because we are worried the girls flirt with
them.
4. Disability discrimination

It is illegal to discriminate against qualified job candidates or employees on the

basis of disability. This means employers cannot refuse to hire disabled candidates
or penalize disabled workers purely for their disabilities

I work with a people with autism spectrum disorder. They apply for jobs that
they have the skills to do but bosses won’t give them a chance because of their
disability.

5. Age discrimination
Is a practice specifically prohibited by law, with a few rare exceptions, companies
are forbidden from specifying an age preference in job advertisement.
Employees must receive the same benefits regardless of age.
`Ex. Your employer refuses to allow you to do a training course because she thinks
you are “too old” but allows younger colleagues to do the training.

Ms. Thel Duran

 6. Race discrimination
It is illegal to treat either a job applicant or an employee unfavorably because
they are of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with
race.
Color discrimination, treating someone unfavorably because of skin color
complexion.
5. Harassment
Negative attitudes can arise which may lead to harassment of others who are
different from the person provoking this behavior.
Example: derogatory joke, personal insults, expressions of disgust, ridicule
6. High turnover rate
This is costly because each time someone leaves the company.

How to promote diversity and inclusivity in the workplace?

• 1. identify problems

• 2. involve the whole team

• 3. acknowledge and honor multiple religious and cultural practices

• 4. Foster a company culture where every voice is welcome, heard and respected

• 5. open a dialogue about gender inequality

• 6. welcome a multilingual workforce

• 7. strengthen anti-discriminatory policies

• 8. eliminate bias in the evaluation process and promotion opportunities.

Thanks!!!

Ms. Thel Duran