It’s 2022, it is now more crucial than ever for a business to be up-to-date and open-minded to the world’s societal changes. However, unfortunately, issues like workplace discrimination have been around for quite some time now and have raised many controversial conversations. Luckily, diversity and inclusion (or D&I) have become important terms among many companies as they aim to make their employees feel more comfortable in their work environment. Mopinion prioritises D&I and is making every effort it can to adhere to these concepts in the workplace. That being said, no two companies are the same and your approach will likely be different from ours.
In this blog, you will learn more about the benefits of these concepts and how your business can become a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Discrimination in the workplace
A frequently recurring example of workplace discrimination is a term called ethnic profiling. This is when a person is singled out based on their ethnicity, race, religion, or national origin. And unfortunately many job-seekers that have a different ethnicity frequently suffer from ethnic profiling, i.e. getting denied a job position.
If these job-seekers are lucky enough and do get accepted to the job, chances are they will face a future event of workplace discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (The EEOC) reported that there were 67,448 charges of discrimination filed in 2020. Discrimination based on race has the second-biggest reported charges, more than a third of complaints are based solely on this type of discrimination.
The other two-thirds are often discriminated against on other factors, like sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or even physical and mental disability.
Diversity and inclusion
No employer would want their employees to feel discriminated against, and that is why many businesses are focusing more and more on diversity and inclusion initiatives. These two concepts are intertwined and refer to the diverse individuals that make up a group of people, as well as the environment that allows them to collaborate as equally valued contributors. Workplaces that prioritise diversity and inclusion have proven to be a more safe, happy, and productive environment for their employees.
But first, it is important to understand that, even though the two concepts seem to mean the same, diversity and inclusion are still different definitions. Diversity in the workplace refers to the presence of employees of various races, gender identities, career backgrounds, skills, and so on.
HRM defines inclusion separately from diversity 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 organisation’s success.”
Inclusion is all about understanding and respecting other people’s voices and opinions. This is vital in creating an environment where everyone feels safe and respected.
Mopinion employees in 2022
Diversity and inclusion at Mopinion
The more diverse an organisation gets, the more important inclusion becomes. That is why Mopinion wants to prioritise both concepts, so its employees will not experience workplace discrimination. Currently, Mopinion counts at least ten different nationalities!
When we asked Mopinion employees in a survey: Have you ever faced discrimination based on your gender, sexual orientation, physical disabilities or social background at Mopinion? 100% of respondents answered no.
At Mopinion you are not judged by your nationality, gender, race, or sexual orientation. People should be hired based on their skill set, and not be hired just to be diverse.
Why your business should address diversity and inclusion
Aside from the social and ethical benefits, there are other advantages to implementing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. An improved reputation, gaining new customers, reaching new employees, improving revenue, increasing productivity, and recruiting overall retention are just some of the countless benefits.
Companies with more ethnically diverse executive teams are 36 percent more likely to outperform on profitability, and companies with gender diverse executive teams are 25 percent more likely.
Reputation and future applicants
Workplace inclusion and diversity improve brand awareness and company reputation. Not only do potential customers seem to like this, but also new job applicants. As many are aware, the job market is competitive right now, many companies fail to recruit new employees and there are plenty of open positions. The positive association of social responsibility that comes with caring about inclusiveness is likely to draw a more quality range of potential candidates to a company.
Improved revenue
Statistics suggest that more diverse companies have up to 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee over three years than less diverse companies. Moreover, this idea is supported by Harvard Business Review where it was reported that a more diverse work environment resulted in a total of 19 percent higher revenue. This sounds like music to the ears! Higher revenue, which business would not want that? This favors the idea that more time and money should be invested in diversity and inclusion policies.
Creating a more inclusive environment in the workplace
Give an early introduction to inclusion (during onboarding)
Make sure every new hire understands that your company is a safe environment for people of all genders, races, cultures, and disabilities. Inform new hires of the D&I policies in place at your company and the steps they should undertake if they ever become victim of discrimination. And promote the fact that discrimination in the workplace will not be tolerated and will be handled with strong measures.
Educating staff and managers
It is important to have an employee feedback system (you could use Mopinion’s email feedback) to evaluate the workplace to look at how inclusive and diverse the work environment is. This way, employees can let their voices be heard. Do they think unisex bathrooms are necessary? Or do they feel excluded by their colleagues from lunch because they have a different sexual orientation? Do women feel safe and equal to their male colleagues? To actively improve the work environment, a company could schedule cultural training or diversity workshops for its employees.
Let employees embrace themselves
And lastly, an organisation needs to celebrate the differences between employees to make everyone feel included. Don’t ignore the differences, rather recognise and embrace them! And involve those who are from different cultures, ethnicities, and races more in the company’s decision-making panel.
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