How to be inclusive in the workplace

Here is a closer look at each element of DEI training and the different types of DEI training that can help you to improve inclusiveness in your workplace:

• Diversity. Diversity refers to differences in a specific work group or staff. These differences may include, but are not limited to:

  • Race

  • Gender

  • Color

  • Religion

  • Socioeconomic status

  • Language

  • Nationality

  • Disability

  Diversity can also apply to personal preferences, such as political affiliations, communication preferences, or learning preferences.

• Equity. Equity focuses on the promotion of social and legal justice for specific groups. It also includes the aim of fairness, impartiality, and equal opportunities for specific groups of employees concerning matters such as professional advancement and participation.

  Equity seeks to mend structural inequalities through the use of the following:

  • Procedures

  • Practices

  • Processes

  • Distribution of resources

  The bottom line of equity is that it addresses social and institutional inequality issues.

• • Inclusion. Inclusion refers to making employees feel welcome in a workplace, regardless of race, gender, religion, disability, or other identifying feature. Including diverse backgrounds and elements of employees in a workplace fosters a strong and highly versatile staff.

    DEI training is becoming increasingly common at large and small companies, businesses, and other organizations and institutions.

    There are many different types of DEI training. Here are some examples that are commonly used:

    • Unconscious bias training. This is meant to help employees understand their implicit and unconscious biases toward certain groups of people. It focuses on developing actions and behavioral shifts to address and ideally mitigate or completely remove those implicit preconceptions.

    • Allyship training. Allyship training's focus is to enable those in positions of privilege or power to support or amplify the concerns or needs of employees from a minority group or historically marginalized community.

      As its name suggests, it helps individuals in powerful roles become allies to those in need in the workplace.

    • Bystander communication training. This form of DEI training instructs employees on how to speak up when they witness another employee being discriminated against or if they see that the coworker is being harassed.

    • Specific training on hiring practices. This training involves human resource departments, hiring managers, recruiters, and other employees participating in an organization's hiring process.

      The primary goal is to educate these professionals on how their implicit or inherent biases might adversely affect how they interact with specific groups of people during the hiring process.