Skip to main content

How To Achieve Diversity, Equity, Inclusion And Belonging Within Your Company

Today brings the new book, All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results, by Cynthia Owyoung. “This playbook is really for any leader of an organization that wants to drive change. This is your playbook for how to approach DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) work in a way that will support real progress in your company,” says Owyoung. 

Studies prove that companies with more diversity in their ranks are more innovative, expand their markets, and perform better financially. Why, then, has so little progress been made, especially when it comes to corporate leadership? Because most companies have yet to develop and implement effective diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. And the ones that have too often focus mainly on hiring a diversity of staff or rolling out unconscious bias training without improving results. 

Owyoung offers these definitions: 

Diversity in the context of a workplace really means bringing people who are different from each other – with their own unique characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives – together to realize the strengths of those differences. 

Inclusion means ensuring that no one is held back from full participation within the organization. 

Equity is different from equality where everyone is getting the same opportunities, access, and resources. Equity acknowledges that not everyone needs the same things to succeed. Equity is about giving people what they need. 

Belonging is the sense of connection one has to a group. Do I feel like I fit in? Am I considered a valued member of the team? Will they accept me for who I am? You can’t have belonging without inclusion. 

“Measuring diversity is about representation. Measuring equity, inclusion, and belonging is about understanding employee sentiment and experiences,” explains Owyoung. 

In All Are Welcome, Owyoung explains further what DEIB is and why it matters, and she delivers the information and insights you need to make DEIB a key element of your company culture. You’ll learn how to: 

  • Break old habits that keep DEIB efforts from moving forward
  • Retain talent from underrepresented groups
  • Conduct an audit of the state of DEIB at your company today
  • Engage and excite leaders and managers around DEIB efforts
  • Weave DEIB into all your talent pool management methods
  • Uplevel employee resource groups to effectively support business goals
  • Measure your progress with qualitative and quantitative data
  • Connect your DEIB efforts to driving better business results

Within the book you’ll find step-by-step Putting It Into Action plans, chapter Key Takeaways, and a very helpful Glossary of terms. 

DEIB begins but doesn’t end with hiring. When you deeply understand all the nuances of diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and belonging, you’ll be able to put them all together for a better, more productive, and happier workplace. 

Owyoung also explains that as a leader you’ll need courage as a necessary foundation to drive success in DEIB. You will have to make decisions that support or benefit a minority group rather than the majority group. “This usually feels really uncomfortable for people since it runs counter to how we make most business decisions, which usually gives greater weight to the majority,” shares Owyoung. “Leaders must be willing to take some personal risks and engage in uncomfortable conversations to push people to reexamine their current beliefs to drive real change.” 

Cynthia Owyoung

Owyoung shares these additional insights with us: 

Question: How do you convince a reluctant leader to fully embrace the need to build a real workplace culture of inclusion? 

Owyoung: It really comes down to understanding why the leader is reluctant. Is the leader afraid DEIB will take focus off other business priorities? Maybe the leader is worried about offending people? Or does the leader have a different belief about how to approach DEIB? 

What I try to do is ask the deeper questions to understand what is behind the reluctance and then do my best to address whatever the issues may be. 

So, if it's about balancing business priorities, I would look at integrating our DEIB objectives into those priorities, whether it's hiring, selling or something else. And if it's about concerns regarding fairly treating people or unintentionally offending others, then I would offer talking points, coaching, practice sessions, whatever might be needed to help the leader feel they can tackle this topic with the support they need. 

Or if it's about different beliefs and approaches, I would seek to collaborate with them and incorporate their ideas into the solutions we implement. DEIB work is all about engaging and connecting people to it so it's my job to figure out the best ways to do that so they can fully embrace it. 

Question: What do you recommend for a leader who enthusiastically jumps in with an action plan and then those efforts start to fizzle out and lose momentum? 

Owyoung: First off, I commend the leader who wants to jump into action and support for DEIB. We need more of them. But when those efforts start to fizzle out, I think it's important to diagnose why that's happening. Is it a lack of progress demotivating people or is it a lack of transparency and accountability by leadership? Are there enough resources being dedicated to the effort or are employees are being asked to do this work on top of their regular day jobs? 

There could be a lot of different reasons behind efforts starting to fizzle out and leaders need to get out and talk to their employees about what's going on. Oftentimes, it's some combination of factors as previously mentioned, so you may have to ensure you're scoping your DEIB efforts in a way that's achievable, increasing your resources dedicated to it, communicating goals and results with clear owners and rewarding those who are really putting in the work. When employees can see their DEIB work truly making a difference, you will be able to build momentum back up. 

Question: What do you recommend for small companies (less than 30 employees) that want to embrace DEIB efforts, yet have limited financial resources to support those efforts? 

Owyoung: In many ways, small companies have the best chance of making a big difference in their DEIB efforts despite more limited resources.  Much of DEIB work doesn't involve budget. For instance, being open about your commitment to DEIB and including it as part of your company values and onboarding messaging is a good first step to setting the tone for your organization's culture that costs nothing. 

Before you make any hiring decisions, consider what diverse perspectives you might need on your team to become even more effective in the future and actively recruiting for that will increase your probability of hiring someone from an underrepresented background. 

You can also create DEIB learning opportunities with minimal investment by starting up a book club with that focus, viewing TED Talks on DEIB or something comparable and then having a discussion about it on a quarterly basis, or taking advantage of the many free webinars offered on the topic by educational institutions, consultants, and companies. 

You can also encourage your team to volunteer in their local communities with organizations serving underrepresented groups to both learn and make a difference. For example, if you're a tech company, your employees might teach tech skills to underserved youth in low-income communities. There are so many ways to embrace DEIB efforts that cost nothing but time and intention, the key is to not let that be an excuse for inaction and just get started. 

Owyoung is Robinhood’s Vice President of Inclusion, Equity and Belonging, partnering with business leaders, employee resource groups and the people experience team. She’s also the founder of Breaking Glass Forums, where she develops strategies to accelerate more diverse leaders and inclusive organizations. A recognized diversity leader, Owyoung was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Women of Impact in 2021. Owyoung serves on the Board of Directors for AbilityPath, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with special needs to achieve their full potential.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear.  “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book,  Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these  six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1.       Don’t forget to as k :  One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2.       Make sure you listen :  Remember, getting feedback is about improving your performance, not turning it into a “you versus the

Sample Of Solid Business Guiding Principles

I really like these  10 guiding business principles  that San Antonio, TX headquartered insurance company  USAA has lived by: Exceed customer expectations Live the Golden Rule (treat others with courtesy and respect) Be a leader Participate and contribute Pursue excellence Work as a team Share knowledge Keep it simple (make it easy for customers to do business with us and for us to work together) Listen and communicate Have fun Too many companies don't make it simple for their customers to do business with them. Is it easy for your customers to: Buy from you? Make returns? Get pricing and terms? Receive timely responses to their e-mails? Quickly get answers when phoning your company? You can find more examples of companies with impressive guiding principles in the book,  1001 Ways To Energize Employee s .

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability .  They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

The Benefits Of When Everyone Leads

It’s only January and the new book, When Everyone Leads , could likely be my pick for the best new leadership book of 2023. It’s that good. There’s still nearly a whole year ahead of us so we’ll see what other books debut. In the meantime, add this book to your must-read list.   You’ll learn that: Leadership is an activity, not a position. Leadership is mobilizing others to make progress on the most important challenges. Leadership is interactive, risky and experimental. Leadership comes in moments. Leadership is always about change.   When Everyone Leads , by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride , presents a revolutionary approach to leadership; not based on position or authority, but an activity that anybody can undertake by learning to spot opportunities for improvement and taking the initiative to engage others.   “It can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but in a culture where everyone leads, organizations start to make progress on their most difficult problems,” explain t

Good Sample Business Principles

I really like these 10 guiding business principles that San Antonio, TX headquartered insurance company  USAA  lives by: Exceed customer expectations Live the Golden Rule (treat others with courtesy and respect) Be a leader Participate and contribute Pursue excellence Work as a team Share knowledge Keep it simple (make it easy for customers to do business with us and for us to work together) Listen and communicate Have fun Too many companies don't make it simple for their customers to do business with them.  Is it easy for your customers to: Buy from you? Make returns? Get pricing and terms? Receive timely responses to their e-mails? Quickly get answers when phoning your company? You can find more examples of companies with impressive guiding principles in the book, 1001 Ways To Energize Employees .

Knowing When To Say "Thank You" To Your Customers

In your leadership role, it's vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor Ann Thomas and Jill Applegate would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you...every time. When they compliment you (or your company) When they offer you comments or suggestions When they try one of your new products or services When they recommend you to a friend When they are patient...and even when they are not so patient When they help you to serve them better When they complain to you When they make you smile You and your team members can say "Thank You" : Verbally In writing (and don't underestimate the power of persona

5 Tips For Generating Ideas From Employees

Your employees have lots of ideas.  So, be sure you provide the forums and mechanisms for your employees to share their ideas with you.  Hold at least a few brainstorming sessions each year, as well. And, when you are brainstorming with your employees, try these five tips: Encourage ALL ideas.  Don't evaluate or criticize ideas when they are first suggested. Ask for wild ideas.  Often, the craziest ideas end up being the most useful. Shoot for quantity not quality during brainstorming. Encourage everyone to offer new combinations and improvements of old ideas.

Top Five Factors That Drive Employee Loyalty

A 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management shows that job security is what matters most to employees. And, having that job security helps to keep employees loyal.  Okay, that's really not too surprising during these times of high unemployment. Next on the list is benefits . The unstable economy, coupled with rising health care costs, make employer offered benefits more important than ever. Third on the top five list is an employee's opportunity to use his/her skills . When employees feel good about their jobs and their abilities, and clearly know they are contributing to their organization they remain engaged and loyal.  In fourth place is an organization's financial stability . Compensation came in fifth on the top five list. Employee pay often is not the most important driver for employee retention.  Despite study after study that shows pay is not the top reason employees stay with a company, research results like these often surprise workplace

Resolve To Find A Mentor In 2011

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2011. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions: 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the traits and s

How To Avoid 8 Common Performance Evaluation Pitfalls

As the year comes to a close it's likely time for many business leaders to tackle the annual performance appraisal process. So, here is a good reminder from author Sharon Armstrong about how to avoid eight performance evaluation pitfalls .  These are in what I consider is the best chapter of the book The Essential HR Handbook , that she co-authored with Barbara Mitchell. 1.  Clustering everyone in the middle performance-rating categories 2.  Overlooking flaws or exaggerating the achievements of favored employees 3.  Excusing substandard performance or behavior because it is widespread 4.  Letting one characteristic - positive or negative - affect your overall assessment 5.  Rating someone based on the company he or she keeps 6.  Rating someone based on a grudge you are holding 7.  Rating someone based on a short time period instead of the entire evaluation period 8.  Rating everyone high, to make you look good There's other great information in this 250-page book th