Mélange Accessibility for All Magazine April 2021 | Page 31

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6 Things To Consider About Diversity and Inclusion

1 . Education & Training Training provides safe environments for discussion , collaboration and education for all when done effectively . However , having a lack of these three elements can hinder minorities from integrating into groups , primarily those that include the white , able bodied , middle to upper class .

2 . Achieving Diversity But Not Inclusion Diversity can be achieved by hiring minority individuals to authoritative positions in employment , thus diversifying a workforce . However , companies must do this sensitively , so as not to make these hires appear as “ diversity hires ” or feel like tokens .

3 . Tokenism Some companies make a huge effort to show how diverse or inclusive they are , but to minority groups it can feel like this effort is to meant to fill quotas or to improve public relations . When inclusion reports are released , they can often be numerically-focused rather than humanfocused which is often seen as a hollow attempt at chasing cultural trends and not being truly diverse .

4 . Leadership Leadership or upper management roles must also reflect the company ’ s ideals about diversity and inclusion . Minority groups must hold these positions once qualified , and should not be overlooked . The same also applies for government . Minority groups will feel inspired and empowered by seeing people who look like them in positions of authority and power .

5 . Being Heard As Well As Being Seen When underrepresented groups have reached leadership and management positions , if those individuals still feel that their voice doesn ’ t count , does this mean their company does not value the voice of minority groups and merely use them to falsely claim their company is inclusive ?

6 . Have Human Indicators As much as we like to avoid talking about Diversity & Inclusion in terms of key performance indicators , there should at least be some indicator of how diverse or inclusive a company is . Not by ticking boxes on a form , but by actively speaking to employees on how policy changes and diversity drives are changing the company ’ s identity . A human approach is the best approach , not numbers .