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The global workforce and marketplace will continue to undergo dramatic demographic shifts—redefining the workplace, the workers, and how work gets done. Organizations that want to attract and retain the best talent and to capitalize on the full breath of their perspectives and experiences must first reflect our society as a whole, and secondly, must create the right kind of work environment where ALL talent can thrive. That means valuing diversity, creating more equitable policies and practices, and fostering a welcoming and inclusive culture.
In Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies, global workforce expert, and three-time Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Shirley Davis unveils her extensive collection of real-world experiences, stories, case studies, checklists, assessments, tips, and strategies that will give you a deeper understanding of the business impact of DEI and how your role as a leader can contribute to your company's long term success.
You'll learn:
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies is a must-read guide for any leader at any level who wants to ready themselves for the workplace of the future and reap the benefits of a full spectrum diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. It also belongs on the reading lists of human resources and DEI professionals actively seeking to go broader, deeper, and have greater impact in their DEI work.
Shirley Davis, PhD, is a seasoned HR and Diversity & Inclusion thought leader, a certified leadership coach, and veteran executive. She has been featured on NBC’s Today, USA Today, National Public Radio, the Wall Street Journal, Essence magazine, Fast Company, the Washington Post, and more.
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 4
Icons Used in This Book 4
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part 1: Getting Started with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 7
Chapter 1: Understanding the Fundamentals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 9
Re-Shifting the Focus to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work 10
Understanding the History of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace 12
Defining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 15
Diversity 15
Multiple dimensions of diversity 16
Equity 17
Inclusion 19
Diversity, equity, and inclusion 19
Breaking Down Other Key DEI-Related Terms 20
Ability and disabilities 20
Belonging 21
BIPOC 21
Implicit bias 22
Intersectionality 23
Isms and phobias 23
LGBTQIA+ 24
Microaggressions 25
Neurodiversity 26
Prejudice and stereotypes 26
Privilege and power 27
Getting Started: Reflection Activity 28
Chapter 2: Exploring Key Demographic Trends that Are Redefining the Workplace 31
Increasingly Global 33
Increasingly Diverse 34
Generational diversity 34
Gender diversity 35
Racial and ethnic diversity 37
Increasingly More Flexible and Working More Virtually 39
A new way of thinking about work 39
The impact diversity, equity, and inclusion 40
Increasingly Digital 41
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on digitalization 41
Examining automation’s and artificial intelligence’s impact on talent and DEI 43
Increasingly Underskilled 44
Chapter 3: Cultivating Skills and Competencies for Leading Today’s Workers 47
Assessing Your DEI Leadership Effectiveness 48
Demonstrating emotional intelligence 48
Exhibiting authenticity and transparency 53
Building and maintaining trust 56
Leading change 57
Dealing with conflicts 61
Using diplomacy and tact 62
Applying an equity lens in decision making 63
Exercising cultural competence 64
Navigating workplace politics 66
Developing accountability as a leader 68
Promoting DEI as a Senior Executive/Board Member 70
Fostering DEI as a Middle Manager or Supervisor 71
Championing DEI as a Mentor or Sponsor 72
Mentorship 73
Sponsorship 73
Chapter 4: Making the Case for DEI 75
Recognizing DEI’s Impact on Organizational Success 76
Becoming an Employer of Choice 78
Leveraging Inclusion to Drive Innovation and Creativity 79
Enhancing the Safety, Health, and Wellness of Staff 81
Improving the Employee Experience and Encouraging Engagement 83
Creating a positive employee experience 83
Seeing increased engagement 84
Minimizing Employee Complaints and Lawsuits 85
Avoiding the Revolving Door and Turnover of Top Performers 86
Chapter 5: Hiring a Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer 87
Tracing the Rise of the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer’s Role 88
Knowing When It’s Time to Hire a CDEIO 89
Considering the Best Candidate for Your Organization 90
Positioning the Role at the Right Level 92
Part 2: Examining DEI in the Workplace 95
Chapter 6: Assessing Your Organization’s Culture 97
Exploring What Culture Is 98
Using Benchmarks and Other Industry Standards 99
Conducting Document Reviews of Policies, Processes, and Strategies 101
Conducting Leadership Assessments 104
Conducting a Staff Inclusion and Engagement Survey 105
Conducting Employee Focus Groups 106
Chapter 7: Exposing Common Organizational Barriers to DEI 107
Looking for the Culture Fit 108
Resisting the Value and Need for DEI 109
Handling resistance 109
Overcoming fear 110
Perpetuating Microaggressions, Stereotypes, and Prejudices 112
Taking a closer look at microaggressions 112
Sniffing out stereotypes and prejudices 113
Overlooking Hidden Figures Who Are Overperforming but Undervalued 114
Minimizing the experiences and contributions of underrepresented talent 115
Relying on favorites and go-tos 116
Silencing and Ignoring Employee Complaints 117
Chapter 8: Positioning DEI as an Organization’s Strategic Priority 119
Embedding DEI into the Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values 120
Creating a DEI Plan 122
Starting with a vision for the future 123
Taking the steps to make it happen 124
Communicating the DEI Plan across the organization 127
Involving leadership 128
Making it relevant 128
Keeping the Plan Alive 129
Part 3: Implementing and Operationalizing DEI Across the Organization 131
Chapter 9: Finding and Recruiting Diverse Talent 133
Reviewing Your Recruitment Strategy 134
Shoring up your short-term recruitment strategy 134
Looking at recruitment with an eye on long-term goals 135
Boosting your diversity recruitment strategy 136
Casting a Wider Net to Build a Diverse Pipeline 137
Building relationships and networking 137
Communicating your commitment to DEI 139
Writing More Inclusive Job Descriptions 140
Minimizing Bias in the Selection Process 141
Recognizing that everyone has biases 141
Replacing gender-coded words with gender-neutral ones 143
Reducing racial bias 143
Curtailing bias against older workers 144
Diminishing bias against disabled (differently-abled) workers 144
Lessening bias against religious beliefs/spirituality/faith 145
Assembling a Diverse Interview Panel 145
Avoiding Illegal and Inappropriate Questions 146
Chapter 10: Developing, Coaching, Promoting, and Retaining Diverse Talent 149
Developing Diverse Talent 150
Coaching Diverse Talent 151
Assessing Your Team’s Needs 153
Understanding the best ways to get your team’s input 153
Mentoring across differences 155
Customizing your leadership style to your team’s diverse needs and talents 155
Reviewing Performance with an Equitable and Inclusive Mindset 157
Combating microaggressions and bias 158
Providing feedback through an equitable lens 159
Applying Retention Strategies That Work 160
Chapter 11: Leading Diverse Teams for Maximum Performance 163
Assembling a Diverse Team 164
Maximizing the Benefits of a Diverse Team 166
Creating opportunities for people to get to know each other 166
Embracing communication style differences 167
Making your meetings no-judgment zones 167
Focusing on the increase in market share
and serving more diverse customers 168
Addressing unconscious cultural bias 168
Inviting Diversity of Thought to the Table 169
Scrutinizing the myth about diversity of thought 169
Uncovering the truth about diversity of thought 170
Mining diversity of thought at the table 170
Facilitating Relationship-Building and Cultivating Trust and Belonging 171
Building relationships 171
Building trust 172
Avoiding the Common Pitfalls of Leading a Diverse Team 173
Chapter 12: Tracking, Measuring, and Reporting the Progress of DEI Efforts 175
Measuring What Matters 176
Understanding what makes a metric good 176
Considering common areas to measure 176
Avoiding common metrics mistakes 178
Identifying the Problems with Tracking DEI 178
Developing a DEI Scorecard 179
Reporting the Data to Key Leaders 182
Putting it all together 182
Making sure leaders use the data presented 183
Chapter 13: Embedding DEI in Other Key Areas of the Organization 185
Incorporating DEI Messaging into Marketing and Branding Initiatives 185
Practicing inclusive marketing 187
Avoiding cultural appropriation and other missteps 188
Integrating DEI into Company Communications and Messaging 189
Connecting DEI to Environmental Social Governance and Corporate Responsibility 190
Surveying Supplier Diversity Programs 192
Understanding the benefits of supplier diversity programs 193
Establishing and nurturing relationships with diverse vendors and suppliers 195
Exploring best practices for supplier diversity programs 196
Measuring the success of a supplier diversity program 198
Chapter 14: Launching DEI Councils and Employee Resource Groups 201
Differentiating Between DEI Councils and Employee Resource Groups 202
Understanding how diversity councils can support ERGs 203
Looking at what diversity councils and ERGs can accomplish together 204
Drilling down into the importance of ERGs 204
Ensuring Engagement from the Top: The Importance of the Executive Sponsor 205
Establishing an Effective DEI Council 207
Knowing your company and finding a champion 207
Establishing your mission, vision, and strategic areas of focus 208
Setting goals and establishing roles and responsibilities 209
Recruiting and securing DEI council members 210
Developing a DEI council charter 210
Offering Employee Resource Groups to Support DEI Initiatives 211
Realizing the benefits of the ERGs for employees and the organization 213
Identifying the various types of employee resource groups 213
Deciding when to launch ERGs and which to launch first 214
Recruiting ERG members and executive sponsors 215
Establishing an ERG charter and measures of success 215
Part 4: Sustaining DEI in Your Organization 217
Chapter 15: Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact in the Workplace 219
An Important Word on Bias 221
Tracing the Origins of Biases and How They’re Reinforced 221
Identifying Ways Biases Show Up in Everyday Life 223
Distinguishing among the Various Biases 224
Describing the Ways Biases Affect Decision Making in the Workplace 227
Reprogramming Your Brain to Make Less Biased Decisions 229
Mitigating bias as an individual 229
Managing bias within a system 232
Chapter 16: Moving from Unconscious Bias to Inclusive Leadership 235
Realizing the Benefits of Becoming an Inclusive Leader 236
Driving financial performance 237
Enhancing employer brand that attracts top talent 237
Increasing employee engagement, satisfaction, and team performance 238
Achieving greater innovation in products and services 240
Honing the Competencies and Key Traits of an Inclusive Leader 241
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Ineffective Leadership 243
Being Inclusive Everyday: Microbehaviors Leaders Often Overlook 244
Chapter 17: Enhancing Cultural Competence 247
Understanding What Cultural Competence Is (And What It Isn’t) 249
Self-awareness 249
Knowledge of other cultures 250
The ability to adapt 250
What cultural competence isn’t 251
Distinguishing between Cultural Humility and Cultural Intelligence 252
Considering cultural humility 252
Investigating cultural intelligence 253
Knowing How Cultures Differ: Seven Dimensions of Culture 255
Universalism versus particularism 256
Individualism versus communitarianism 256
Neutral versus emotional 256
Specific versus diffuse.257
Achievement versus ascription 257
Sequential time versus synchronic time 258
Internal direction versus external direction 258
Mapping Your Own Cultural Orientation 258
Assessing Your Cultural Competence — Tools You Can Use 260
Employing the Most Important Attributes of Cultural Competence 262
Chapter 18: Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging 263
Understanding Company Culture and How It’s Established 264
Realizing every company has a culture 265
Understanding that company culture is an open culture 266
Defining the beliefs that drive behavior 267
Introducing the Culture Spectrum 270
The left side of the spectrum 272
The right side of the spectrum 275
Exploring the Characteristics and Implications of Toxic Workplaces 277
Implementing a Sustainable Culture Transformation 280
Setting the stage for change 280
Mission, vision, and values 282
Policies and formal processes 282
Informal processes 283
Employee behavior 284
Assessing progress and creating the next strategy 285
Measuring the Impact of a Culture of Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging 286
Part 5: The Part of Tens 289
Chapter 19: Ten Common Myths about Diversity and Inclusion 291
When We Check This Box, We Can Move on to Other Priorities 291
Isn’t Focusing on Diversity Just Reverse Discrimination? 292
DEI Work Has No Place for Straight, White Men 292
“Diversity” Is Just Code for “Race 293
What We’re Really After Is Diversity of Thought 293
I Support Diversity; I Just Don’t Want to Lower Our Standards 294
If We Can Achieve Diversity, Inclusion Will Follow 294
All Bias Is Bad 295
Succeeding as a DEI Practitioner Will Put Me out of a Job 295
Is All This DEI Work Really Necessary When People Seem Happy Here? 295
Chapter 20: Ten Ways That Boards Can Influence DEI in the Organization 297
Develop a DEI Statement and Center It in Your Business Strategy 298
Commit to Diversifying Your Board 298
Cultivate a Culture of Inclusion on Your Board 299
Establish Clear Board Roles and Responsibilities 299
Ensure Your Board Chair and CEO Are DEI Champions 300
Provide Education on DEI-Related Topics 300
Embrace an Equity Mindset 301
Accept Responsibility 301
Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable 302
Measure Your Success 302
Chapter 21: Ten Things Underrepresented Talent Wish Leaders Knew.303
Everyone Has Different Needs in the Workplace 304
Representation Equals Diversity, Equity, AND Inclusion 305
Intent Doesn’t Equal Impact 306
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Are More Than Just “Race” 306
Don’t Tokenize Me Because I’m the Only One 307
Do Your Own Work; Walk the Talk 307
Stop with the Overly Complimentary Language 308
Don’t Interpret Silence as Consent or Agreement 309
Ask for My Perspective and Input Even Though I’m Different from You 310
Your Staff Is Watching You 310
Index 311
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