5 Ways to Promote Equality in the Workplace | Embracing a fair and inclusive culture in the workplace helps to foster the right working environment for you and your employees. Equality and inclusivity in the workplace have been under the spotlight in the last few years and every organization needs to put its workplace policies and procedures under the microscope to ensure a diversified culture is encouraged. Below are 5 ways that you can start promoting equality in your workplace today.
- Identify Weaknesses
To promote diversified thinking through diverse minds, your company will need to identify its current workplace biases, whether they are conscious or otherwise. Most decent companies have long since removed conscious biases but sometimes we are all guilty of discriminating against our employees or colleagues and we don’t even realize it. Spend time going over your current policies and procedures to make sure that they are fair and inclusive. Pay attention to the small things as well as the larger ones, such as checking that all of your communication is free of discriminatory or sexist language.
- Be Proactive
Try not to approach this from a defensive point of view; the point of this exercise is to improve your company and its culture – not to play the blame game. If you don’t know how to best achieve this much-needed step for your company, consult a discrimination attorney for guidance. Everyone needs to be treated fairly in their day-to-day activities so shadow your employees during their working day; this will open your eyes to how they are treated by your other employees and trusted managers.
- Assemble A Diverse Team
The best way to identify your problem areas is to assemble a diverse task team to help you. Make sure that the members of this special team are taken from multiple age groups, races, gender identities, and cultures – that is the best way to make sure you do your best to promote professionalism and equality for everyone. This team can also assist with monitoring the situation regularly and reporting back on their findings every few months.
- Implement Policies
Uncovering old and outdated policies that aren’t as inclusive as they should be is only the first step in promoting equality in the workplace. The hardest part will be implementing new and dynamic policies that are more inclusive and free from unconscious discriminatory biases. The most important thing is to acknowledge that there is something that needs fixing; no one is going to do that for you. There are tests that you can take and have your employees take; these will help you to identify the biases within your company.
- Be Objective
Challenging the status quo is not going to be easy for everyone to get on board with, particularly the employees who have previously enjoyed the benefits of an old-fashioned workplace, such as earning more than other employees. You must stay objective throughout this process and try not to take anything personally – chances are you have been ignorant of the situation for so long that you don’t stand a chance in rectifying it on your own.
