Why should you care about diversity issues?  Research shows that diverse workplaces are more productive, more competitive and have a higher level of employee satisfaction – important considerations for a business’ bottom line¹.  Inclusivity makes good business sense. 

    The way we describe the differences in our workplaces is a good indication of what we actually believe.  The words we choose are important.  The ‘Word Games’ section above outlines one example but there are many:

    When in doubt and where possible, it is best to let someone self-identify.  What does that mean?  Listen to how they refer to themselves – do they identify as gay or queer? Black or African Canadian? Chinese or Asian? Person of colour? Female executive or just executive?  The more specifics we offer, the clearer our preconceptions become.  If I have only used the word ‘executive’ the audience might assume it was a male executive I was speaking about, or they might be wondering whether I meant male or female. 

 

    Does that matter?  If so, why? 

 

    If my audience is merely curious, then a subsequent detail will likely clear things up for them – a personal pronoun or a name later in the conversation, for example.  And a little curiosity never hurt anyone.  Let my audience live with their curiosity.  However, if I offer that it was a female executive that I am speaking about, or likewise if I mention that the manager was Asian, what purpose does it serve other than to illustrate that this ‘other’ was in the workplace with me?  Sometimes it may be important to describe my interaction by including gender, race or other details. For instance, if I do not include those details, then often the assumption is that I am referring to a white person. However, the motivation behind sharing those extra details, or asking for them, is something to consider carefully.

 

    Many of the challenges that diversity presents to us are due to our own internal biases.  What do we mean by internal bias?  Internal bias is the tape (or 8-track or CD, depending on your generation!) that plays generalizations, prejudices and stereotypes about various groups of people over and over again in your head.  By and large these biases are both negative and unfounded.  So, if they are unfounded, where did they come from? 

    We have to check the assumptions that we make based on our biases.  We all have some tape or another playing in our minds.  Our challenge in the workplace is to recognize when the ‘tape’ may not be accurate, and then to do something about it.  For example, a colleague who grew up in the Middle East found his ‘tape’ about gays and lesbians challenged when he arrived in Canada 10 years ago.  He had grown up with the messages that gays and lesbians were ‘bad’ and ‘dirty’ and ‘not to be trusted’.  He has had to work very hard to re-record some of the messages his ‘tape’ was playing to him on a daily basis. 

 

    What is interesting to consider is why anyone would bother to work at re-recording his or her tape.  In my colleague’s case, it was easy for him to see how stereotypes and prejudices that others held about him negatively affected his efforts to get a job, to live cohesively with his neighbours and so on.  In short, he was on the receiving end of racism and it made him take a look at how his ‘tape’ could end up playing out as homophobia if he did not start recording something new.  What are your reasons for recording a new ‘tape’?

 

    The biggest challenge is to tape over the assumptions that we learned early on in life.  We all have them.  We all share this challenge. A secondary challenge is to ensure that the internal biases, ‘tapes’, do not get played aloud in public spaces or turn into behaviours and actions that could harm others.  Harbouring negative stereotypes internally is one thing - that is an individual challenge.  Playing that tape out loud is quite another since it becomes harmful to others both directly and indirectly.  Playing aloud the assumptions from your mind is what results is an “ism” – racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, classism.  In the workplace, these actions create a poisoned work environment or harassment – and the Ontario Human Rights Code tolerates neither. 

 

    Sometimes it is difficult to see the effects of the “isms” when the workplace culture has formed around acceptance of terms or jokes or interactions that are harmful.  For example, in environments that have traditionally been male-dominated such as firefighting, manufacturing and construction, the workplace still often condones sexism, which is evident in the jokes that are made and the terminology that is used to describe the work and the workers.  In these examples, where there are women joining the workplace, they articulate that the reason they belong is because they “can give and take” the jokes the same way.  This serves only, unfortunately, to perpetuate the prejudice and stereotypes.  In other situations, women report leaving a job because of the stress of working in a negative environment.  A third possibility is that the ‘outsider’ is practically pushed out the door by the exclusive workplace culture.  These last two examples translate into direct costs to the employer in terms of recruitment and orientation costs and lost productivity due to turnover.  The challenge is to change the environment before it becomes a recruitment, retention or human rights issue. 

 

If you would like to check how your organization is doing in promoting inclusivity, contact Kaleidoscopic at Inquiries@kscopic.ca or 416-238-7454 for a complimentary consultation and organizational Inclusivity Checklist.