During Pride Month, we’ve been exploring the importance of creating diverse and inclusive work environments which bring together employees from various backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles.
As a result, we were also keen to examine how you can tell whether a company is genuinely interested in diversity and inclusion or whether it's just paying lip service.
It’s all very well to see swarms of businesses and brands promoting themselves by changing their logo to a Pride flag and sharing it across social media during the month of June, however, true commitment to workplace inclusion needs to go beyond such trends and popularity point scoring.
Companies cannot underestimate the power of diversity and inclusion. A Glassdoor surveyfound that 72% of job seekers and employees say a diverse workplace is important to them, which is why employers need to tackle the real issues and provide policies, benefits and environments that work for people from all backgrounds.
If you’re a candidate who is keen to work in a diverse and inclusive workplace, here are some key ways to identify if a company is truly committed to workplace inclusion.
Research
Check company websites for mentions of any values, policies or pledges to support diversity and inclusion. Some businesses may have a dedicated page to promote their D&I strategies and hiring practices. Keep an eye out for specific metrics or statistics that showcase true action, rather than just relying on empty words and promises.
Read review sites, such as Glassdoor or Google, to see the true experiences of employees, customers and clients. If a business truly is passionate about diversity and inclusion, every individual they interact with should have an equally positive experience.
Social media is an invaluable tool in this instance as well. If businesses are open, honest and vocal about supporting diversity, inclusion and equality, they will do and share more than just a rainbow logo during one month of the year.
Employees
Visiting the company’s “Meet the Team” page on their website, or doing some research on LinkedIn, can shed some light on the true make-up of the organisation. After all, it’s easy to include a sentence claiming that inclusion is important to the firm, but if the team page is distinctly lacking in any variety it’s clear that this isn’t necessarily true.
Having said that, it’s important to take your time before making a final judgement. Many companies will be in a transition process, so be sure to check for news articles, blog posts or recent updates that show a commitment to addressing the lack of diversity in the current team.
It’s also worth noting if a business has a dedicated HR employee or workplace diversity & inclusion officer. Hiring someone who specialises in D&I demonstrates a real drive to make positive changes.
Questions
After doing your research, you should be well armed with some ideas about the positive and negative areas of a company’s D&I strategy. You can subsequently use this information to ask any relevant or pertinent questions via email, phone, video or face-to-face interview.
Here are some examples of what you can ask:
I saw that diversity is listed in your company values. Can you share some insights as to how you promote it?
Do you offer training around diversity, equity and inclusion?
What does the company do to help ensure inclusion?
Do you have a D&I policy?
Do you have HR personnel to address any D&I complaints or concerns raised by employees?
What policies do you have in place that promote inclusion or benefit diverse employees?
Honesty
If you do or wear certain things, such as wearing a turban or head covering, because it’s a part of your culture or beliefs, then don’t hide them from a prospective employer. These things are a part of who you are and should be welcomed in any workplace on a day-to-day basis. If a prospective employer has an issue with something like this in an interview, it signifies that they are not truly inclusive.
Your differences, be it around skin colour, gender expression, religious beliefs or physical ability, provide you with unique perspectives which will ultimately add value to an organisation. The right company will be able to understand what makes you stand out and set about making the most of your strengths.
Network
If you know anyone who works at the company, or who has done previously, then drop them a line to see if they would be happy to share any information around its commitment to diversity and inclusion. An insider’s insights will always be valuable if they come from a trustworthy and reliable source.
Benefits
A company’s policies can reveal a great deal about how much they value inclusion. For example, providing maternity, paternity or family leave benefits which support all parents, not just mothers and including those of adopted children or same-sex couples, demonstrates that the firm is eager to offer support to all types of family in the workplace.
Check if the business has any internal groups or external partners that work to promote, educate and make positive changes when it comes to D&I in the workplace. As well as hiring and including diverse people in the team, it’s important to educate existing team members about the importance of D&I.
If you would like to discuss this or any of the topics covered in our articles in more detail, please get in touch:info@merje.com
