The Right And Wrong Measures Of Diversity and Inclusion

There’s an overall awareness in the working world, now, where discrimination and wage disparity are merely two of the issues coming to light that have affected organizations and their employees for decades. Employers have begun adopting best practices to which they can remedy some of these issues and rectify certain errors that have prevented specific employees from achieving an optimal work experience. This is achieved through what’s known as “diversity and inclusion initiatives,” which involve strategizing and re-structuring a company’s mission to allow for more diversity in the workplace from top to bottom. Further, this allows for existing workers to feel as though the playing field is more level for them to grow throughout their employment.

The trend is growing, as companies are finding new ways to incorporate practices in the hopes of building upon both diversity and inclusion. However, without proper guidance, employers can find themselves in hot water should they develop initiatives that skew so broadly, that it almost feels exclusionary than inclusionary. In these situations, legal ramifications can occur, particularly with discrimination. The opposite of the intended outcome can occur as well, such that employees’ felt sense of isolation is compounded.

So, what are the best ways to get started? First, contact your legal representative to have a better grasp of what is it you can and can’t incorporate based upon the laws in which you operate. Find out what is quite frankly legal and what is illegal. Next, create a well-rounded strategy. You may hire an outside agency or decide to keep it in house. Whichever you choose, start off with certain groups of people within your company who are historically underrepresented and find ways to create protocol that is specifically designed for them. Finally, extend it forward. This can be changing your application process to allow for more diversity, imposing a salary history ban to eliminate financial barriers, and developing a stronger, more diverse onboarding process.

Whatever you decide, please remember that despite your best efforts to remain fair, there are laws in place that can affect how you implement these new diversity and inclusion initiatives. Choose wisely.

Not sure how to get started? Let Trusaic provide your organization with a free Pay Gap Assessment, which can be conducted confidentially.

Here is what you will get:

• 1-hour consultation to our pay equity team comprised of regulatory compliance experts and data scientists;
• Answers to your pay equity questions;
• A pay gap analysis of your workforce.