8 Strategies for Embracing Diversity in the Workplace

1. Start the conversation.

It can be difficult to find the right way to start. Leaders need to open the door, set the tone, and send the message that they care about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Like the leader I referred to earlier, reflect on your own experiences and consider what your teams could gain from leveraging more diversity.

When did you realize you had an opportunity to embrace diversity? Have you observed or experienced excluding behavior? What impact did it have? Use that momentum and your authentic experience to become open and vulnerable with your team.

2. Increase accountability and transparency.

Without transparency and understanding of what you are doing to increase DEI, teams will not feel that there is enough being done to make improvements. Additionally, a continuing transparent conversation ensures efforts are aligned to the most important areas.

Consider who has the most critical role in driving diversity, equity, and inclusion at your workplace. (Hint—it’s your leaders.) How explicit is it that your leaders are accountable?

3. Develop inclusive leadership skills.

Do your leaders know how to be inclusive? Being aware of unconscious bias or the business case for DEI is not enough. Awareness is an important step, but it doesn’t automatically lead to action. Leaders need training to learn the tools, frameworks, and skills to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Teach your leaders how to create an inclusive environment with a blended learning approach that engages leaders’ heads and hearts.

However, be wary of separating inclusion as a separate skill or additional thing to do. It isn’t something to apply in certain situations but not others. It can be woven into the actions leaders and associates take each day. I encourage you to reflect on this mantra: Great leadership is inclusive leadership.

4. Notice diversity during discussions and decisions.

While anyone can be a victim of unconscious bias, those who are disproportionately harmed include women, people of color, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people who are perceived to be from a foreign country.

Bias has very real consequences that affect hiring decisions, performance management, delegation, and succession decisions. To embrace diversity means to pay attention to who is at the table and then create a diverse table.

Leaders need to create conditions where diverse viewpoints are represented, be purposeful in seeking out people who have opposing views, delegate equitably, and proactively identify development opportunities for all.

5. Pay attention to how all people are treated.

Hybrid and remote work highlight growing challenges for DEI efforts. Some minority groups have reported virtual work to be a relief, with home being a safer place with reduced discrimination and microaggressions (whether indirect, subtle, or unintentional).

Conversely, for introverts, it can be easy to feel lost or unsupported behind their screens, compromising neurodiversity.

We know flexible work offers huge benefits, but it also risks widening the diversity gaps and creating new ones. To embrace diversity, leaders must pay attention to how all people are treated in any work environment, and focus on increasing fairness.

Leaders must be intentional to engage and acknowledge each person and their value through verbal and nonverbal microaffirmations.

Above all, consider what you can do to create a psychologically safe work environment where everyone feels that it is safe to speak up, be heard, and be their authentic self.

6. Act as a vocal ally.

Being an ally is like being a catalyst for change. We’ve all observed disrespectful or excluding behavior. But do you intervene when you notice unfairness?

Embracing diversity means advocating on behalf of others and creating fair conditions for everyone. Acting as an ally becomes even more critical when supporting historically excluded groups that face unique challenges.

For example, women often experience inequality as they move up the leadership ladder. Women benefit tremendously from having allies to support them in ways such as building networks, increasing their visibility, amplifying their voice, and ensuring credit is assigned fairly.

To be an ally, you must act with courage and empathy. Allies may need to “call-in” individuals to address their exclusionary actions or words and provide honest and empathetic feedback. Allies hold people accountable for fostering a high level of inclusion and respect and redirecting a conversation to be more inclusive.

7. Reflect and commit to change.

Part of enhancing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion requires leaders to look inward. Consider your own leadership strengths and opportunities and then take action. Use self-insights to make a commitment and ask for feedback.

8. Build your platform on empathy, feedback, and psychological safety.

Taking action to embrace diversity requires everyone—it is an individual, team, and organizational effort. If socializing calling-in behavior becomes important, be mindful that this can feel uncomfortable at first. It can also be tough for teams if giving feedback is not part of the culture.

Teams may fear being punished or have concerns about the reactions from others when speaking out. This is hard, so all involved should be extremely considerate of others by maintaining their colleague’s self-esteem and demonstrating empathy. After all, some microaggressions are not intentional. Empathy is key.

On this journey of striving for equality, your teams are likely to be doing their best. But as leaders, you can spread the message that they can always be doing better. Leaders must role model the behaviors they want to see in their teams and develop their own feedback receptivity. Embracing diversity is making the development of psychological safety a key priority in teams.