For some time now, we keep seeing headlines about large companies discontinuing their DEI initiatives, slashing budgets for equality measures, dismissing diversity managers or prohibiting participation in or sponsorship of Pride parades and similar events. The reason usually given is: We no longer need diversity management. Everything is fine, everyone feels comfortable here, our workforce is already diverse. Why invest time and money in something that has no visible benefit?
For some, this may sound plausible at first glance. If everything is going well, the goal of diversity management has been accomplished, right? But the idea that you can be “done” with DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) at some point is just one of many myths about diversity in the workplace that usually don't stand up to closer scrutiny.
Myths about diversity in the workplace are common
Of course, there is endless misinformation in the media about diversity, equity and inclusion not just in the workplace, and we wish we could debunk them all. But today, we're focusing on the area we know best and explain how you and your organization can avoid these pitfalls.
Myth no. 1: At some point you’re done with diversity management
We have already touched on this above: Many people believe that you are “done” after a few years of diversity management. All employees have been trained, all job advertisements are gender-sensitive, there's a whole woman on the board - what more could you want? But as a smart person once said: DEI is a marathon, not a sprint. If the employee survey shows that everyone feels comfortable and there are no experiences of discrimination or harassment, then the temptation is understandably great to pat yourself on the back and declare the diversity project a success. The only problem with this is that even if inclusion seems to have been successful at this point in time, a company does not stand still. New employees are hired whose awareness of DEI is less well developed. Someone comes out and suddenly it turns out that homophobia may still be an issue after all. Awareness of unconscious bias, equity and anti-discrimination has been shown to diminish if it is not firmly anchored in the corporate culture - and this may only become apparent months or even years later. What's more, if everyone feels comfortable while diversity management is active, this does not mean that it will stay that way when it is removed. If employee resource groups are scrapped or equal opportunities officers are dismissed, this has an impact on marginalized employees.
It's like medicine: if you take a painkiller, you’ll quickly think that everything is fine now - but at some point the effect is exhausted and the pain returns, because it’s only the symptom that has been remedied and not its cause. And in the case of diversity management, the cause lies not only in the company itself, but often in the entire society in which it operates. Sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination do not start at the office door.
Myth no. 2: Diversity management should only be introduced once the company is established.
At IN-VISIBLE, we regularly work with start-ups and young companies, and there’s one complaint we come across time and time again: “We started with three people, so we didn't think we would need diversity management back then, but we've grown a lot in the past year and now we have 50 very different employees and all kinds of interpersonal conflicts that we don't know how to resolve.”
This often manifests itself in, for example, complaints about microaggressions and even employees who leave the company as a result, clique-y structures that make it difficult for newer employees to advance, and much more. Usually, the result are homogeneous teams that would like to be much more diverse, but simply don’t succeed in creating and maintaining diversity. And the tenor is always: “We should have started sooner!” In fact, the initial phase of a company, when teams are still a manageable size, is a perfect time to think about diversity and inclusion. This is because everyone usually knows each other personally and is more willing to openly exchange ideas and learn from and with each other. Methods and strategies can be tested on a small scale and taken into account from the very first moment when shaping the corporate culture. This also prevents the frequent problem that diversity and the larger corporate strategy are thought of separately, which contributes to DEI being perceived as a “nice to have” at best and a pointless waste of resources at worst.
Myth no. 3: DEI is a “nice to have”.
And that brings us to the last of the myths about diversity in the workplace that we’ll be talking about: diverse teams and everything that comes with them are nice to have, but ultimately irrelevant to a company's success. This misconception is perfectly understandable, as inclusion does not directly translate to higher revenue in most cases. However, the fact that there is a connection has now been proven for many aspects of everyday working life. For example, a major study¹ back in 2009 showed that companies with a higher level of racial diversity had a significantly higher average revenue than companies with a lower level of diversity. One reason for this may be that diverse teams make better decisions compared to homogeneous teams and individuals, as a 2017 study² shows. It makes sense: diverse people bring different perspectives to the table and thus help to avoid biases and group think, think more innovatively and address different target groups. And last but not least: Diversity management helps to recruit talent. It is increasingly important³ for young, highly educated professionals in particular to not only feel comfortable in their workplace, but also to be committed to the company - and DEI is an important issue for many of them. So if you want to be fit for the future, there is no getting around the issue of diversity in the long term.
The majority support diversity in the workplace and beyond
And therein perhaps lies another myth, because a lot of people have been wondering: Do these companies really think diversity is fully established and needs no further management, or are they bowing to pressure from right-wing groups calling for the abolition of diversity and inclusion? It is impossible to say for sure, but in times of a clear shift to the right, it would unfortunately not be surprising. However, this ceding to right-wing forces is also based on misconceptions, as the vast majority of people (not only) in Germany find diversity and inclusion valuable and enriching⁴. So anyone who discontinues DEI measures in order to avoid conflict is not only on the wrong side of history, but also has a false picture of what is important to most customers.
That's why we encourage all companies: Don't be misled by diversity myths, but give the issue the attention it deserves. And if you don't know how, then we at IN-VISIBLE are here for you.
Sources:
Herring, Cedric (2009): Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity. In: American Sociological Review 74(2), 208-224.
https://www.stepstone.de/ueber-stepstone/press/reprasentative-studie-zu-diversity/