How To Overcome Barriers To Inclusion And Diversity

Inclusion and diversity (I&D) initiatives continue to be at the forefront for organizations to create and sustain a competitive workplace, outperforming a more homogenous workforce. I&D solutions are reliant on a diverse talent pool with creativity, ingenuity, imagination, invention and problem-solving capabilities.

At the same time, employees are looking for visible and tangible steps where their leaders are not only building an inclusive culture but also enhancing facets of diversity in the workplace.

Five Barriers To Inclusion And Diversity

It would seem that many senior management teams have expressed a strong commitment to I&D, but it's important to know that there may be roadblocks along the way. Based on my experience, there are five common reasons:

1. Stereotyping And Unconscious Bias

We are all conditioned to process information and make decisions based on preexisting assumptions. Unconscious biases, however, are more prevalent when combined with an affinity bias, whereby people are aligned with those who have similar experiences or backgrounds to themselves. Those who contribute to biased group decision-making often deprive an organization of diverse talent based on soft filtering criteria (i.e., culture fit).

2. Leadership Skill Gap

The skill to build and manage diverse teams is limited to whether managers can evolve in a homogenous environment. With the mixed success of I&D training programs and initiatives, leaders of organizations are neither fully equipped nor trained to capitalize on the diversity dividend. Unless leaders have appropriate skills to manage differences, diverse teams can underperform homogenous teams.

3. Tick-Box Approach

Many organizations have policies that specify quotas to promote diversity, which rarely work. I concur with authors Frances Frei and Anne Morriss as they conclude, “Quotas tend to be blunt-force interventions of last resort that can help to deliver better diversity numbers, but they don’t help much with the underlying drivers of belonging and inclusion.”

4. Prioritization Dilution

Companies prioritize an I&D agenda only after their most important business problems are addressed. If these companies are meeting their financial targets, I&D goals become negotiable and dispensable.  

5. Lack Of Meritocracy At Senior Levels

Some organizations tend not to use the same level of rigor in assessment processes at senior levels as they do at middle and lower levels, which often creates a perception of lack of meritocracy and reliance on judgment calls based on subjective criteria.

With these barriers in mind, I believe there are certain enablers that can make or break the diversity agenda of an organization. To ensure employees and teams feel included and not singled out based on a perceived difference, organizations must take the following steps:  

• Be clear on the why: The “why” needs to resonate with key leaders. As a leader of a business, I believe the commitment to diversity needs to come from within. Personally, I must walk the talk and not necessarily play lip service. I have often pushed that commitment to the next level of leadership to promote ownership of the I&D agenda.

• Have constructive debates: I have encouraged constructive debates and often initiated conversations around I&D. As today’s leaders attempt to address I&D priorities and challenges, no matter how uncomfortable, they should encourage honest and candid conversations to elicit actionable insights.  

• Walk the talk: Generally, teams are skeptical of diversity in some cases, and they look for proof that initiatives are working. Often, they feel that I&D agendas could be compromised for short-term business gains. It's important to not only demonstrate a long-term mindset to I&D agendas but also motivate your leadership team (and their teams) to walk the talk on a day-to-day basis.

• Mainstream vs. sidestream: Talking about I&D is often uncomfortable — especially for those who come from diverse, underrepresented groups. Attempt to make the diversity conversation mainstream instead of having one-off conversations in the margin in order to build comfort around your teams.

• Be deliberate and intentional: I have always been very deliberate and intentional, and in my opinion, nothing happens by accident or wishful thinking. Being deliberate in shaping the agenda for I&D with goals and support actions is important. Leaders must intervene when needed and make tough decisions.

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