Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Written by: Reggie Ponder
From <https://kgdiversity.com/what-is-diversity-equity-inclusion-part-2-equity/>Diversity is Difference, Dimension, and
Development.
Diversity is Difference
Plain and simple, diversity is
“difference.” If you have a room of all white males it doesn’t mean there is no
difference present. It does mean that there are some specific differences not
present. The key to valuing diversity is acknowledging the differences that are
present and not ignoring the differences that are not present. In many
organizations, we have a real problem talking about differences. This is
because we have been conditioned to believe that difference is bad or that
difference causes conflict. On the contrary, it is the intentional disregard
for differences that causes discord in our organizations.
The reason we want women at the table, we
need women at the table, is that many times they will see a problem from a
different angle. But because we devalue differences, we believe those new
opinions will hurt the project in time and money when in fact they will save
the project in time and money. When a company is designing a car, and they have
all men at the table there will be things men will not see or even care about
in that design that will be important to women. Does this mean that the car
company doesn’t have differences at the table? No, it means the company has
figured out how to grow with the differences among men but have not figured out
how to grow with the differences among men and women. The men will debate
horsepower, stick-shift versus automatic, and even interior comforts and the
company will roll out a new vehicle each and every year. But that same company
has to figure out how to incorporate women to add an additional layer of
difference. Difference is good! Ignoring differences is bad.
Companies cannot grow stifling differences.
Diversity is Dimension
How is dimension distinct from difference?
In this case, we are using difference to apply to groups of people – Men,
Women, Whites, Latinx, Blacks, and LGBTQ+. When we talk about differences in
the context outlined earlier, we acknowledge that there is difference between
groups as well as within groups. This was for the purposes of illustrating that
not all members of a group are the same. Dimension is a more appropriate term
for the difference within groups and that is how the term is used here.
In the same way, a company accommodates
different White men with the understanding that not all White men are the same,
is the manner in which companies should look at other groups. Many times, when
we seek diversity we see the difference without seeking the dimension.
Dimension is important because there is diversity within groups and a failure
to acknowledge that can lead to hiring one woman for diversity’s sake.
The reality is she can’t speak for all women. The pressure a company puts on an
employee who is supposed to represent an entire segment of people is enormous.
Companies must seek dimension when seeking diversity. Important to this
line of thinking is when hiring, the women should not all come from the same
school or the same sorority. Companies that recruit women (or any group) mostly
at “feeder schools” run the risk of having women with very similar experiences,
which can limit the innovation and success of an organization. When we say
“similar experiences” we are not insinuating that these women don’t have full
independent lives separate from one another, or are limited in capabilities,
but rather that there are other women with a whole other unique set of
experiences not available to your organization because the aspect of dimension
has not been considered or is not a priority.
Dimension is not a new concept but it is a
critical one. Successful companies look for difference and dimensions.
Diversity is also Development
It is not enough to have difference and
dimension without development – which is simply defined as growth. If you hire
difference and dimension but your culture values sameness, there will be little
to no development of your people. Your people may develop different
skills but the goal and real value are found in developing different ways of
thinking. Developing differently to approach problems is the keep to growth,
individually and institutionally. The real value is developing an appetite for
difference and dimension among your people to cultivate innovation and
transformation. When your people begin to seek difference and dimension they
will begin to notice who is not at the table – what voices are not represented.
As a result of that recognition, they will either seek that missing
representation and/or work to provide a perspective of that representation as a
step toward greater diversity. The whole reason we seek diversity is to develop
our people to be the best they can be and they can’t be developed fully if they
are surrounded by the same types of people.
WHAT IS EQUITY?
What is equity? This word has begun to be
more and more a part of our discussions in the diversity space. Somehow, the
word diversity wasn’t enough to define the landscape of sameness. To some,
diversity simply demands that we need different voices, but it doesn’t speak to
how we treat those with different voices. Part of the reason there is a lack of
diversity is that people deliberately designed systems to discriminate against
diverse groups of people. The word equity was included to point out that
once you start to create diversity within your organization, you must ask some
important questions: What are you going to do with that diversity? How are
you going to cultivate it? And how do you want your people to feel, think, and
act as a result of that diversity? Here are three components of equity you
should keep in mind as you embark on a diversity and equity journey:
Equity is not Equality
In the dictionary, equity is defined as the
quality of being fair and impartial. However, it is important to
understand that equity is not equality. With equality, we treat everyone the
same and give everyone access to the same opportunities. This sounds good if
everyone was starting from the same vantage point. Take education for example,
if everyone was given the same opportunity to attend an Ivy League school that
would be a good thing right? The challenge in giving everyone the opportunity
is found in the reality that everyone isn’t prepared for the challenge that
school will present.
It is not enough to provide the opportunity
without providing the preparedness. Equity says that these students who may
require additional educational resources should get it in order to be more
competitive. This additional assistance really bothers many people because they
see it as being unfair to award extra assistance to some and not others.
However, what is being ignored is that unfair educational opportunities are
already at play. There is a group of people who are being advantaged
educationally with where they live, what kind of schools they attend, and
how much money they have. You cannot treat a historically discriminatory system
and believe things will be fair by providing equality without equity.
The Interaction Institute for Social Change
has a great example of equity in Illustrating Equality VS
Equity which shows three young people attempting to watch a baseball game.
With equality, each person is standing on a crate of equal height attempting to
peer over a fence. One has a great view, one has an adequate view and one has
no view at all. The individuals are of different heights so the same sized
crate doesn’t take that fact into account. With Equity, each person has the
same view of the game. In the illustration, one person can stand on his own
feet without a crate to peer over the fence but the other two need crates of
different sizes to be able to see the game. That is the definition of equity –
providing each person what they need in order to be equal. While we all are
created equal we are not all treated equally. Equity recognizes that we need to
meet peoples’ needs and not simply increase opportunities.
Equity is Justice
Discriminatory practices against women in
this country are well documented from what schools they could attend to what
jobs they could hold and how far they can advance in a particular field. Take
the issue of salaries for example equality is equal pay for equal work whereas
equity is providing greater raises to women before in order to close the
discrepancies in pay for the same work. The Center for American Progress
reports that on average women make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes for
the same job. In order for us to get to equality in pay, we are going to have
to address equity. Women will need to receive higher raises to even the playing
field. It is not enough to make sure the pay of future hires is equal. Equity
calls for past hires to be remedied – and that remedy will be uneven to achieve
justice.
It would be too simplistic to think that
providing women with 18 additional cents would solve the issue of unequal pay
because there is dimension within the group of women: Asian women make 90 cents
to what men make, White women make 79 cents, Black women make 62 cents, Native
American women make 57 cents and Latino women make 54 cents. Using the
kids peering over the fence analogy, none of the women can look over the fence
without assistance and all of the women would need a different level of
assistance to be able to look over the fence. Equity is justice.
Equity is Ownership
In the financial world, when you have
equity you have ownership, a stake in the company. Equity works like that too
within organizations. When individuals have what they need to be successful,
they become owners. They believe and function as if they have a stake in the
company. An organization can’t seriously expect individuals to give it their
all when those individuals know that they are being treated unfairly. However,
when an organization works to level the playing field through equity,
individuals trust that they will be provided with what they need to be as
successful as their counterparts. There is an old adage that people don’t
care how much you know until they know how much you care. When paired with the
adage actions are better than words, we have the two components necessary
for real equity, empathy, and execution. When individuals know you care and
observe you executing on the issue of equal pay, they become true owners of
everything they are charged with doing and beyond. If you think you have great
workers now and there are obvious areas of inequity, imagine the commitment and
ownership those workers will assume when true equity is at play. People are
more likely to add value to an organization when they feel valued by the
organization. Those people become stakeholders with equity, allowing them to
function like owners versus workers.
Equity is different than equality, looks
like justice, and fosters ownership.
What is Inclusion?
The word diversity has been used
to describe the industry for a long time but the word inclusion was added to
emphasize that simply having diversity doesn’t mean leveraging diversity. Why
would a company seek diversity and not be inclusive? There are many reasons why
diversity doesn’t lead to inclusion ranging from outright discrimination to
corporate culture. As such, the word inclusion was specifically called out to coach
the world that diversity in and of itself does not foster inclusion. Here are
three important components of inclusion:
Inclusion is Incorporation
When we include, we incorporate. This means
that the people we have lead the process versus the process leading them.
Policies, practices, and procedures are all well and good, but they mean
nothing if people don’t adopt them and take ownership of them. One of the
biggest issues in diversity is being on the team but not being incorporated in
the process. Reasons companies and organizations give for not incorporating
more people in the decision-making process include: that it will take too much
time, that too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup, and decision making by
committee is ineffective. The reality is decisions do need to be made in a
timely manner and generally, only one person can be the head chef.
However, getting more input by incorporating more people could be part of the
process if different voices are important to your organization.
Incorporation is the first step of inclusion. It is simply an invitation to the
table. It is providing access to previously closed rooms and discussions.
Inclusion is Involvement
The second step of inclusion is
involvement. There is an important distinction between incorporation and
involvement. While incorporation can look like involvement, involvement is a
bit different. As stated above, incorporation is being invited to the table
while involvement is being asked to help plan the meal, attend the dinner, and
actually get to dine. Not all people will get to do all things but having
diversity at different levels and including that diversity in the process is not
enough. When the menu is being planned and the lone woman on the executive team
is invited to the discussion with the expectation that she should go along,
that is not involvement. She may be incorporated in the process and that
particular meeting, but real involvement requires her input. Real
involvement requires the ability to express opinions and alternatives that are
designed to make the final decision better. If we are not challenging thought,
we are not truly involved in the construction of a better solution. We have all
been in meetings where we were invited to observe but not speak. Then exactly
why are we there? Involvement requires active participation. A positive
by-product of involvement is that it bolsters ownership. People who are
expected to actively participate are compelled to take greater ownership in
what they are doing. When individuals are respected in a way that fosters
involvement, the entire organization flourishes.
Inclusion is Intentional
Inclusion doesn’t just happen. It has to be
part of the culture. Leaders at all levels must be intentional about inclusion.
It bears repeating, diversity is not inclusion. Diversity is representation
where inclusion is participation. Companies should avoid representation without
participation. At worst it presents like tokenism and at best, it is
disrespectful. When an individual feels like the token, that individual is
always second-guessing their value and effectiveness. This is in part due to
the fact many of that individual’s coworkers see them as a token versus just
another valued member of the team. When an individual feels disrespected, that
individual is consistently working to earn that respect or may even be
discouraged which prevents them from being their best. When we are intentional
about inclusion we signal we value participation. We say to our coworkers and
teammates that we truly believe their contributions will make us better. Great
leaders welcome opposing views because those views either help improve the
final solution or strengthen the rationale for going in an opposing direction.
When you are intentional about inclusion you seek perspectives that
are not typically in the room and become deliberate in showcasing them.
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