Inclusive Employers 5 top tips on raising awareness of Inclusion in your workplace
Raising awareness might be the first step on your inclusion journey, if so, congratulations on getting started! However, it’s not just for organisations starting out, it is an important part of any inclusion and diversity strategy.
Awareness-raising never stops because people and society are always changing. There is always more to learn. Here are Inclusive Employers’ 5 top tips on how to raise awareness of Inclusion and Diversity in your workplace:
1. Start small
If you dive right in with the complexities of gender identity you may find that some people feel alienated and like “inclusion is too much for them”. Inclusion is for everyone, and one day those people will understand the complex topics, but its best to start with overarching themes such as equality, diversity, inclusion, discrimination, etc. Build the foundations before you build the house.
2. Make it real
Use real life examples (if you don’t have permission remember to fully anonymize) and relate inclusion to your business objectives, community outcomes or customer satisfaction. When colleagues can see how inclusion makes their lives better or easier they are more likely to change their behaviour.
3. Give people actions to complete
Inclusion can easily seem like a theoretical concept unless people have tangible actions such as attending events, implementing service changes or supporting others. Use the 2021 theme #UnitedForInclusion to show people that we all have to come together to make our workplaces inclusive.
4. Unite with others
Work in partnership with your industry, customers, communities or partners to bring together diverse knowledge and experiences for the benefit of everyone.
5. Create an inclusion chain
Ask each person who attends an event to pass on what they learnt to someone else. This will keep the inclusion conversation alive throughout National Inclusion Week and beyond.
When raising awareness on inclusion and diversity it’s always helpful to say “what will change because we are doing this?” then you can work out if the dial on inclusion is moving in the right direction.
Share how you have been raising awareness of inclusion and diversity on Twitter or LinkedIn and tagging Inclusive Employers and we will share your experience on our social media channels. Don’t forget to use the National Inclusion Week hashtags – #UnitedForInclusion and #NationalInclusionWeek2021!
If you or your organisation needs more support to build an inclusive culture, explore our website to find out more about Inclusive Employers membership, training, consultancy, qualifications and the Inclusive Employers Standard accreditation.