6 Topics That Should Not Be Missing in Your 2020’s D&I Agenda
Whilst working in the field of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, at least once each of us felt disoriented by the quantity and complexity of problems to be solved.
Sometimes it seems as if for every step forward in one area, two steps back in another. The situations get often intertwined and end up involving levels of complexity almost greater than the starting point.
Well, let me say this: not only is this dynamic normal, but it is also indispensable.
I will not tire of repeating that working in the DIB means working in a continuous process. This is characterized by new challenges that increase and change with the passage of time and the evolution of the world of work and its expectations.
On the one hand, if in your work in DIB and you haven’t once experienced to be constantly surprised by new challenges, it means that your strategy is getting stuck on individual focuses and this is not a good sign.
On the other hand, if you feel that your work in DIB is not producing the desired results or if you feel somehow too disoriented, it may be that something in your approach is going in the wrong direction.
Whether you are stuck in too much of a specific strategy or you are lost in a too much of a broad one, I would like to help you find some of the key topics that should not be missing in your 2020 strategy.
1. Intersectionality
The future of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is intersectional.
If your work in the field does not take into account the multilayered aspect of discriminatory and exclusionary dynamics, it is likely to have blindspots.
If it does not recognize the complex intersection of identity characteristics as a source of even deeper oppression, then it is not an approach that will work successfully.
As shown by 2019 Workplace Diversity, Inclusion and Intersectionality Report by Culture Amp, Intersectionality plays a key role in how we approach our DIB strategy.
They write “it’s important that we go beyond typically cited representation metrics of race, gender and sexual orientation to add elements such as age and family status, and how these characteristics overlap to understand who we show up to work alongside every day […]. For example, within gender, a 31 year old white woman with no children will likely have a very different experience to a 42 year old black woman with two children”.
Intersectionality is an approach that teaches us not to focus on or stop at a single dimension, such as gender, race, ethnicity, etc. It rather considers to what extent the overlapping of this combination produces systems of oppression and discrimination at various levels.
This is especially relevant if we think of all the initiatives addressed to women in the workplace who don’t actually take into account the specific experience of women who are black, indigenous, women of color, women who wear a headscarf, disabled women, transwomen, etc.
The gender dimension is never isolated, but intersects in a complex way with other identity dimensions. Therefore, especially in the effort to create structures for equality in the workplace, it is essential to consider the complexity of the identity experiences of the individuals involved and to recognize what the peculiarities in them are.
2. Accessibility and Neurodiversity
Disability is still a widely ignored factor. This also has to do with how the intersectional approach is soon to be conceptualized.
In fact, many companies show great limitations in the way they make their workplaces accessible.
Especially in Berlin, many offices are located in old industrial buildings, whose modernization plan has not always included wheelchair access, stroller access or other technologies to support physical impediments. A similar case presents itself for bathrooms or other spaces such as lounge spaces and kitchens.
Many coworking spaces present a similar problem, making it difficult, if not impossible, for people with disability support technologies to access them with the same ease and frequency as people without disabilities.
Accessibility however does not only have to do with physical appearance, as disability is not always visible.
Neurodiversity must begin to be seen as a value, not as an impediment. Recruitment practices, internal systems of work and flexibility discourses must adapt to the diversity of people’s cognitive abilities, without relying on a single normative standard.
A BBC article writes “around one in seven will have some form of condition linked to neurodiversity. The condition means that one’s brain may function, process and learn information in a different way from someone who is “neurotypical”.
The hiring process itself does not tend to accommodate those with cognitive problems, those on the autism spectrum or those with living with mental illnesses due to the popularity of task based interviews.
Furthermore, internal work approaches like long meetings, non flexible hours etc do not make things easier either.
Accessibility is a point that must return to the center of attention in the strategies of diversity, inclusion and belonging.
If we do not offer the possibility to access the workplace and the guarantee of having a fair treatment in the modalities of access, the work of inclusion will be a work in half.
3. Masculinity
One of the biggest risks of focusing exclusively on women when working in the DIB is to ignore men.
In 2020 it is absolutely time to involve men and the concept of masculinity in the effort of gender equality.
The patriarchal system and sexism also affect men and often make them lacking the tools to understand the consequences and act for improvement.
If we fail to recognize how much gender stereotypes, we will not be able to achieve the objectives set.
It is essential to open a dialogue on the factors and consequences of toxic masculinity, especially at work.
Involving men in empathy and awareness work is the key approach to overcoming the “men versus women” divisive attitudes and creating authentic exchange.
We make room for a process of re-evaluation of the characteristics usually associated with power and success, shifting attention away from stereotypes and making sure that every identity is expressed with freedom and authenticity.
By involving men in gender equality discourse, values such as individual but also collective accountability and joint effort are promoted.
Men, as much as women, are called upon to co-create a just and safe environment in which to learn to work for equity, but above all to unlearn critical mental and behavioural patterns.
4. Individuals with Caring Responsibilities
The European Union Report “Informal Care — Exploring Formalisation, Availability and Quality” from 2018 defines informal care as “unpaid care or family care”.
Another definition by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare writes “an informal carer includes any person, such as a family member, friend or neighbour, who is giving regular, ongoing assistance to another person without payment for the care given”.
The available estimates of the number of informal caregivers ranges from 10% up to 25% of the total population in Europe with an average varying significantly between countries.
When people have care responsibilities from which they cannot be exempted and they still have to continue their work, it is necessary that workplaces work to allow people with caregiving responsibilities a more flexible and inclusive way to perform their tasks.
Furthermore, it’s important to note that “informal carers are often women, either providing care to a spouse, parents or parents-in-law, and a large share is provided by people who are older than standard retirement age (Colombo et al., 2011)”, as in the report.
In a society where women are still victims of gender stereotypes, in the private as well as in the public sphere, it is also the responsibility of the workplaces to support changes that promote the fair distribution of responsibilities. Companies can make the difference in helping female caregiving not to be excluded from the possibility of participating equally in the sphere of work.
5. Mental Health
The World Health Organization makes it very clear that mental disorders affect one in four people.
It is often precisely the work rhythm, the workload and responsibility, the interpersonal attitudes in the workplace that cause or aggravate mental health conditions.
The fact that mental health is considered taboo or that often, by its so-called invisible nature, it is not taken seriously as it should trigger a chain of worsening that can lead to serious consequences.
Workplaces that do not deal with mental health issues and ignore the impact of a toxic working culture end up becoming abusive environments.
In addition, the risk is to create a hostile environment for vulnerable individuals and to promote a single profile of good workers who prove to be “resistant”, “tolerant” and “not affected” by the risk of breakdown.
A workplace that does not create a safe environment for open discussion of mental health shows great limitations in its work of inclusion.
Moreover, a workplace that does not promote the prevention of phenomena such as emotional stress, physical stress and burnout is much more likely to become a perpetuating factor of mental health problems of employees.
In a nutshell, workplaces have a double potential: they can equip themselves to become safe and welcoming places for people suffering from mental health problems and they can modify internal structures to avoid being themselves a primary cause of mental health problems.
6. Equal Payment
Equity is perhaps the real ultimate goal in the work of diversity and inclusion.
We can commit ourselves to making workplaces more inclusive, diversifying the workforce, making sure that no one is left behind or excluded for their way of being, but all this is not enough if we do not begin to take serious action towards a fair and equal system of remuneration.
The pay gap has to do not only with the amount of salary, but the quality of the remuneration and possibility of progressing in the career path and reaching top positions.
Aspects such as gender segregation of work roles (i.e. the fact that some roles are perceived as typically feminine and others as typically masculine) or the experience of glass-ceiling (the phenomenon that women often face greater challenges in reaching leadership or management roles) have to do with the internal structures and decision-making processes that a company adopts (or doesn’t ) to promote (or disadvantage) pay equity.
Other important factors to close the pay gap have to do with parental leave and how much this is promoted especially for fathers, or the degree of flexibility that is guaranteed for working parents.
The so-called pay gap has not only a gender dimension, but also demonstrates that it disadvantages people through an intersection of various aspects.
In Germany, the gender pay gap reaches 21%, above the European average. However, studies show that people with a non-German name are more exposed to rejections or not receiving an answer when they send an application.
Women of color, black women and women identifying as latinxs repeatedly denounce the problem of a pay gap based on differences in race, ethnicity and country of origin.
It is time that companies decided to dedicate concrete projects to act against the dynamics of the pay gap and begin to create the right structures to provide a fair and equal environment for all.
Other important topics that will need to be taken as a priority in 2020 are the importance of community building in the workplace, the issue of ageism and all the innovations coming along with the concept of New Work and many more which never become old-fashion or obsolete.
The beauty of this work? In the exact moment you start with it, you know it will go ahead as a life-long ongoing process of learning and achievements with purpose.
Do you want to start with a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy?
Let’s work together!
