I just returned from an incredible two day Diversity & Inclusion Summit hosted by my friends at Talent Management Alliance (TMA). It was an honor and a privilege to share the stage with some of the industries leading practitioners in Diversity & Inclusion. Although I will be providing a more robust recap of the summit in another post, this post will simply pose a question for you to consider.
How do you define Diversity?
This is a simple question that sometimes generates complex responses. The answer is not always as simple, as the question. If you ask 10 different people, you may get 10 different responses, although the hope is that the responses will all be similar in nature.
Organizations do not have the luxury of their employees operating under varying definitions and interpretations of diversity. Organizations have to have a clearly defined definition of diversity that is shared and embraced by the members of that organization.
It is also important for global organizations to understand that definitions of diversity will differ by members of different countries and cultures. Because of that, your Diversity & Inclusion strategy should reflect the needs, behaviors and values of the culture for which it is being created.
Developing a diversity strategy is a must for every organization.
It still comes as a surprise to me that many organizations do not even have a Diversity & Inclusion strategy. What’s also surprising is when organizations attempt to put a Diversity plan into effect before they’ve defined what diversity even means to them. I applaud those who are eager to put a Diversity & Inclusion plan in to place, but I encourage you to take the time to first explore the answer to that one simple question… How do you define Diversity?
How do you define Diversity?
This is a simple question that sometimes generates complex responses. The answer is not always as simple, as the question. If you ask 10 different people, you may get 10 different responses, although the hope is that the responses will all be similar in nature.
Organizations do not have the luxury of their employees operating under varying definitions and interpretations of diversity. Organizations have to have a clearly defined definition of diversity that is shared and embraced by the members of that organization.
It is also important for global organizations to understand that definitions of diversity will differ by members of different countries and cultures. Because of that, your Diversity & Inclusion strategy should reflect the needs, behaviors and values of the culture for which it is being created.
Developing a diversity strategy is a must for every organization.
It still comes as a surprise to me that many organizations do not even have a Diversity & Inclusion strategy. What’s also surprising is when organizations attempt to put a Diversity plan into effect before they’ve defined what diversity even means to them. I applaud those who are eager to put a Diversity & Inclusion plan in to place, but I encourage you to take the time to first explore the answer to that one simple question… How do you define Diversity?