How can you create a culture of accountability for diversity and inclusion?

Creating a culture of accountability for diversity and inclusion is essential for promoting equity and creating a more inclusive workplace. Some strategies to help establish and maintain such a culture include: - Diversity Training: Provide diversity and inclusion training to all employees, top to bottom, via an ongoing process, not a one-time event. - Inclusive Hiring procedures: Ensure that recruitment and promotion processes are fair and free from bias, with diverse hiring panels to reduce unconscious bias. - Support Career Development: Create professional development opportunities and advancement for underrepresented groups, such as additional training, coaching, or access to networks.

Hire leaders who understand the importance of accountability and are themselves accountable not only to their bosses but subordinates too. Accountability is a result of sawing well. In the spring, you can justify your actions or enjoy the fruits… But you have to be proud of what you do and how you do it, otherwise why would you sign your name on it?

Language! Language! Language! The words we use to define, identify and include others (especially those from vulnerable communities) are highly important. By establishing clear and agreed-upon terminology in the working culture can be the difference between isolating, discriminating and/or offending others. How can this happen? Open and honest conversations start with leadership/senior roles and filter down. Resistance to being open-minded and empathic will make this process much harder, and will only encourage divisions to exist. In addition to this, there is a NEED to review policies and internal frameworks and how these are described and referred to in documentation whether that be emails, letters, signage etc.

Actions speak louder than words! When setting up your budget, make sure it is enough to genuinely make a difference. I've seen businesses give laughable amounts as low as $100 a month. It's not all about money, but making sure the team are well-equipped with time allocation and budget will help to show that DEI is taken seriously.

Seja a liderança exemplar, a referência que as pessoas querem ter no ambiente de trabalho. E para isso, é necessário ser pioneiro, provocar iniciativas e, principalmente ter a intenção real de mover a estrutura. De nada adianta verbalizar, se você não se articula para que as transformações de fato aconteçam. Além disso, diversidade não é um projeto ou área apartada da empresa: ela deve ser parte da estratégia e conversar diretamente com os negócios.