We hear a lot about diversity and inclusion in the workplace these days. But these aren’t just the latest buzzwords — they’re critical concepts for business leaders, managers, and HR teams to understand. After all, building a diverse workforce and an inclusive company culture isn’t just the right thing to do — it can also drive significant results for your business.
But improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time, work, and resources — and you might not get it right straight away. In this article, we’ll share 13 concrete actions you can take to make your workplace more diverse and inclusive, as well as some of the big benefits this could bring to your business.
What is diversity and inclusion in the workplace?
Diversity and inclusion are interrelated concepts that are often talked about as two sides of the same coin. They’re sometimes grouped together with another concept, equity, under the acronym DEI. Some companies also talk about other related values, such as belonging. Understanding what each of these concepts means on its own can help you to see how they reinforce and play into each other in the workplace:
- Diversity: This is when a wide range of people is represented in a workplace. This might include people of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, generations, religions, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. For an organization to be truly diverse, these groups should be represented in all parts of the business, not just certain levels or departments.
- Inclusion: This is about how people from different groups experience the workplace. When a workplace is inclusive, employees from all backgrounds feel that their perspectives are valued. Companies that try to increase diversity without thinking about inclusion will likely see problems with employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
- Equity: This is the concept of treating all employees fairly. It’s different from equality in a subtle but important way. Equality is about treating everyone the same, but equity is about accounting for individual circumstances to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities. An example is putting in place reasonable accommodations to enable disabled employees to perform their jobs effectively.
- Belonging: This is the idea of feeling accepted, welcomed, included, and valued within an organization. It’s closely linked to inclusion. Employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are likely to be invested in their organization’s mission, vision, and values, and to take pride in their work.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are all important goals for an organization to strive for — but their true power is when they’re brought together. Read on to find out some of the big benefits that a focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace could bring to your business.
Why diversity and inclusion is important in the workplace
In 2024, we probably don’t need to convince you that diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a good thing. Most organizations recognize that hiring diverse talent and ensuring that all employees feel seen and valued is the right thing to do. However, diversity and inclusion also have some concrete, measurable benefits, which are important to keep in mind when building a business case for DEI.
Helps to attract talent
Every company wants to attract and retain talent. And these days, employees want to work for employers that value diversity and inclusion. According to a Glassdoor survey, more than three-quarters of employees (76%) consider that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers.
Improves retention
Fostering an inclusive work environment also makes people more likely to stick around for longer. Research from Great Place to Work found that employees who trust that they will be treated fairly regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or age are 5.4x more likely to want to stay at their company for a long time.
Increases employee engagement, trust, and satisfaction
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace also leads to a better employee experience. Employees at diverse and inclusive organizations are 9.8x more likely to look forward to going to work, and 6.3 x more likely to take pride in their work. And, according to research from Deloitte, 83% of Millennials who work for inclusive employees are actively engaged at work, compared to 60% of those whose employers aren’t inclusive.
Improves decision-making
Diversity brings different perspectives to the table — and that leads to better decisions. According to a 2017 survey, businesses with diverse teams showed a 60% improvement in decision-making. The study showed that diversity in terms of gender, age, and geographic location all had a positive impact.
Boosts innovation
According to research by Josh Bersin, diverse companies are 1.8x more likely to be change-ready, and 1.7x more likely to be innovation leaders. This is backed up by research from the Boston Consulting Group, which found a significant correlation between diversity and innovation.
Leads to better business outcomes
What’s one of the biggest benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace? It could boost your bottom line. Research from McKinsey finds that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive boards are 27% more likely than companies in the bottom quartile to outperform financially. Similarly, companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are 13% more likely to outperform financially than those in the bottom quartile.
How to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace: 13 strategies for success
Hopefully, we’ve convinced you that diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not just nice to have — it’s a crucial success factor for your business. But how should you actually start putting these values into practice? We’ve gathered some of the best advice for improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
1. Start with your leadership team
Improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not something that can be achieved by HR alone. In fact, since your DEI strategy should be aligned with your wider strategy and goals, it needs to start at the top. That means that the first step in fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace is getting your senior leadership team on board.
It’s also important to look at the make-up of your leadership team from a diversity perspective. According to McKinsey’s 2023 Women In the Workplace report, women make up 47% of entry-level employees in the US, but only 28% of the C-suite. The situation is even worse for women of color, who hold just 6% of the top seats. Although it can be an uncomfortable conversation, improving the diversity of your leadership team sends a strong message to your employees and the general public.
2. Document best practices and policies
Putting your company’s approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion on paper can help to solidify its importance within your organization. Having a formalized policy helps to make DEI part of your company culture, and ensures every employee understands its importance.
For best results, you should include this information in your employee handbook so employees can access it at all times. You could also incorporate content about diversity and inclusion in the workplace into your internal marketing to help reinforce the message. For example, you could:
- Display posters about inclusive language
- Create a dedicated hub for DEI content on your company intranet
- Include stats on your diversity efforts in your internal newsletter
Some companies even go a step further, and publish their diversity and inclusion policies on their public-facing websites. This helps to build accountability for leadership, management, and employees.
3. Rethink your hiring process
Hiring processes are often unfair and full of bias — even when companies have the right intentions. That means that rethinking your hiring processes is an important step in building a diverse and inclusive workplace.
One of the simplest ways to start is by revisiting your job descriptions. Studies have shown that women are less likely to believe they belong in a particular job when the job description uses masculine-coded words like “competitive,” “dominant,” or “leader.” To encourage more applications from female candidates, consider replacing these words with more neutral language.
It’s also a good idea to evaluate your assessment and selection process to eliminate the possibility for bias. For example, many studies show that hiring managers are more likely to pass over candidates whose names are perceived as belonging to people of color. To avoid this, consider using blind hiring, where hiring managers review resumes with all identifying and demographic information removed.
Lastly, you should consider how accessible your application and interview process is for disabled or neurodivergent candidates. At the very least, you should ensure that your online application process and career site meet the standards set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
4. Set objective criteria for promotions and increases
As we’ve seen, women are underrepresented in senior leadership teams. We tend to talk about this problem in terms of the “glass ceiling”, which is the idea that women can get to a certain level of seniority in a company, but struggle to get further.
However, according to McKinsey, the biggest obstacle women face is the first step of promotion into management. For every 100 men promoted or hired into management positions, only 72 women are promoted or hired. That number is as low as 68 for Latinas, and 58 for black women. This then has a ripple effect through the levels of an organization: the higher you get, the fewer women there are to promote.
Part of the problem is that systems for promotion often rely too much on the intuition and discretion of individual managers, which are open to bias. For example, studies show that men are more likely to be promoted based on potential, while women are expected to prove themselves.
If you want to improve diversity throughout your organization (and not just at the entry level), you need to ensure the criteria you use to award promotions are fair, gender-neutral, and consistent.
5. Empower underrepresented groups through mentorship
As we’ve mentioned, a truly diverse workforce has representation from people of different backgrounds at all levels of seniority. But employees from certain groups may help getting a foot on the management ladder.
Setting up mentorship programs can be an effective way to support employees from underrepresented groups as they progress in their careers. For this to be effective in improving diversity and inclusion, you should set up a structured program that directly targets employees from groups that are most underrepresented at the higher levels of your company hierarchy.
To give your mentorship program the best chance of success, consider surveying participants regularly to find out how well it’s working. Providing training to both mentors and mentees on topics like unconscious bias, cultural awareness, gender pronouns, and inclusive communication can also be a big success factor.
6. Provide DEI training for managers
Providing the right training is a crucial part of fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Despite this, only 41% of managers and 42% of employees in the US have attended a training session on diversity, equity, inclusion, racism, racial justice, or related topics, according to Gallup.
Diversity training should encourage employees and managers to identify and acknowledge any unconscious biases they hold. It should also emphasize the importance of DEI for your organization by focusing on its benefits to individuals and the company as a whole.
Teaching managers and leaders to communicate clearly and effectively about sensitive topics is also a key part of DEI training. Of those who have attended diversity and inclusion training in the workplace, a majority (55%) said they felt more prepared to have meaningful conversations with employees about race and equality.
7. Acknowledge different religious and cultural practices
Inclusion is about understanding that not everyone comes from the same cultural and religious background — and celebrating those differences. One simple way to do this is offering “floating holidays,” which allow employees to swap days off for Christian holidays like Easter or Christmas for the religious and cultural holidays that are important to them.
Simple changes to your physical workplace can also be very effective. For example, a Forbes article from 2018 suggested that providing a separate fridge for Kosher foods can be a small but powerful change. Providing alcohol-free refreshments and organizing social events that don’t involve alcohol can also help employees who don’t drink to feel more included.
Lastly, while it may not be possible to celebrate every religious and cultural holiday on the planet, introducing new celebrations and events can be a fun way to promote inclusivity while helping employees to learn about different cultures.
8. Make technology accessible to everyone
Using an employee communication platform is a great way to ensure employees feel engaged and connected to their organization, particularly for large companies. Platforms like Staffbase give employees access to social channels, employee directories, and even virtual water cooler spaces where they can chat with colleagues. This allows them to connect with each other on a personal level, building a stronger sense of belonging and community.
However, inclusion is about ensuring every employee feels connected to and engaged with your organization — even those who don’t work behind a desk. This is an important element of inclusion in the workplace that often gets overlooked.
Choosing tech tools that consider deskless employees as well as office-based information workers can have a huge impact on those workers’ sense of belonging. For example, Staffbase’s employee communication app allows all employees to access vital internal comms messaging and to connect with their colleagues, even if they don’t work at a computer.
9. Offer flexible working arrangements
In 2024, women are still responsible for more than 80% of the unpaid work necessary to run a household. Women are also more likely to take time off work because of childcare issues, according to the Department of Labor.
A truly inclusive and equitable workplace is one that recognizes that not everyone is approaching work from the same place. And allowing employees to work in the way that makes the most sense to them can be a big part of inclusion and equity in the workplace.
To be truly inclusive, though, companies need to go beyond allowing female employees to work from home. Often, remote employees or those working asynchronous schedules suffer from proximity bias, where colleagues who are physically present in the workplace are more likely to be considered for promotions, invited to meetings, and assigned important tasks. Building an inclusive workplace means being mindful of this, and defining success based on outcomes and productivity rather than perception.
10. Measure and monitor DEI outcomes
Accurately measuring the impact of your DEI initiatives is a key part of ensuring your efforts are successful. To begin with, you should practice continuous listening and invite employees to voice any DEI concerns as they happen. After all, they’re the ones on the frontline, and they probably have a better idea of what’s going on in your workplace than HR or leadership.
Setting KPIs for diversity is also important, as it allows you to measure the concrete impact of various diversity and inclusion activities in the workplace. The simplest way to do this is to break down your current workforce by various demographics and set targets for improving representation.
Inclusion is harder to measure than diversity, but there are ways to do it. For example, measuring against a model like the Perceived Group Inclusion Scale can help you quantify employees’ perceptions of inclusion, belonging, and authenticity.
11. Segment and analyze employee feedback
Many companies gather regular feedback from employees by sending out surveys or polls through their employee communication platform or employee communication app. This can be a useful way of understanding the feeling “on the ground,” and can help you to spot drops in engagement or other problems before they become too widespread.
However, if you’re not segmenting your responses by race, gender, generation, geography, and other demographic factors, you could be leaving important insights on the table. By properly examining the data you collect, you can identify which problems specific groups of employees are facing — which is the first step to overcoming them and building a more inclusive workplace.
12. Invest in employee resource groups (ERGs)
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are groups of employees that share particular characteristics. For example, many large organizations have groups like: These groups are led by employees, and provide both support with personal and professional development, and a safe space for employees to be their whole selves.
Examples of ERGs include:
- LGBT groups
- Women’s networks
- Latinx groups
ERGs are a great way for employees to connect with their colleagues, and help to foster a sense of belonging and inclusion. They can be particularly valuable in larger or distributed organizations, where employees sometimes feel isolated or disconnected.
13. Create guidelines for inclusive language
Reconsidering the words you use both as an organization and as individuals can have a big impact on inclusion and belonging. This includes everything from company announcements from your CEO, to the wording you choose for job ads, employee newsletters, and official documents.
Using inclusive language means avoiding language that:
- Reinforces stereotypes
- Excludes or patronizes certain groups
- Could offend people
Instead, you should choose language that includes welcoming words, acknowledges diversity, and avoids assumptions. One simple example is using a word like “caregiver” instead of “mother” or “parent,” in recognition of the fact that there are many different possible family structures.
It’s important to remember that no company gets this 100% correct right away. But putting together guidelines and best practices for inclusive language sends a clear message that you care about inclusion, and helps employees to feel safe and welcome at work.
Best practices to foster a diverse and inclusive culture
If you’re serious about embracing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, putting together a few simple initiatives might not be enough. Instead, diversity and inclusion should be incorporated into your company’s core values, mission, and strategy. It should underpin every interaction that happens within your company, from leadership through to the workers on the ground.
While this is a big mindset shift for many companies, it’s possible to achieve with the right strategies. Here are some best practices to help you make diversity and inclusion a reality in your organization.
Embrace diverse thinking
People from different backgrounds have very different perspectives on everything from email etiquette to what people should wear to work. And embracing diversity in the workplace means realizing that this is a good thing. After all, diverse thinking can help to generate new ideas and get useful feedback on the ways things are currently running — but you need to be open to hearing different points of view to access those benefits.
Focus on equity, not equality
Equity and equality may sound similar, but they are different concepts. In the simplest terms, equality is about treating everyone the same, while equity is about adjusting for individual circumstances. Recognizing that everyone comes from different circumstances is a key part of diversity and inclusion. And if you’re serious about improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace, you should look at it through the lens of equity, not equality.
Make diversity and inclusion part of your EVP
Diversity and inclusion isn’t something you can achieve through a few meetings and one-off initiatives. If you want your efforts to be successful, DEI should run through everything you do as an organization and be a key part of your employer value proposition (EVP). That means you should look at everything you offer to employees and the different ways they interact with your organization, and consider how they could be improved from a DEI perspective.
Create a culture of trust
Creating a culture of trust is a key part of improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace. There’s more than one way to do this, but seeking (and listening to) employee feedback, frequently praising and rewarding employees, and encouraging everyone to share their opinions can go a long way. Clear, effective, and authentic communication from leadership is also crucial.
How to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace through employee comms
If there’s one thread that runs through all of the advice we’ve shared here, it’s communication. Improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace begins with listening to employees and creating ways for them to share their thoughts, values, and ideas. Plus, employees can tell when company leaders and managers are just paying lip service to diversity and inclusion. That means that clear and effective top-down communication is also crucial.
When it’s done right, diversity and inclusion in the workplace can have positive effects across your entire organization. But you can only access those benefits by creating an environment where every single employee feels empowered to voice their opinions and able to bring their full, authentic selves to work. Internal communicators that are serious about DEI should look for ways of opening lines of communication with employees and emphasizing the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion at every opportunity.