Have you heard that the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) will be the hottest job in HR? A CDO’s job is one of the toughest, not only because it’s relatively new, but also because diversity is incredibly broad and extremely difficult to measure. Despite this, you could, in the least, categorize diversity into these following 9 dimensions:
- Age
- Gender
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Class
- Disability
- Nationality
Since each of these 9 dimensions require specific treatments and specialties, the CDO’s work becomes even more challenging.
However, do not feel discouraged as diversity means that you attract global talent. So, you should prioritize creating inclusive and diverse recruitment policies and hire people from all walks of life.
So, what is diversity in the workplace?
Diversity is exemplified by the collective synergy fueled by a wide range of differently powered human differences. You can efficiently leverage diversity to tackle various business challenges and create more business opportunities.
How is diversity different from inclusion? How are both intertwined?
- Diversity: involves human differences in terms of the 9 dimensions with similar interests, geographical locations, and social norms
- Inclusion: refers to conscious efforts, behaviors, policies, and norms that embrace diversely different people
- Diversity relies on inclusion for successful execution.
- Inclusion is essential for diversity to work.
An article published by Ascension Worldwide states the result of a 2018 research from McKinsey, “Greater diversity in the workforce results in greater profitability and value creation.” Thus, there is an urgency to create a more vibrant and supportive environment for the underprivileged and under-represented, to a righteous need to create a more equal and equitable world.
To reap the benefits of diversity and inclusion in your company, you must ask yourself these questions – What kind of organization do I have? Who do I want to be? What kind of legacy would I like to leave behind?
You can learn how to make diversity and inclusivity work. To further enrich your business, enroll in the Diversity and Inclusion for HR certificate program offered by Genashtim in collaboration with eCornell.
eCornell courses are approved by SkillsFuture Singapore for SkillsFuture Credit as well as by HRD Corp Malaysia under its SBL-Khas Scheme.