Many companies today pursue diversity by themselves as a priceless asset, failing to recognize they cannot embrace the full value of diversity without fostering a truly inclusive work culture for everyone.
Bain & Company’s new report, The Fabric of Belonging: How to Weave an Inclusive Culture, shows that more than 70% of workers, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation—including straight white men—do not feel fully included.
The report concluded that inclusive workplaces have a greater ability to innovate and challenge the status quo as well as increased employee satisfaction and retention. Yet, organizations across industries prove to be struggling to effectively foster inclusivity.
“While many organizations have made public commitments to advance diversity and inclusion, generating real progress is deceptively difficult,” said Julie Coffman, Bain & Company’s chief diversity officer.
She added that fostering a truly inclusive workplace means, in one part, caring about how people feel, and it also requires a heavy investment into the design and ways of working needed to create a place of belonging, trust and support.
“Inclusivity, done well, will require employees and leaders to adopt new mindsets, change long-held behaviours, adapt to new technologies, and operate new and different systems,” she added.
When asked to describe what an inclusive organization looks like, most individuals, regardless of identity and experience level, say an inclusive organization is one that is diverse, where people are heard, valued and supported.
Similarly, when asked what inclusion feels like, employees across all demographics say it equates to being treated with dignity, as well as the ability to bring their authentic selves to work, contribute and feel connected to others.
Even though the feeling of inclusion is fundamentally the same across groups, the lived experience of inclusion is driven by a variety of enablers, including a company’s systems, structures and processes, as well as the mindsets and behaviours of its employees.
Each demographic has a unique texture, in terms of the enablers that are most impactful. For example, when analysing the responses from Black women, coaching and professional development did more to increase their sense of inclusion than anything else.
Laying the foundation for an inclusive organization
Bain’s research suggests a few basic priorities organizations should act on right away. This includes signalling commitment, such as setting clear DEI ambitions and goals, and communicating them across the organization.
Also promoting growth, such as installing stronger rituals around professional development and coaching. Finally, facilitating connection, such as developing programs to help underrepresented employee groups find one another and bond.
Guiding principles for inclusivity
Focus on intersectionality. Creating inclusion for people requires accounting for the many identities people have both at and away from work, and the interplay among them.
Use data and narratives to formulate answers that will inspire change. Data can provide a “single source of truth” to align leadership on the right path forward, while real-life stories of lived experiences can touch hearts and motivate collective change.
Identify the behavioural and systemic changes needed. Employee experiences are affected by their relationships not just with colleagues but with the company itself.
Prioritize and customize your roadmap. Every company will have unique “bright spots” and “blind spots”; focusing first on building momentum and achieving results for groups in the organization that have the most to gain.
Focus on doing, not just explaining, to bring about sustainable change. People learn and retain their ability to change through real-life practice and coaching.
