7 Ways To Improve Diversity In The Workplace

You put up a black square on #BlackOutTuesday but now what?

Several months have passed since the world finally woke up to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We all talked the talk but how are we walking the walk long after mainstream media moves on?

If 2020 has taught us anything, what matters most is the here and now. Never has there been a more critical time to reflect on your business practices and take decisive action to make lasting change in your community; and not just in your marketing.

A Shift That Woke The World (Finally)

The past few months have woken up the business world and frankly the wider-world, to the suffering, prejudice and sheer brutality faced by people of colour on a daily basis.

Many of us are ashamed it took this long. The important part is we started listening (like really listening) and then collectively decided we needed to take action - action to support those being discriminated against, action to check the ways we carry ourselves, and action to make sure the culture of our community starts to change in a meaningful way.

“The tricky part has been working out what action to take, both on a personal level and in business. ”

The world we know is full of many people wanting to do good, but many of us don’t know practical ways to make a difference, in our own way in our unique community. 

If there isn’t a plan in place to actively tackle diversity in our own business community, there’s a danger that the spotlight dims and life goes back to “normal” for the privileged. Something we simply can’t afford to do.

With such an overwhelming challenge, one that goes far beyond marketing or business consulting, we wondered how best we could help those in our community. Like women who like to plan, we knew this was our starting point - by giving you a plan of action to assess your business diversity and take positive action to stamp out discrimination today.

Racism in Cayman

But first things first, “Is there really racism in Cayman?”. 

The answer to this repeated question is “Yes, and it can take many forms that might seem subtle to spot by those more privileged”. 

After so many powerful conversations with our peers, it seems that racism is alive and kicking in the Cayman Islands. Uniquely, it seems racism here takes on a different slant - often less focused on Black and more on colourism, nationalism, and other forms of discrimination. 

As a community made up of many colours, and with a complex history of slavery and centuries of foreign settlers, there is a multitude of nuances that affect the equality of our lives. A topic like this deserves years of research and we certainly aren’t best placed to speak on these complex issues here. Instead, we will focus our suggestions on ways to tackle discrimination in the broader sense and specifically in the workplace. 

Just like in life, one of the most common ways people face discrimination at work is against the way they look, speak, or act. In this blog, we’ve pulled together some practical ways businesses can encourage diversity and stamp out discrimination in the workplace.

7 Ways To Improve Diversity In The Workplace

Tackling discrimination and encouraging diversity in your business should be the by-product of good business practice, however, it’s never that simple. Here’s how to make lasting, impactful change to ensure diversity of all kinds exists in your business, long after it’s trending.

1. Lead By Example (Always)

The first thing that’s imperative to understand is that this is not a marketing issue. 

A company culture based around inclusivity and equality has to come from the core of your business - starting with business owners through to business leaders, HR managers, operations staff, and front-line employees. 

It should go without saying, but businesses can be quick to forget that culture starts from the top down. No matter how many office perks you provide, if the behaviour at the top is not inclusive, welcoming, and encouraging to all walks of life, you have work to do. Gone are the days of labelling inappropriate jokes as “office banter” and email chains that want to name and shame. 

Ask yourself - do our directors, partners, or business leaders set the right tone for employees to follow? If you’re not sure (or better yet, want to double-check), ask your HR team to send out an anonymous survey, speak to past employees, and get some live feedback, quickly.

2. Anonymise the recruitment process

It might sound unnecessary but even with the best intentions, there are always inherent biases that can easily go unnoticed. By anonymising the recruitment process, your business has a stronger likelihood of hiring those who are best suited to the job, regardless of the way they look or who they might know - a discriminatory disadvantage often found in smaller communities like Cayman. 

HR teams can help by removing photos, nationalities and even names for the first round of selections so that applications are reviewed and selected by management totally based on merit.  

By truly anonymising your recruitment process and asking solely for qualifications and evidence of skill to do the job, you can be assured that your business is genuinely accessing the widest possible talent pool.

3. Expand the network

If a company wants to become more diverse, it needs to make sure it is proactively tapping into diverse networks. Try not to hire initial connections, even for internships or summer programs. 

Always post jobs publicly and on widely-accessible job boards both online and in physical locations where possible. It’s also important to consider more targeted networks—for example, in Cayman that could be in the local schools and universities, on EcayTrade, Facebook Jobs, and of course the more traditional routes like with recruiters, on the radio, in the newspapers and on the Needs Assessment Unit website.

4. Create an anti-discrimation policy and make it known to all

Lay a solid foundation with a strong anti-discrimination policy and make it very clear that the company will not tolerate incidences of racism, harassment or discrimination in any form. It is also important to spell out the repercussions of breaching the policy and take swift action so that perpetrators, as well as victims, know what to expect from the company. 

Develop a written policy to help reduce racism in the workplace and enforce a strict tolerance for offenders. A company's policies ensure that the business’s values and philosophies can be balanced with good social responsibility. 

Above all else, make sure your policies are applied and applied fairly - no one is too important to be excused of discrimination.

5. Establish an anonymous reporting system

It is often the case that instances of discrimination are unreported by well-meaning staff members for fear of repercussions from their peers. By creating a reporting system that is protected by anonymity, more people are likely to come forward and support your companies zero-tolerance policy.

6. Introduce A Cross-Cultural Training Program

In today’s cross-cultural business environment, our clients, customers, partners, and colleagues can come from anywhere in the world. The subtleties and differences in how other cultures communicate can often leave room for misunderstandings, poor performance, or unhappy employees. This article “How To Create An Effective Cross-Cultural Training Program” gives a fantastic round-up of ways to expand cultural awareness within your business sector.  

By training leaders to understand diversity and develop an appreciation for other cultures, you will develop a well-rounded and sophisticated internal knowledge base that will filter down throughout the rest of your business. It also shows that your company places value on learning to understand different cultures which is hugely important of course.

7. Reimagine Mentoring

Many companies already have well-established mentorship programs, but they’re often steered towards new joiners or those in training. 

Firstly, why not establish a mentorship program available for all staff that’s diverse in roles, gender, life-experiences, and interests to expand office connections and build an inclusive and supportive team culture.

Secondly, consider reverse-mentoring. There’s no denying the power of mentorship and yet for some reason, it’s often thought of as a one-sided relationship, there to benefit the more junior mentee. In recent years there has been a new shift to introduce reverse mentoring in a bid to shift power to younger and less experienced colleagues who possess unique insight into bias and racial dynamics. 

Here’s an extract from a fantastic article by Sharlene Gandhi on “How Reverse Mentoring Can Lead to More Equitable Workplaces”: 

“Not only are younger peers usually more familiar with the technology that organizations use in today’s fast-paced economy, but they are also more likely to be more informed about the latest social and cultural trends. Younger employees are also likely to be more racially and ethnically diverse and to have been brought up in a more diverse, global world than their older colleagues”. 

The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is pioneering a reverse mentoring scheme based entirely on ethnic minority employees coaching their white counterparts on unconscious bias and racial stereotypes. Reverse mentoring programs such as FCO’s allow for the discussion and subsequent education to be extended beyond demographic silos and spread into the wider workplace culture”.

Need some support? Looking for a plan?

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No sales pitch; just straight up service to others.