From Diversity to Inclusive Excellence
The United States has steadily progressed in its journey toward acceptance through various stages of the recognition of the value of human capital. From "equal employment opportunities" to "inclusive excellence," we strive to capitalize on the best our workforce has to offer. Our national charter is a bold one, and it has challenged us to move towards acceptance. On both the individual and organizational levels, we each can contribute something valuable because of our unique experience. Every person is the product of their experience and brings their perspective to whatever they do. That bodes well for companies and organizations interested in inclusive excellence, as they become the beneficiaries of a multitude of worldviews. Moving toward inclusion in our work environments is therefore a strategy for preparing our workforces for the demographic changes already occurring which will only continue to progress in the future.
When Things Fall Apart:
Defensiveness as a Strategy to
Avoid, Deny, and Resist Inclusive Excellence
Perhaps if Bloomberg Businessweek focused more on how language and imagery can be offensive and reinforce stereotypes, they would have hesitated before publishing a cover in early March 2013 of a stereotypical caricature of a Black family enjoying the abundance of profit evidently generated by the upturn in the housing market (Hunter, 2013). Had there been a greater appreciation for pluralism expressed through a diverse workforce, perhaps some disparate voices would have had an opportunity to speak and share their anecdotal truths to the contrary. Perhaps they and others would have been spared the insinuating insults. Perhaps they would have been more aware of a recently published report from Dr. Thomas Shapiro, Director of the Institute of Assets and Social Policy at the Brandeis University Institute (Thomas Shapiro, 2013), that the asset of housing contributes to the wealth gap between Blacks and whites, and because of resegregation, unequal access to prime rate loans, the over-issuing of subprime loans, and other forms of housing discrimination, the gap has widened in the last hundred years. This information is readily available to the general public, which begs the question: how did the Bloomberg Businessweek miss it? Did they truly lack the insight to see how these images stereotype Blacks, mislead the public, and contribute to continued housing discrimination? Were they burying their heads in the sand, pretending not to notice the preponderance of evidence to the contrary of their assertion? Organizations that fail to move forward with inclusion and awareness, do so at their peril, and contribute far less than their potential toward the greater good. It is evident in these examples and the myriad others occurring over the past year alone that we cannot proudly proclaim that we are "color blind" and "post racial", even after electing one Black president. In fact, such statements often make it more difficult to discuss the problems we have, understand how our actions affect others, and, bluntly, get us off of the "hot seat" when we might deserve to be on one.
Problems often underappreciated
Over the years, I've collected stories and anecdotes from people from college campuses who are committed to inclusive excellence. The following examples are about language, both spoken and implied.
One person relayed a story about having questioned an administrator about his organizational mission statement. This educator was enrolled in a training course which required him to research this as part of a homework assignment. He was then to compare the components of his university's mission statement to those of the most successful universities. When all was said and done, his university fell significantly short. When he questioned members of the administration as assigned, he was sternly scolded for being a troublemaker and the retort was, "We have a diverse student body, we don't need a diversity statement." One might wonder about the composition of administrators and key staff, and in this case, all but one is white. You could count the number of minority faculty on one hand- two at most. The students of color mused aloud about their feelings of isolation and of being misunderstood. They felt that from the moment they entered the classroom, they were being sized up differently, stereotyped as inferior. These distractions and stressors prevent the individuals and the university from reaping the benefits of their collective knowledge and from learning more about the very markets they sought to attract. It is more often resistance to change which prohibits the growth of inclusive excellence, not necessarily overt bigotry.
A high ranking administrator bragged at an event about how he "Jewed them down on the price." Perhaps he was unaware of the stereotype of Jews as greedy bankers and business-people who are untrustworthy with money. While others gave him a raised eye-brow, he informed them he was "just joking", which was his way to shrug off the consequences of his words and resist change.
This same college had refurbished their website and rolled it out with much fanfare. A well-respected female faculty member of color noted with much disappointment, that there was a blaring lack of diversity among the published photos. For all of the boasting this college does about their student body, one might think they would want to celebrate it. Inclusive Excellence is not only avoiding blunders, it is also seeing what is missed. If we all think the same way, we'll all see the same things, and we'll all miss the same things.
A Black woman on a campus was referred to by her Vice President as "sassy," because he felt she was too opinionated. Stereotypes about Black women asserting themselves often serve to silence their voices and are often received as reminders that they are not "typical" for their positions, regardless of credentials. Furthering these stereotypes may seem unimportant, but this encourages others to see her as the loud and abrasive Black woman and teaches her to submit (a.k.a. "put in her place"). That place is always below the position of the dominant groups she's surrounded by.
A faculty member stated that he could tell who the cheaters were in his online courses from their names. Anyone with a name like "Shaquita" or "Shaniqua" was under suspicion. One must inquire how an attitude such as this prevails in any environment, but certainly not one which values diversity and inclusiveness. It should be safe to assume that faculty would have access to literature or training which refuted the very notion suggested, or more proactively, that faculty would be supported by a campus culture which does not endorse this discriminatory view.
It might be tempting to personally indict those involved in these instances. But it is likely more helpful to understand how they find themselves in the situation of not knowing, and to provide alternatives and solutions. These administrations are quite proud of the job they do, often attributing the previous examples to the grumblings of a few disgruntled trouble-makers. These examples reveal that having diversity does not eliminate barriers to inclusion. The repressive atmosphere of these campuses mirrored the views and attitudes of the administrators. Everyone pays the price of increased stress, unneeded distractions, and a working and learning environment that feels unfriendly at best, unsafe at worst. This often costs them the most valuable capital in any organization - human capital. Employees are still expected to thrive and produce their best work when they are under the repressive cloud of these types of negativity and prejudice. A March 2013 episode of MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry provided statistics on matters of health, wealth, and general well being broken down by minority group. It was no surprise that women of color suffer higher rates of cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease than others. They experience daily micro-aggressions such as challenges to their authority, double checking their statistics, and negative feedback about their physical appearance . There are numerous health-related harmful effects correlated to discrimination and in fact, more than 100 studies now link racial discrimination to physical health (Vickie M. Mays, 2007) (Brian Smedley, 2007). In the meantime, minorities on the front lines of the inclusion movement will certainly continue to face the strains of being among the first, and the cutting edge is the bleeding edge.
Privilege
One way of viewing these issues is to consider the concept of privilege. Because it is easy to take for granted their privilege or the comfort of being surrounded by people with common experiences, many senior administrators, boards, or stakeholders might not consider how their minority faculty, staff, student body, customers, business associates, etc. experience their presence and policies. For groups in the majority (whites, males, Christians, able-bodied, citizens, English speakers, heterosexuals, economically stable, etc.), stepping outside of privilege and appreciating mutual differences can be challenging, since people with privilege come to see their identities as the norm, the default, and not "the other". Members of these groups aren't required to and therefore, don't often stop and wonder how others experience the environments they take for granted. When we talk about the privilege of being in an environment, surrounded by people who share a common experience, it's not to impugn those individuals. Having privilege doesn't guarantee success - it merely increases the probability. In the same way, lack of privilege makes it less likely that one's hard work will yield the desired outcome. People with privilege do not necessarily work less, or deserve any less, but neither do people without privilege, although the very same traits that privilege one group oppress others. Perhaps things do look different from the bottom of the pyramid than the top. Some people in power do a great job of talking themselves into their own greatness , but when you question those who are in the trenches, their experiences are completely contrary. In a word, they're suffering. People don't see that they have the privilege of being surrounded by others whose experiences are familiar, so when faced with the idea of including the unfamiliar, it is not uncommon for many with privilege to experience discomfort, which often manifests as defensiveness. While these reactions might not be unusual, they are counterproductive to the goals of inclusion. They tend to increase the social distance between us rather than bridge the differences with understanding. When organizations do not place value in inclusion, fully support diversity initiatives, and actively demonstrate their commitment by weaving these initiatives into the fabric of the organization, they will not reach inclusive excellence, and therefore are doing a disservice to the entire workforce.
A Strategy for Being Proactive
in Moving from Diversity
to Inclusive Excellence
Organizational introspection is required to get the ball rolling, but the ball must keep rolling and rolling and rolling. Recognizing differences is one thing - learning from and accepting them is another. It can be a sticky situation and one from which many recoil. Change is uncomfortable, and dealing in unfamiliar territory often makes people nervous, but over the past 50 years, we moved collectively from "Equal Employment Opportunity" to "Diversity Initiatives" to "Diversity and Inclusion." As a result, many companies and institutions broadened the scope of their influence, reaching customers and employees they never had before. Inclusion breeds loyalty, respect, and empowerment. Employees, students, and stakeholders benefit from inclusion excellence in organizations, as do the organizations, which benefit from more exposure to new ideas and new ways to reach more people. Researchers find that diversity on college campuses is correlated to increased learning outcomes, interpersonal competence, self-confidence among students, gains in critical thinking, and innovation in civic and community service. It is also correlated with lower levels of irrational prejudice. (Worthington, 2013) Many colleges, however, still operate under old paradigms, failing to fully capitalize on the human potential to the extent they could. Even the most progressive of organizations have further to go because they are made of human beings, and we have many blinders that can prevent us from seeing people for who they are or our actions for how the effect others. When people feel truly valued and are a part of a culture of inclusion, not based solely on counting numbers of "different" groups of people, all stakeholders can feel truly understood and valued, creativity increase, turnover decreases, and the quality of decisions increases. All of this is before we even consider the basic idea that treating others fairly, speaking to colleagues with respect, and allowing the best ideas to immerge regardless of the source, are simply more ethical than the alternatives. An honest self-assessment with the stakeholders in your organization should, at minimum, include a discussion of the following:
What is the organizational climate?
Do people feel comfortable and affirmed here?
Is there equity of representation at all levels of the organization?
Is the language used in organizational literature or online inclusive or outdated?
Are people's concerns handled with care?
Whose voices tend to be heard and whose insights are respected more and acted on? Next time you're at a meeting, notice patterns of whose voices are heard and whose tend to be overlooked.
What are the advantages that we can look forward to as an organization, when we widen the scope of acceptance?
What would draw or keep employees or other stakeholders at our organization? What do we do to demonstrate our awareness and level of concern about inclusiveness?
What do others see when they look at us? Are our printed materials inclusive? Is our website or Facebook page reflective of our values? Are we willing to listen when our stakeholders critique these materials?
Are we preparing our future stakeholders for the workforce of the future, or will our organization find itself a relic of the past in ten or twenty years?
Have we stated the importance of diversity and inclusion as a core value of our institution in places other than those required by law (such as in hiring notices)?
What do we offer our employees in terms of training or support to actively engage in inclusive excellence? Whether it's referred to as "civil treatment training" or a "diversity inclusion program," it should be a recurring event and offered at various stages of employees' career paths.
Is there a position or office dedicated to staying current with issues of diversity and inclusion? A "Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer" or a "Chief People Officer," "Provost for Diversity and Climate," or "Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion" is responsible for making the most of human capital. Dedicating "people resources" to resourcing people demonstrates a level of commitment to inclusion excellence and is a great start towards the goal of equity and inclusion.
Hope for Change
While the racially motivated acts in January 2013 at Oberlin College were certainly disappointing considering their rich history of inclusion, one positive consequence is that through collective action, faculty, staff, and students united to set an example for how to demonstrate an appreciation for diversity. When students of color reported their reactions of fear and distress at having seen a person dressed in a KKK outfit on campus, along with no less than a dozen other racially-motivated incidents, the campus community sprang into action. First, they listened to the fears and concerns of the student body and others who were affected. Next they affirmed those feelings. They didn't dismiss them or try to justify them; they actively sought them out, had programs in place to protect alternative ways of thinking, and allowed individuals to succeed though "small" changes that created an environment which allowed them to thrive. Finally, they acted. They marched together, canceling classes for the day to discuss the incidents and send a strong message of unity. What a great roadmap they provided for other organizations in helping them recognize the importance of these actions.
It's been said that the opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference.
Affirming others, respecting their opinions and feelings, and moving to action to do something about it is the perfect recipe for inclusion and respect. It's not easy, and it's probably going to be a little uncomfortable at the onset. But probably because they have a history of inclusion and listen to a variety of voices, they made the right move and turned a negative situation into a learning moment. They demonstrated the very traits to which they aspire. While there are many advantages to having an inclusive workforce, ignoring the call of inclusion is a form of indifference to our collective core values of liberty and justice for all. It's a stance that can only result in doing more harm than good to the institutions we serve by creating more challenges and diminishing the confidence of our employees and customers. It is not enough to put programs in place or sidestep problems with a silver tongue; inclusive excellence requires a change to how we do business, a change in how we understand our co-workers, and a commitment to live the values we say we espouse. Many companies still resist meaningful efforts to establish inclusive excellence in their workforces. Surely, there is no doubt, that "two heads are better than one" and that when we consider the common experiences of less inclusive environments, we have to consider that those common experiences result in a work product which reflects its authors. In other words, we end up with much of what we started. Imagine the possibilities of working with people whose experiences differ so greatly from ours, as to inspire and fuel the imagination. How much more might we learn, how much further might we go, and how much more productive might we be if we were required to stretch the limits of imagination beyond our common experiences?