Why “Diversity and Inclusion” Is Not Enough And How the Cultural Equity Lab Can Help
““We all should know that diversity makes for rich tapestry, and we must understand that all threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color””
Statistics supporting why diversity matters are widely cited:
“Diverse leadership teams boost innovation and performance”[1]
“Job seekers value diversity in a potential employer”[2]
“Diverse workplaces report better financial revenues”[3]
Many companies are starting to focus on diversity and inclusion in reaction to social media pressure and changing demographics to address customer needs. But diversity and inclusion should not be just a tool to increase the corporate bottom line or be a knee jerk reaction to social media and public pressure—it should be a good faith effort to benefit the communities the organization serves. This could manifest in the staffing of the organization. The Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs, for example, found that employing local health experts who reflect the communities they serve led to more effective and sustainable health outcomes for the community.
Ensuring diversity among staff and inclusive organizational practices can increase the likelihood of success in service delivery but this is only the start. To maximize impact, diversity and inclusion must be paired with cultural competency and cultural humility.
Diversity pertains to differences in respect to age, ethnicity, race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and physical and mental abilities, etc. Inclusion is the act of accommodating people who reflect those differences through organizational practices, structures, and policies. Cultural competency reflects the actual behaviors, attitudes, and norms that enable individuals to work effectively cross-culturally. Cultural humility is the continual process by which individuals learn about others’ cultures in relation to their own. A symbiotic relationship exists among these four principles, and none can and should exist without the others. Cultural competency and cultural humility are integral to helping organizations succeed in instituting their diversity and inclusion goals.
The Cultural Equity Lab is a collective of Black women from both public and private sectors with expertise in education, health, and law who bring an intersectional approach to these four principles. Our approach positions us to apply our cultural competency and cultural humility assessments and training in a way that changes the face of international development institutions and initiatives.
In the coming months, we will share additional blog posts about what these skills and practices are and how they can be applied in different organizational settings. We hope you will return to this blog to learn more and tell us about the challenges you face in diversifying your organizations or communities.
Let’s keep the conversation going.
[1] https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2018/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation
[2] https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/diversity/
[3] https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters#