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“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.” ― Quote by Mahatma Gandhi
We have all discussed ad nauseum in the 21st century the need for diversity at work. The need to have a workforce which includes people of all races, religions, genders, abilities and geographies. We all know that having a diverse team, or as we like to call it a rainbow alliance at work spells success for the companies on so many levels. This includes financial success/reserves as a diverse team brings new ideas, perspectives, talents and abilities. A company comprising of dominant race/castes of male workers will be more complacent and set in their ways, not willing to get out of their well-established comfort zones. A diverse team makes the company less sloth-like, more thoughtful & its actions calibrated. Studies conducted in the past have indicated that with diversity at its core, companies with their management and employees in general, perform better on a day to day level.
A 2016 study of over 20,000 firms worldwide found that firms with more women employees made more money than others. Having people from different backgrounds changes the culture, the ambience and at times the toxicity of the workspace for the better. Toxicity at work (example macho male bonding or harassment of varied types of minorities) brings down productivity, the morale and the motivating environment. With diverse perspectives and sensitivity, the work performance is bound to improve, to the delight of the company's accounts department.
“I don't just mean racial, national, age, gender — all of that diversity is super important, we need to hire that — I mean, in addition to that, cognitive diversity which you get from all those backgrounds, but also just personality diversity,” says Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Personality diversity is a new topic for all of us, isn't it? The uniqueness of personalities is also an asset worth considering.
How to improve diversity at the workplace:
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Expand hiring methods by including third-party websites and online job boards
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Use tech such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to shortlist people for vacancies based on their qualifications and other sets of parameters.
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Work with diversity partners such as women & LGBT & differently-abled NGOs etc
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Offer a welcoming, nurturing and work-life balance culture
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