{"id":5095,"date":"2021-04-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-a-running-start\/"},"modified":"2021-04-15T10:18:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T10:18:11","slug":"diversity-equity-and-inclusion-a-running-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-a-running-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Running Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been a major topic for business leaders and HR professionals over recent years. As our cultural landscape is changing and evolving, so are the expectations of employees. Many leaders find themselves overwhelmed by what feels like a whole new world of meanings, labels, boundaries, and expectations. Often, they don’t know where to begin—and they’re afraid to start.<\/p>\n

Fear of the unknown, of ‘doing it wrong,’ of offending someone, of looking out of touch, and so much more has held leaders back from taking critical steps towards building a workplace engaged in driving DEI. If employers want to maintain positive relationships with their employees and communities at large, it’s essential they try.<\/p>\n

To help you approach what feels like an insurmountable topic, we’ve broken it down into some foundational basics.<\/p>\n

Where to begin<\/h3>\n

It’s important to understand how we engage with DEI. Diversity is passive<\/em>, meaning it exists on its own, without effort. Within any office, you might have diversity of experience, background, thought, gender, ethnicity, and much more. Equity and Inclusion, however, require action<\/em> and intentional effort. That’s where you come in. Building a workplace that treats everyone equitably and creates an inclusive experience for its employees takes effort, attention, accountability, and the willingness to learn.<\/p>\n

How to approach it<\/h3>\n

You’re not alone if this feels overwhelming. When you’re looking into the world of DEI and starting from scratch, it can bring up a lot of doubt. But the trick isn’t to be perfect immediately. In fact, the goal isn’t to be perfect at all. Your goal should be to constantly be learning and improving—one small step at a time.<\/p>\n

Start by acknowledging your doubt and using it as a path to learn. Not sure about something? Good. Research it. Don’t know if you’re using a term correctly? Great! Look it up. The trick to getting DEI ‘right’ is to always allow for questions, corrections, and changes. We are in a fast-changing environment, so think of DEI as an ever-evolving approach to help you maintain positive relationships with your community as it evolves.<\/p>\n

Know the terms<\/h3>\n

A great place to start is understanding what different terms mean, along with how and when to use them. Especially if you’re a small business owner in a small town, it’s common to be a part of a homogenous community where there isn’t much variation between religions, ethnicity, and economic status. This makes it hard to paint an accurate picture of the endless diversity in the world at large. By starting with some basic terms, you can begin familiarizing yourself with different concepts and communities.<\/p>\n