Workshops For Employees To Keep Up With Diversity Trends

It is only in diversity can there be a better approach to crises, and it is only in inclusion that there can be a more concerted effort to be in any situation together. But in order to achieve this level of diversity and inclusion, one needs to be sensitized and trained to be more accepting of each other. And what better way to do this than implementing workshops for employees!

As we continue to redefine the ‘usual’ and highlight the positive undertones of working remotely with less commute time, greater flexibility and connecting from anywhere in the world, we have missed a vital aspect of workplace dynamics. When it comes to men and women feeling the impact of the pandemic, working mothers in particular have borne the worst of it. People with Disabilities (PwD) have felt the pain of not being employed as most professionals conveniently work from home - a reasonable demand they have been fighting for. Though the importance of a diverse workforce and the potential business gain cannot be stressed more, representation of women, PwDs and those from the LGBTQ+ community, in teams of higher management have been a long and slow road to success. But a crisis often proves to be an opportunity in disguise. Companies are now understanding the importance of infusing empathy in organization processes and many are doing this by conducting workshops for employees.

What Typical Gender Sensitization Workshops For Employees Should Entail

• Appropriate way of addressing women peers, clients and support staff in offices

• Facilitating transparent communication among men and women to highlight positive as well as discriminatory workplace practices

• Empowering women to speak up when in uncomfortable and difficult situations

• Additional training and development programs to help women graduate to higher management roles

Being Inclusive And Not Just Diverse

As Indian workplaces get populated with young and millennial work groups having broader and forward-looking perspectives, there is a gradual outlook shift in company campuses. Progressive companies naturally tend to understand contrarian views, encourage difference in opinions and develop a culture where people can speak without the fear of being misjudged. While diversity is a key differentiator at workplaces, it is inclusivity that makes all the real impact.

A sneak peek in Capegemini’s diversity content on its website underlines the thought, “My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn’t accessible,” said Stella Young, an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist. The quote largely showcases the condition of PwDs almost everywhere. With more than a billion employable people with disabilities globally and ~50million in India, imagine how companies can miss out on capitalizing on such a large talent pool if they exclude this population from their hiring policy! But things are definitely changing and India is taking the lead. Titan was the frontrunner when it championed the use of sign language to include those with speech and hearing impairments way back in the 1980s. Since then, the trend has caught on well with KFC and other brands following suit. This has boosted confidence among a oft-segregated section of our society and brought in positive discrimination and equality.

When it comes to changing mindsets around LGBTQ+ people, Godrej has been a pioneer. It instituted Godrej Culture Lab, an experimental space that picks social currents way ahead of its time. Picking up on Godrej’s open policies, companies are now including same-sex partner health benefits, networking and resource groups of LGBTQ+ people to inject respect and bring them into mainsteam company culture.

Companies Conducting Inclusivity-Led Training Workshops For Employees In India

• Recruiting managers at Wipro are trained to use gender-neutral language during hiring calls.

• Royal Bank of Scotland was the first bank in India to propagate the need for medical benefits to same-sex partners and offer surrogacy leave irrespective of the partner’s gender.

• Kolkata-based Medica Superspecialty Hospital regularly hires and trains the transgender community and brings them ‘out’ in the open.

• IBM trains and encourages employees to post video blogs on YouTube and speak about their experiences in work and outside.

What More Can Be Done

We have come a long way. From women being totally kept out of organized workforce, PWDs considered as incapable of doing any job to criminalizing same-sex love, there has been empowerment across all these factors. But in reality it is not enough, not until there is no discrimination against these sections of the general population. Sensitization workshops for employees and proactive internal communication campaigns do make a positive impact, and it needs to be done. Afterall, it is not just about attracting investor interest and maintaining a positive brand outlook, it is more about doing what is right and doing in a way that others follow suit.

Wiping Gender Bias Away And Welcoming Diversity At The Workplace In 2021

You would think that gender bias at the workplace is a thing of the past, but sadly it still thrives not just in India, but even in developed countries. And lack of diversity is the root of the problem. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise as just one day in a year celebrates the efforts and contribution women make at the workplace. And we have to agree, one day is not enough! While awareness about this has increased, the change still isn’t as obvious as it should be. Even with women trying to break stereotypes every step in the way, and the management enabling them with bigger responsibilities, the bias hasn’t completely washed away - yet. Women still find their financial and professional growth hampered. What’s even more worrisome is that, instead of the biases going down they’re on the rise and diversity at the workplace still needs to be worked on.

In a society that has dwelled on the fact that women are less powerful from the beginning of time, pulling away from subconscious biases is more difficult. Considering women to be more suitable for domestic chores, or ruling them out when it comes to business trips - are common scenarios even today. Not to mention, that women are paid much less compared to their male counterparts and the glass ceiling is real, given that just about 23% of women work as CEOs, globally. Overall, this bias has been observed even by men across workplaces, according to a recent survey conducted by TeamLease.

Survey Findings Regarding Gender Bias

TeamLease, a Human Resource company that provides staffing solutions and more, recently conducted a survey around gender bias at the workplace which brought ahead many findings. More than 50% of the male employees who took the survey feel that gender bias has in fact increased in the past couple of years. This is even more surprising given that the Maternity Benefits Act too was implemented during this phase. Increase in the amount of gender bias has also been the reason why many women leave the jobs, said 48% of male employees while 54% of them said this discrimination is what pulls women down in their careers. Just when you start to think that at least the scenario is better in terms of providing opportunities, the survey has found that more than 28% men feel that bias happens even at the hiring stage.

Moreover, a general consensus says that unconscious bias is one of the biggest challenges women face when it comes to their professional life. It starts with interviews where women candidates are asked about their families or marital status and judged on the basis of their personal lives. On the other hand, interview discussions with men only revolve around their past professional experiences. Considered to be more family oriented, and domestic even the most deserving women are not promoted or appointed in leadership positions. The same reasons are also why a wide pay gap between men and women exists.

What Has Changed

Not much has changed over the last year as women still fall short in holding prominent leadership roles. While gender bias at the workplace is an increasing problem, there is one thing that has changed, and for the better - it is the perspective that today’s male employees have. Unlike earlier, there is a growing realisation amongst men when it comes to seeing their women colleagues being treated differently. This realisation can go a long way in wiping gender bias off the corporate world and devising a more effective employer branding plan that focuses on diversity.

With Covid-19 having set most employees back, fighting against more than one challenge is going to be tough especially as women have been affected the most. Women have felt like they’ve been always-on during the pandemic, dealing with families and work at the same time. As this has negatively impacted women, it’s possible that the next step they take may be to pause work, given that it is anyway difficult to climb the success ladder while fighting biases.

Women And The 2021 Workplace

Men are beginning to realise how the management is biased towards women at work. Yet, women tend to be one of the most unrecognized sectors of the workforce. This is where corporates need to step in, and help such employees cope with this crisis. Maintaining a welcome and an unbiased culture, that favours diversity, is the need of the hour for every corporate if they do not want to see a high female employee attrition rate - because this could not just mean lost talent, but also work against a corporate’s employer branding efforts. Rather than taking random steps in this direction, having conversations with women and trying to understand what they expect will work better. Whether it is about counselling sessions, training, or a pay surge depends from person to person and hence must be thoroughly thought through. This will also help a workplace be known for developing equal opportunities.

After all, the choices made by corporates today, will be a large stepping stone towards eradicating gender biases - from the workplace as well as from the society in general. Simultaneously, it also increases the diversity rate of the workforce; which positively impacts productivity.

Fostering Employer Branding And Healthy Workplace Culture With Generational Diversity

Most conversations regarding diversity and inclusion revolve around onboarding people from various backgrounds, sexes, and abilities. What gets sidelined are the prejudices that come with ageism. Especially in an era that is a good proportion of seasoned baby boomers, passionate millennials and fresh-faced Gen Z as active as ever. Ageism – discrimination or prejudices on the basis of age, is one trouble area experienced within workplaces even today. Every generation has their own characteristics which can help in fostering employer branding and recruitment. After all, more than age, what matters is a person’s ability to adapt themselves to any situation.

Characteristics And Stereotypes

Baby Boomers are now rapidly moving into the aging workforce category, but this generation is extremely goal-oriented. Their work ethics are strong, and consider professional accomplishments to be of the higher order. Boomers relied on writing letters or using telephones when they were young, which has made their interpersonal skills strong. But, they’re known to resist change may be because of their minimal use of technology.

Gen X is known to adapt well to change, maybe because they saw their parents struggle through the 2008 economic crisis. They work to live, rather than dedicating their lives to professional growth. Gen X is more resourceful, self-sufficient, independent and hence, are known to walk away from micro management at the workplace.

Being largest in number, Millennials or Gen Y thrive on technology and innovation. They are flexible, tech savvy and look forward to living the best life by working smarter. This makes them great multitaskers but this can also make them come across as too casual, entitled and self-involved.

Gen Z, is the first generation to have lived a life that’s heavily reliant on technology and significantly wireless. They are true digital natives – but unlike millennials, are more concerned about career stability. But being connected with the outside world 24/7 might seem like they’re distracted at times.

It’s obvious that each generation has unique characteristics which were shaped by the changing times. It’s also evident why generations have discords against each other. In fact, research says, 64% of Gen Z is driven by work-life balance while 67% of Baby Boomers are driven by the work they do. But an open mind and team spirit can go a long way in achieving organisational and individual growth. After all, generational diversity at the workplace comes with a string of benefits.

The Benefits That Follow

Workplaces with a diverse set of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that come with diverse generations, have a positive environment that encourages innovation and development of new ideas. Baby Boomers have seen the world change, so they can be competitive. While Generation Z come with a fresh pair of eyes and hence are calm even in difficult situations. A workplace requires both types of people. One brings passion to the table, while the other helps drive it with patience. Having different perspectives is not a bad thing after all. Moreover, this helps future-proof the organisation by recruiting a healthy mix of people. They say two heads are better than one, but it’s even better to have 2 heads from different generations for increased productivity.

Coca Cola embraces generational diversity by focusing on Diversity Training, Diversity Speaker Series and Diversity Library. This has helped implement new policies, one of which allows six weeks paid leaves for every new mother and father. This has been possible because of the Coca Cola Millennial Voices group. This group includes younger employees who believe in a healthy culture, leading to higher employee retention and a better understanding of fostering employer branding.

Inspiration Flows Top-Down

This task was taken up by millennials, but took shape because of the organisation’s senior management. After all, if the C-suite at Coca Cola wouldn’t welcome generational diversity, neither would have the rest of the workplace. Remember, inspiration flows top to down and it’s important that top management is onboard. Each generation brings different perspectives, beliefs, behaviours and competencies to the corporate table. Together, it makes for an interesting spread, but organisations need to know the ABCs of overcoming generational divide. Being one team, picking on each other’s strengths and bettering weaknesses is the key to a thriving diverse workplace. And in the long run, is also a special feature in fostering employer branding.