BUSINESS
Stronger together
Build your business by promoting diversity in the workplace by Lindsey Getz places to start just may be a closer look at your business, including not only your hiring process but what you do to nurture an inclusive environment.
Words can make a difference According to Sharon Jones, a lawyer by training and a diversity consultant who specializes in providing diversity and inclusion consulting, sometimes exclusion happens unintentionally. It’s not like business owners set out to only hire certain individuals, but even something as seemingly innocuous as a job ad may inadvertently exclude people from the hiring pool due to language used.
One of the best places to start just may be a closer look at your business, including not only your hiring process but what you do to nurture an inclusive environment.
UAC MAGAZINE | FALL 2020
You’ve undoubtedly been hearing about inclusion and diversity a lot lately, and
32
with all of the other challenges this year has brought, you might be getting to a point where you just want to gloss over the issue.
But now is the right time to focus on inclusion and diversity in your business. After all, they’re more than just the latest hot topics. They are an opportunity that can be seized in an effort to make your company better. But what can you do? The idea of even getting started in making actionable changes can feel overwhelming. It’s an important issue that is worth more than some quick tips, but we all have to start somewhere. One of the best
“For instance, you might say that no women ever apply for the jobs you advertise, but have you somehow implied you need to be a ‘strong man’ to get the job?” questions Jones, founder and CEO of Jones Diversity with offices in Chicago and New York. “The language used in your job ads should be able to be perceived neutrally.” Kelly Dowell, a green industry consultant and marketing expert who grew up working at her dad’s lawn and landscaping company, Dowco in St. Louis, agrees and says that it goes beyond just your job ads, but your company’s culture — or what she calls its “backbone.” In other words, even if you make improvements to your hiring process and make job ads more neutral, if your website paints a different picture, it’s not going to matter. “You want to hire people who have researched your company and know what you’re all about,” she says. “But if they’re doing that and they don’t see people that look like them — such as having minorities or women in leadership roles — are they really going to want to apply?”
