CREATING A WORKPLACE WHICH FOSTERS DIVERSITY The most significant barrier to the success of D&I initiatives is organizations’ lack of preparation for change. Regardless of the size, location, revenue, or demographic make-up, the status-quo is affixed to the minds and hearts of the workforce. It’s like a comfy blanket on a cold night. It is as inconceivable to rip that blanket off as it is to install access ramps, elevators, an ADA approved desk, or maybe widen a hallway or two for our differently-abled team members. Or perhaps rewrite the company’s hiring policies and requirements to foster inclusion. Or give a firm reprimand to a verbally abusive or bigoted executive. Inconceivable! This is why over 70% of change initiatives and even more diversity initiatives fail! In his seminal work, Organizational Culture and Leadership, Edgar Schein described how the three levels of organizational culture: Artifacts & Behavior, Espoused Values, and Assumptions, work in harmony to create what we see every day in our places of business. Artifacts and Behavior Some researchers believe that behavior is a function of the person and environment – in some cases, having an equal impact over the other. Studies have shown that our psychological and physiological systems respond to architectural design in unconscious ways. The way a building or office is designed impacts employee well-being and access. The policies regarding appearance, although maintaining company standards, can breed exclusion. We’ve seen this most recently with the ban on policies restricting natural hairstyles. Even good office jokes create a particular culture. Your company’s vision and mission There is no better way to codify expectations of behavior than to put them in an employee handbook or allude to them in the mission and vision state34 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
ments. This sets the tone. It clearly outlines what is and isn’t to be done and the repercussions for noncompliance. Yet, as clearly as the policies may be, there are potential inequities everywhere: Compensation scale, promotion requirements, Nepotism policies, complaints about the HR manager, retaliation concerns. When organizations’ espoused values are not explicitly defined, fairness, equity, and inclusion are left to the interpretation of the readers. Ass-U-Mptions An HBR article revealed that women, and especially women of color with the same title as their male counterparts, are expected to do office housework. For those who have never had the ‘pleasure,’ office housework includes ordering lunch, organizing baby showers, scheduling speakers for events, etc. In addition to the office housework, these women are still expected to perform as good as or better than said male counterparts for less pay! Bollman & Deal, in their book Reframing Organizations, calls this the structural tension in the division of labor and is but one of the many assumptions held in organizations. Other assumptions refer to the structure, systems, and processes within the organization and are usually imposed by the leaders in the organization. Once these processes crystallize and become taken-for-granted by the workforce, they become a part of the culture. This concept is exemplified in the exclusive use of certain technologies, vendors, sourcing schools, etc. It is also memorialized in the phrase, “This is how we’ve always done things” or “This is the type we hire for in these positions.” Rest assured that someone created the definition of ‘type”. So now that we’re all giving our organizations the ‘side-eye,’ what can be done to create an environment that fosters diversity? Hint: This is not just the work of the D&I officer!
