Diversity is the buzzword among corporates and business leaders in recent times. Not a day passes without some prominent business leader or CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a major corporation declaring their intent to have a more diverse organization and to be more inclusive towards racial and sexual minorities and women.

Indeed, with several studies pointing to how diverse firms are known to perform better than their less diverse counterparts, many proponents of gender and racial diversity are making the business case for diversity.

This line of thinking stems from recent research which shows that corporations that hire more women and people of color as well as sexual minorities from the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, and Queer) communities outperform others in terms of better financial and workplace performance.

These studies that show a causal link between diversity and more fulfilling workplace culture as well as diversity and increased plurality of views in decision making have thrown light on the dark places of less diverse corporations which are shown to suffer from monochromatic approaches to corporate decision making and organizational performance being lesser than diverse firms.

The term used for such diverse firms is the so-called Rainbow Organizations so named because of the logos and the multihued pictures that often depict gender and racial diversity.

Diversity Should Not Make Organizations Show Businesses without Substance

Having said that, despite these findings from reputed researchers, many corporations continue to pay lip service to diversity and even when they hire more women and people of color as well as sexual minorities, it is more towards satisfying the formal and informal targets set by the top management for actualizing a diverse workplace.

Indeed, in many American as well as Indian firms, the trend nowadays seems to be towards hiring more sexual minorities and women in addition to racially disadvantaged groups more to “Showcase” such employees as their contribution to diversity rather than any meaningful or concrete and tangible moves to both benefit such communities and gain from their presence.

In a way, many leading corporations have also fallen into this trap of making diversity a “Show business” where their Rainbow Recruitment policies are just an extension of their Public Relations efforts to portray themselves as being progressive and where the ground realities do not change much.

Thus, it is the contention in this article that corporations ought to do more to qualify to being truly diverse firms.

Addressing the Gender and Racial Pay Gaps as Part of Becoming Truly Diverse

A key area where they can indeed make a difference is in addressing the Gender and Racial Pay Gap which many leading researchers believe is the root cause of all problems related to diversity.

The contention here is that when women are paid lower than men and when racial and sexual minorities are hired for junior level positions and a Glass Ceiling prevents them from progressing further, diversity takes a backseat.

Indeed, publications such as the AFR or Australian Financial Review have run special features on how Gender Pay Gap is pervasive across the world in all leading economies as well as emerging ones.

While in advanced countries of the West, Gender Pay Gap does not manifest until the Middle Management Level, cultural stereotypes and prejudices work against women and other minorities even at the Entry and Junior Levels of the Organizational Hierarchy.

Moreover, the sustenance and perpetuation of Patriarchic attitudes mean that Women and Racial and Sexual Minorities hardly have a chance for networking and joining what are informal groups that help employees bond with each other and where key partnerships and friendships are formed that lead to productive outcomes.

Boys Clubs and Barriers to Women and Racial Diversity

For instance, how many times have you seen women networking with their male peers in the so-called Coffee and Smoking Breaks as well as after hours in Pubs and other Boys Clubs where key decisions related to promotion and pay raises are often discussed informally?

Indeed, this is a very important point made by many leading women business leaders who have faced formal and informal barriers and who point to the trend of paying women lesser than men being the outcome of entrenched discrimination having roots in culture, customs, traditions, and last but not the least, the subtle and the direct messages sent by the top leadership.

While the other determinants of discrimination are more visible and talked about, the hush-hush mentions of how subtle forms of pay and promotion discriminations are at the heart of organizations being less inclusive are rarely mentioned in the open.

When Sports Can Actualize Gender Pay Parity, Why Not Knowledge Work?

Thus, any organization that prides itself on being a diverse one has to necessarily have a Conversation with itself as to how the Gender and Racial Pay Gap is indeed the true heart of being truly diverse.

In the same manner in which Tennis Professionals seem to be inching towards Gender parity in Pay, it is time for Corporate America and India Inc., to make efforts towards this end.

Lastly, unlike sports which demands physical strength and stamina that can be used as an excuse to deny Gender Pay Parity, there is absolutely no reason why the services firms of the 21st Century should pay women less especially when the work is more mental than physical and more so, when research has shown that women outperform men in many of the cognitive and knowledge based tasks that are the Bread and Butter of Information Technology, Financial Services, and Business Process firms.

To conclude, it is high time business leaders admitted this less mentioned, yet vital aspect of what makes their firms truly diverse and take concrete steps to tackle it.

It is often the case that many Asian employees (especially the younger lot) say, “they passed out in a certain year from college”. This has different connotations in the West as it refers to the act of losing consciousness. The correct phrase would be that “we graduated”.

To take another example, it is common for many Westerners to start talking about the weather as an icebreaker for the conversation. However, this is interpreted differently in Asian countries where many employees do not seem to understand why the weather is a topic for conversation.

Finally, many Asian employees (especially Indians) usually use the term “freaked out” to mean that they have had a good time. However, this is interpreted differently in the US where it has entirely different connotations.

The point here is that intercultural communication depends on a variety of factors that include the specifics of language, style, and substance.

Further, one has to be sensitive to the fact that what is acceptable in one culture might be prohibited in another culture. Hence, it is common for Asian employees to enquire about the families of their coworkers, whereas, in the West, it is not common for the employees to talk openly about them.

Most important aspect in cultural communication is the gender aspect where the way in which employees address the issues of women in the workplace makes a lot of difference to how they are interpreted. In the West, employees are usually politically correct in their communication, which means that they do not overly make racist and gender based statements. This does not mean that such issues do not exist there. On the contrary, there are enough cases of sexual harassment at the workplace in the west. Rather, the point is that in the West, employees are usually guarded when talking about their female coworkers. However, many Asian employees are openly racist and gender biased in their comments.

The other aspect of cross-cultural communication is the issue of how cultural differences are handled. For instance, while it is common for Asians to know many details about the US and the Europe, many westerners have a rather sketchy knowledge of countries other than in the West. This ignorance can sometimes be annoying to the Indians as was evident in the recent issue involving the popular Talk Show Host, Oprah Winfrey. Her statement that “Indians still eat with their hands” kicked up a row with many Indians taking umbrage at this remark. Hence, one must be cognizant of cultural differences and not say or do anything that would be interpreted in a different manner.

Finally, cross-cultural communication is all about sensitivity and having empathy with the person from the other culture. Hence, it goes beyond differences and depends largely on the individual who is communicating.

In conclusion, there is a need for training for employees who are being sent onsite or who have to deal with employees from other cultures. This would make the job of communicating across cultures easier and would reduce the chances for faux pas in the communication process.

The articles in this module so far have focused on how organizational diversity makes eminent sense from legal compliance and value based perspectives. The discussion so far was about how organizations must embrace diversity as a value based imperative and for furthering corporate social responsibility.

This article examines the business case for diversity and finds that not only do organizations have to pursue values they also have a strong business case for encouraging diversity. The reasons for this are to do with the increasingly heterogeneous nature of the customer base, the globalization imperative that makes diversity a precursor to growth, the looming talent crunch which translates into recruiting diverse teams as a way of avoiding it, and finally the changing imperatives of corporate leadership that confronts decision making in an increasingly uncertain world.

The Heterogeneous Nature of the Customer Base

It is no longer the case that the customers are made up of monolithic wholes that exhibit consistent and uniform patterns of behavior. On the other hand, the customer base for many companies has splintered into ethnic, racial, gender and other segmentations which means that organizations have to encourage diversity in their workforce to tackle the aspirations of the fragmented customer bases.

A New Mix of Employees is needed for Globalization

The fact that many companies are growing at scorching pace outside of the developed markets means that these companies need to have culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse employees in the target markets and hence they need to encourage diversity.

The point here is that there is a premium on employees who can understand these markets better and hence there is a need for these employees to be recruited.

The Looming Talent Crunch

We had previously discussed how diversity casts the net wide and results in better talent. Combined with the looming talent crunch among the traditional employee segments, companies would be left with no choice but to recruit a workforce that is as diverse as possible and which results in the companies gaining competitive advantage over their rivals.

The point here is that it is no longer values or CSR imperatives that drive diversity based practices. Instead, there is a compelling case to be made for economic and business imperatives as the drivers to encourage diversity.

The Changing Nature of Corporate Leadership

Given the global odds that corporate leaders face in these times, decision-making is no longer linear or sequential and hence, the corporate leaders need to have as diverse a team as possible to ensure that they intuit and sense the market better than their competitors’ sense. The need of the hour is to go beyond traditional notions of corporate leadership and instead, draw upon a set of diverse inputs and suggestions that encourage multiple viewpoints and multiple perspectives.

Finally, diversity is not only needed from legal and ethical or social expectations and instead, as this article discussed; there are compelling business reasons for encouraging diversity.

The point to be noted is that diversity makes for eminent business sense and hence, it must be hardwired into the organizational DNA. We shall discuss this in detail in subsequent articles.

The viral #MeToo movement represented a “coming of age” for career women worldwide as they sought to highlight the pervasive sexual harassment and gender discrimination in workplaces the world over.

The very success of #MeToo as a “spontaneous” uprising is an indicator of how America Inc. and for that matter India Inc. as well have historically “swept under the carpet” issues related to harassment and discrimination of women.

That too at a time when they advertised their Diversity and Inclusivity (D&I) credentials and wore them like a badge to convey a progressive image.

Indeed, #MeToo shined a light on the dark corners of corporates worldwide and led to a reckoning about the “real” status of women in the workplace, despite heady propaganda about D&I.

In the present context, #MeToo is over a decade old and hence, it is time for yet another “conversation” about D&I, this time with the focus on “walking the talk” by America Inc. and India Inc. and not merely paying lip service to this initiative. We would be examining two aspects of D&I, if addressed, can lead to real “change”.

Fixing the Pay Gap and Resolving Disparity in Perks and Privileges between Men and Women

The first one is the Pay Gap between men and women in corporate America and India. It is a well known fact that women, even those in senior positions are often underpaid than their male counterparts, though corporates are trying to address this “gap”.

This becomes more pronounced as we move down the hierarchy with the entry level women being the worst hit.

Moreover, this is only in the formal corporate sector and there are Millions of Small and Medium Enterprises as well as other entities in the semi formal and informal economies where “pay gap” usually means women have to be content with half of what men earn for the same work.

This also manifests in Professional Sports, which as we have seen in Tennis often implies a “yawning” gap in the pay between men and women tennis players.

So, any real attempt to “walk the talk” on D&I should first focus on fixing the pay gap between men and women if there is a genuine desire to move beyond the #MeToo movement and institute “changes” in the workplace.

A good way to start would be to give women a blanket raise on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

A Level Playing Field Is a Must in Corporates If Women are to Progress as Much as Men

Next, even in organizations where women are paid on par with men, it is rare to find women in senior and executive positions.

Statistics reveal that women at these levels are less than a fifth of men who are in similar positions across America Inc.

The situation is worse in India Inc. where it is rare for women to move beyond the “glass ceiling” and progress further.

So, if there is an intention to address the D&I shortcomings, a clear case exists for promoting “deserving” women to senior positions.

Note that we have used the term in quotes deliberately as it is nobody’s case that all women should be promoted.

Rather, the idea here is that there should be a “level playing field” for men and women and whoever comes trumps in the race should be rewarded accordingly without discrimination.

More so when there is an overall sentiment that “tokenism” in the form of promoting a few women just to show how committed the organizations are to D&I cannot be the norm.

Instead, there has to be an honest and transparent attempt to give everyone, men and women, their due and not “hobble” them as they progress in their careers.

Walking the Talk on Diversity and Inclusivity and Actualizing Healthy and Safe Workplaces for All

So, there we are and if these two aspects are taken care of, then corporates can move on to the next and perhaps more important aspect of actualizing “truly” inclusive workplaces.

For this to happen, it is not enough to hire more women or stuff the organizations with as many women and other minorities are concerned.

Instead, the post #MeToo workplaces must end the “boys will be boys” culture and impose more responsibility on everyone to make the workplaces “safe” for women.

Indeed, with the #MeToo fading from public consciousness, it is time for America Inc. and India Inc. not to bury the issue and instead, walk the talk (literally and figuratively).

For this to happen, women in higher ranks should also step up their empathy and “connection” with women down the hierarchy and act as mentors and guides to navigate the minefield of the modern day workplaces.

Moreover, given the toxic nature of the political and social discourse, workplaces too are not immune from it and this is where the HR (Human Resources) staff has their work cut out as they strive to keep workplaces from turning “bitter” and “partisan” so that everyone benefits from working in healthy corporates.

Millennials, the Post #MeToo Generation Should Learn From the “Mistakes” of Previous Generations

Last, the Millennials are the post #MeToo generation and hopefully, they have learnt from the mistakes and the falls of earlier generation women and are not repeating them.

Already the Millennials are reporting high rates of burnout and stress with concomitant mental health issues and hence, the Boomers and the Gen Xers owe it to the former by not “burdening” them with additional traumatic workplace experiences.

So, it is high time for America Inc. to “walk the talk” on D&I and towards this end, fixing Pay and Promotion disparity would be a good beginning in assuaging the post #MeToo generations.

Typically, organizations have what is known as a Balanced Scorecard for measuring and tracking outcomes against goals. By “keeping the score” on how well they have been doing on various measures related to strategy, policies, and other imperatives, organizations use metrics and KRAs or Key Result Areas to monitor and report the overall progress on the goals and objectives that they have set for themselves.

Similarly, in recent years, organizations have also been using specific and function wise scorecards as well as scorecards that “tie in” the progress of each function or department with the overall organizational goals and objectives.

Examples of such scorecards include the HR Scorecard which is used for measuring the performance of the HR function and how it fits into the larger and broader organizational objectives. In this context, it is worth noting that one can “drill down” further as well as move “sideways and crossways” to prepare what is known as a Diversity Scorecard.

This emerging trend in management theory and practice has caught the imagination of many business leaders worldwide wherein their efforts at actualizing a workplace free from gender discrimination, the absence of the glass ceiling, the removal of visible and invisible barriers to women and their career progression are some of the KRAs that are sought to be tracked and monitored to measure how well the organization is doing on these counts.

The Parameters That Go Into the Diversity Scorecard

A Diversity Scorecard can be used to measure how many women were recruited in a certain fiscal, how many women were promoted, and at what levels, the percentage of women being given raises in their salaries and bonuses, the number of cases of discrimination reported, as well as other parameters such as how many women are managers and senior managers when compared to men.

Indeed, all these parameters can be used to capture the organization’s state of gender equality and its conformity with the regulatory rules and requirements in addition to the very critical aspect of whether the organization is indeed “walking the talk” as far as gender diversity is concerned, or is merely “paying lip service”.

As mentioned earlier, the Diversity Scorecard would mirror the actual progress made on the efforts to make the organization a diverse place as well as to the actual outcomes when measured against the goals.

The Many Benefits of a Diversity Scorecard

The importance of such a Diversity Scorecard lies in the way in which it uses data to report the progress leaving little scope for “linguistic gymnastics” wherein senior executives routinely talk about diversity but very little is achieved on the ground.

Moreover, the parameters and the metrics being tracked can be tied to the pay raises and bonuses of the senior leadership as well as middle managers so that they are incentivized as well as run the risk of punitive action lest they fail to meet the goals set for them.

In addition, the Diversity Scorecard can also be part of the Annual Reports so that shareholders and other stakeholders can “see for themselves” the progress being made in actualizing a workplace that is diverse and free from discrimination.

Apart from this, a Diversity Scorecard can also address the “pay gap” between men and women employees that is at the heart of many problems related to gender and racial discrimination at the workplace.

Talking about racial and sexual orientation as well as physical disabilities, a Diversity Scorecard can also be helpful in addressing the challenges of Racial Diversity, Actualizing an Inclusive workplace for the LGBTQ (the acronym used to capture the broader categories of employees who differ in their sexuality and sexual orientation) employees.

Further, it can also foster a workplace that is free from discrimination of the physically challenged employees.

A Gender Scorecard Should Not be a Substitute for Window Dressing

Having said that, by preparing a Gender Diversity Scorecard alone, organizations cannot claim to be diverse entities despite what they report as progress.

Indeed, in our experience, we have come across many organizations that pretend to be diverse and report progress whereas in reality, what they are doing is “window dressing” wherein they “showcase” some prominent faces of women and other minority categories and in reality, things are what they were without any discernible change.

This is the reason why some experts call for external entities to audit such Diversity Scorecards in the same way in which their financial statements and the strategic outcomes are vetted by auditors and management consultants.

Indeed, there is always the temptation to show progress since such results are tied into the performance appraisals of executives.

Further, unless such Diversity efforts are backed by the executives and the complete cooperation of the middle managers and the full participation of the HR department is assured, having a Scorecard alone would not reflect the extent to which an organization is diverse.

Don’t Judge a Player by the Scorecard Alone

Lastly, it is often said that in Cricket, a scorecard tells half the story alone of the match and hence, it is important to watch the match fully as well as subsequent matches as well to gauge how well a particular player has performed.

To conclude, a Gender Scorecard can be the first step towards actualizing a Diverse Workplace, though not an end by itself.

This is the reason why experts recommend that organizations secure the “buy in” of the workforce so that a Carrot and Stick approach can be adopted wherein the incentives are also accompanied by the rewards.

Management plays an essential role in managing organizational diversity:

All individuals need to be treated equally. If you have recruited someone, he/she is your employee and thus indispensable resource of the organization. Do not misbehave once he/she joins. You have no rights to ill treat the other individual just because he/she is a peon.

Management should not forget that even the office boy is an employee of the organization and ought to be treated with utmost respect and care, the same way you treat your other employees. Make them feel important. Do not make separate policies for them. Remember, even they have the right to enjoy company’s benefits, the way others do.

Every employee is important irrespective of designation; amount of time spent in the organization or educational qualification and contributes in his/her own way. Organization B had all types of employees, some who recently joined and some who were there in the system for quite some time. Joe was never called for team meetings because he joined the organization just one month back. This certainly is a wrong practice.

Management and superiors need to ensure that every individual is called for team meetings and also has the liberty to contribute in formulating team strategies and organization policies. Remember, an organization does not always need experienced people but also young and dynamic individuals who have the passion for innovation and accepting challenges. Do not neglect someone just because he is new to the industry. You never know when he comes up with a wonderful idea which would benefit not only the team but the entire organization.

Appraisals and incentive plans need to be similar for everyone. If you have decided for twenty percent hike, make sure it is same for everyone, be it the general manager, manager, executive or the office boy. Even the office boy has the right to ask for his appointment letter. It is his right. Appraisals should be strictly done based on individual’s performance over a period of year and nothing else.

Encourage effective communication at the workplace. No employee should be left out of important discussions. Management needs to ensure transparency at all levels of hierarchy. This is in fact the best way to effectively manage organizational diversity.

You really need to take good care of your female employees to promote a healthy work culture. Ensure your male employees are not misbehaving with their female counterparts and if they do so, you need to take strict action immediately. Do not ask your female employees to work till late unless and until there is an emergency and you have a deadline to follow. If you have asked them to do so, make sure you arrange a cab to drop them home. Ask your administration department to make proper arrangements for them if they need to travel out of the city.

It is the responsibility of the management to encourage individuals to celebrate and enjoy all festivals irrespective of their religion and community. We may be Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, but above all we are Indians. Do not be happy because 25th December is a holiday and you will have another day to watch your favourite movie or spend some time with your family. Do celebrate all festivals and enjoy them to the fullest. Do not ignore someone just because he/she does not belong to your religion. Believe me, individuals who do so have no rights to be a part of the system.

In today’s scenario of fierce competition, employees need to discuss, brainstorm ideas to reach to innovative solutions which would not only benefit their respective teams but also help their organization to outshine its competitors. Communication in fact helps you to express your ideas and viewpoints. Do not say a “yes” if you feel it is not correct. Remember, freedom of expression is the right of every employee and you just cannot deprive anyone of the same.

It hardly matters whether the individual is a Christian or a Muslim, has recently joined the organization or is there for quite some time, is an MBA or just a graduate. What is more important is whether he/she is able to do justice to the roles and responsibilities assigned or not? Let individuals come out with their ideas, opinions and also have a say in organization’s major decisions.

One of the most common reasons of misunderstandings and conflicts at the workplace is lack of communication between them and their superiors. Superiors need to communicate with their team members on a regular basis not only to regularly monitor their performance but also motivate them to come out with their best every time.

Individuals feel left out and demotivated when their Bosses do not have the time to talk to them. Effective communication enables information to reach all related employees in its desired form. Do not interact with only the top level employees but with every individual associated with organization.

Individuals need to communicate effectively to know about each other’s customs, traditions, religions, culture and so on. If you do not allow them to sit together and talk, trust me, they would treat each other as enemies and would find it extremely difficult to work in unison. How would an individual know that the person sitting next to him, who though belongs to a different religion is his fellow worker and is also working for the same motive i.e. to achieve organization’s goals and objectives and also for respective career growths? He/she would come to know only when you would allow him/her to communicate effectively with counterparts.

Effective communication ensures individuals from varied backgrounds, religions; communities or age groups share a strong rapport and do not face problems working together. Individuals, when effectively communicate seldom fight and solve half of the problems themselves. They escalate the matter to their superiors only when it is really serious and requires their intervention.

In a way, effective communication not only manages organizational diversity but also leads to a positive ambience at the workplace. There are situations when some or the other misunderstandings among team members might arise, but it is always better when employees sit face to face, talk and clear the same at the earliest. The productivity is in fact more when employees communicate effectively with each other.

One of the most important actions that any organization can take is to ensure that diversity and inclusivity are inculcated right from the recruitment process itself. This means that recruiting a diverse is the first step towards realizing the goal of diversity.

Though the governments in many countries including the US and India do not mandate a certain percentage of the employees to be women, racial minorities, or those with alternate sexual orientations, they do specify that equal opportunities must be given to everyone and that the organizations should not discriminate against anybody on these counts.

For instance, we often hear the term Organization X is an “equal opportunity employer”. What this means is that the organization treats all potential recruits in the same manner and does not discriminate against them in any respect. However, announcing that we are equal to towards everybody does not that mean that we are equal towards everybody in practice. Take for example, the practice in many companies in India to recruit employees based on location and because of political pressures.

Further, many companies in Asia do not recruit women for the jobs that need overseas travel or those jobs that have extended working hours. This certainly goes against the grain of diversity and hence must be avoided at all costs.

Further, many companies go by the appearance of candidates and not necessarily by merit alone. Of course, we are not saying that for the jobs that need pleasant demeanor like Airline Stewards and Stewardess or jobs in the hospitality sectors, employers must not give importance to looks. Rather, what we are saying is that in general, it would be a good practice to recruit employees based on merit alone instead of other considerations.

The best way to recruit a diverse team is to have “blind resumes” where except for the qualifications of the candidate, nothing else is visible. In this scenario, the potential recruit can be a woman, racial minority, physically challenged or any of the other categories that comes under inclusivity. Therefore, the recruit has a fair chance to make it to the interview stage without any bias.

Once the interview is announced, it would be better for the companies to have interviewers drawn from a heterogeneous group instead of having a homogenous group. This would ensure that the candidate is not discriminated against. Finally, it would be in the fitness of things if the candidate were not asked questions from where they are and their preferences about things other than work related matters alone. This is somewhat hard to actualize but is sorely needed if organizations have to recruit diverse teams.

It must be made clear to the hiring team that asking questions about matters that are not directly related to the job at hand is not allowed. Further, the HR representative and the manager in charge of the diversity program must be allowed a greater say in recruitment and preferably, present during the interview.

Treat all individuals equally irrespective of their designation, back ground, community and religion. It hardly matters to the organization whether the individual concerned is a Christian, Muslim, Hindu or a Sikh. What matters is his willingness to learn and passion to perform.

Rules and regulations ought to be same for everyone. If the organization has decided to give ten leaves to its employees over a period of one year, make sure the same is granted to the office staff, pantry boy and even to the entry level executive. There are organizations where only the top level people enjoy the company benefits. Such a practice is unacceptable and leads to dissatisfaction among employees.

Incentive slabs and bonus criteria should not change with designation and hierarchy. Policies need to be same for every individual associated with the organization. If you scold your subordinate for coming late to work, make sure your top manager also comes on time. Don’t change your policies for people.

Encourage employees to interact among themselves, discuss work, share experiences and also gain from each other’s experience. Believe me, this way individuals not only come closer to each other but also get to know a lot about each other’s strengths, culture, working style and also learn many new things from them. Every individual has some or the other talent.

Let people share their knowledge with fellow workers and utilize their talent in the best possible way. Encourage them to sit with their fellow workers once every day to discuss team’s strategies and even decide on the plan of action as to how to achieve the organization’s goals within the shortest possible time frame.

In today’s business scenario, it is essential individuals develop the habit of working in unison; else work can never be accomplished within the deadlines. When individuals work together, not only they help each other in their respective assignments but also motivate each other to come up with their best work every time. This way, your organization also becomes a better place to work.

Appreciate employees whenever they do well. Individuals need to be given their due credit. Generally what happens is that whenever a team performs well, the team leader gets all the recognition and appreciation whereas the team members are left out. You need to be impartial towards your employees to promote organizational diversity.

Encourage individuals to celebrate festivals together irrespective of the religion and community they belong. Divide them in groups and ask them to decorate the office, arrange for a small party at office, get gifts for colleagues and so on. The idea is not to check whether they are capable of doing so or not but to make them aware of different cultures and traditions. Such an initiative also goes a long way in developing a feeling of trust and respect for their counter parts. This way, they start accepting each other and also working together as a single unit.

Encourage effective communication at the workplace to promote organizational diversity. Make sure everyone in the organization irrespective of his designation or level in the hierarchy is aware of his roles and responsibilities. Make sure organization policies are communicated well to each and everyone.

Guide your male employees and ask them to behave sensibly with their female counterparts. Make them understand that they need to draw a line somewhere while interacting with their female colleagues. Do not blindly support them. If any female employee complains about anyone, please do not ignore the same. Try to find out the actual problem and act at the earliest.

Make sure no individual gets undue advantage at the workplace.

Diversity and Inclusivity (D&I) is on everyone’s mind. With the emergence of the #MeToo movement where women worldwide reported their experiences related to sexual and gender based harassment and discrimination, most organizations these days talk a lot about promoting D&I.

While some of this is paying lip service so as to appear politically correct as well as fulfill the legal and regulatory obligations, a few notable organizations are indeed taking D&I seriously and attempting to create a workplace free from harassment and discrimination.

Further, even the lawmakers and the elected representatives worldwide are now prodding businesses and just about every registered entity that does business or transacts commerce to take D&I very seriously and warning them that a failure to do so would invite penal and legal action. Having said that, one must also ask how much of this newfound sincerity is true and whether the situation “on the ground” has changed for women and sexual minorities.

Indeed, there is no point in high sounding rhetoric about D&I without changing the lives of women and sexual minorities at the workplace where everyday challenges abound.

Overt and Covert Forms of Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

For instance, many women often report that while sexual and gender based harassment and discrimination is outlawed in all organizations, their realities are very different and they do indeed face such harassment and discrimination at the hands of their superiors, peers, coworker, and even subordinates.

This can take the form of informal conversations having sexually explicit and implicit meanings and double entendre as well as attitudes and beliefs that while masked to a great extent often show up naked where male colleagues display their patriarchic mindsets.

Indeed, this is the reason why many D&I experts are calling on organizations to impart gender sensitization training and asking them to shed their patriarchic mindsets if they are really serious about D&I. take for example the laws in many countries where women are not allowed to work in the Night Shift.

While this law is ostensibly to help women avoid unfortunate incidents at late hours, in reality, it is used as an excuse to deny women plum postings and work offers. Further, there are laws that mandate that women should be paid equal to men.

However, many organizations follow a double standard as far as women’s pay is concerned and take refuge in the argument that anyway they are being given maternity leave and other benefits and hence, there can be a differential pay for men and women.

How the Glass Ceiling Works to Thwart Women’s Career Progress

Turning to the much criticized “glass ceiling” or the term used to describe how women who want to progress in their careers often find it thwarted after a certain level in the hierarchy.

Indeed, the glass ceiling works in very insidious ways wherein it is the case that senior managers and high ranking executives form a “Boys Club” where their women peers (who are again at or near the top of the hierarchy) are excluded.

This can take the form of not inviting women colleagues to after office informal drinking and socializing sessions under the pretext of not wanting them to be in danger. However, as many organizational experts point out, informal bonding is one of ht e best ways to progress in one’s career since it allows for colleagues to bond on first name basis.

This also applies to offsite and overseas trips where it is common for the male colleagues to socialize and fraternize without involving their female counterparts. Thus, these examples show how Patriarchic mindsets are so dominant in the corporate world and hence, if such organizations want to truly embrace Diversity and Inclusivity, they must first make an attempt to address the structural barriers to women’s progress.

How Structural Barriers Work against Women’s Progress

Structural barriers can also take the form of insinuating and suggesting to women employees that they are in some ways inferior to men. Further, a simple term such as Chairmen of the Board can be replaced with Chairperson to convey gender neutrality.

In addition, promotional advertising and marketing ads often portray women as the caregivers and the homemakers whereas men are shown as being the breadwinners.

The point here is that as mentioned throughout this article, we are talking about a patriarchic mindset that pervades all levels of organizational hierarchies and unless, we start addressing these aspects, women would continue to be discriminated against.

Indeed, there need not be overt sexual harassment and as can be seen from the examples, indirect, covert, and under the surface tensions about men and women and their roles in society and at the workplace do as much harm as overt sexual harassment.

Of course, one can very well say that all this is taking political correctness too far and hence, not worthy of consideration. However, in our working experience, we have come across all these examples and how they thwart women at every stage.

Conclusion

At a time when the global workforce participation of women is dipping after decades of progress, it is time for organizations to take Diversity and Inclusivity seriously lest it becomes a case of too little too late.

As many studies have shown, a diverse workplace often makes organizations more competitive and productive and at the same time, also makes them vibrant and vivid. Thus, it is in the interests of the organizations to promote D&I.

To conclude, structural barriers and patriarchic attitudes must be addressed so that any attempt to wish away these problems by stating that “boys will be boys” should be avoided.