What is the Difference Between Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

Rohini Anand, former Chief Diversity Officer at Sodexo and Mary-Frances Winters of The Winters Group, Inc., Academy of Management Learning & Education told Forbes, “The assumption is no longer that only certain groups need training (e.g., white men or minorities), but rather that all employees need to be more cross-culturally competent in an increasingly global world.” DEI is for everyone and must involve employees at every level of an organization, regardless of their differences. What is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?ĭiversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace - also known as DEI in the workplace - relates to the actions taken to establish awareness and transform mindsets, behaviors, and practices to create and sustain a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.ĭEI is also seen as a competency and an asset. Awareness is not enough - leaders must actively continue to make diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace a top priority, execute a DEI action plan and measure their success over time. Despite these efforts, diverse employees struggled the most during the COVID-19 pandemic, including women, LGBTQ+ employees, and people of color. As a result, teams started the necessary work to dismantle oppressive systems that advance certain groups of people while disadvantaging others.Īs companies gained greater awareness about the importance of DEI in the workplace, businesses started to build more diverse teams, share differing perspectives, and grant employees fair access to opportunities that enable career mobility. Employees initiated difficult conversations about the inequalities that continue to infiltrate systems in the United States and worldwide. Organizations began reconfiguring priorities and establishing training programs surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Amid racial injustice, an unforeseen global pandemic, and the crippling effects on diverse groups - change was no longer an option - it became essential. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace have always mattered, but in the year 2020, millions of Americans recognized the opportunity for change in a summer of unrest.

Diversity and inclusion efforts