It’s hard to understand how a global pandemic would result in a loss of workplace diversity, especially since increasing corporate inclusion has been a major focus for many corporations over the past few years. But COVID-19, and the ensuing global recession, is posing a real threat to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and the pressure is manifesting in two distinct ways, writes Pablo Listingart is the Founder and Executive Director of ComIT.
First, diversity experts are warning against an upcoming affinity bias. In a climate of corporate fear, as employers navigate the loss of revenue and declines in consumer demand, there’s a risk of our unconscious tendency to find ourselves attracted to and reliant on other people who resemble us in one way or another. This can manifest in biases toward prestige, race, gender, socioeconomic status, or educational backgrounds.
Second, the quick shift toward remote work has kept many companies afloat, but it has posed new challenges to antiquated inclusion practices. Without the normal social cues of in-person work, the chances of miscommunication, alienation, and inequitable speaking time are higher than ever. Standard corporate practices such as social events, mentorships, or in-office one-on-ones are unavailable, making inclusive remote-work practices an urgent place of focus.
While the pandemic has put the above pressures on curating and maintaining workplace inclusion, corporate diversity has never been more critical. Countless market analytics have proved the advantage of diversity as a corporate asset, including McKinsey and Co., who found that companiesOpens a new window in the top quartile of racial and ethnic diversity were 35% more likely to experience better financial returns than their industry peers.
Including a variety of workplace perspectives and engaging people with different backgrounds, experiences, and creative inclinations is the best way to tackle a problem from multiple angles, and approach innovation from the same informed approach. For any company looking to survive COVID-19, to remain creative, innovative, and relevant in an ever-changing market, maintaining workplace diversity from home is a task that can’t be put aside.
Leveraging the Power of At-Home Operation for Diversity
While remote work poses immediate challenges to inclusion practices, it has exciting potential to increase access in the corporate world. Consider, for example, the experience of women who returning to work after pregnancy or someone caring for an elderly family member. The flexibility of a remote schedule, and the freedom to work without being absent from home, could go a long way in making the workplace more compatible with caretaking responsibilities and diminishing the barriers put in place due to the cost of daycare or senior care services.
Similarly, remote work can increase accessibility for workers with disabilities. of workers self-identify with one or more disabilities. Working from home eliminates the physical demands of a commute and the mental demands of an office that’s not always designed with varying needs in mind. Flexibility in a schedule can help an individual fit in physiotherapy visits or engage in practices that support their mental health. Being able to contribute from a home-based environment, one already troubleshot for the individual’s needs can lead to higher productivity and greater job satisfaction.
Lastly, alleviating the pressure of relocation can help corporations access a more diverse job-seeking population. Diversity often varies across physical locations, and employers in certain states might lack access to job seekers of different ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds. At the same time, when corporate headquarters are located in places where the social infrastructure wouldn’t support the living experience that job candidates might be seeking, relocation can be a real barrier to attracting new talent. Remote work is a unique solution to the problem of relocation, and it can offer new options to recruiters and job seekers alike.
Learn More: Diversity Recruiting Strategies: 3 Long-Term Ideas to Power Your Workplace
Unbiased Recruitment — Technology Is Leading the Way
Technology has made the move to remote work possible, which in turn can offer new possibilities as far as finding and retaining a more diverse corporate team. But in order to do so, recruitmentOpens a new window protocols need to be completely reconsidered. Recruiters need to be aware of their own fallibilities when it comes to hiring bias, and employers need to be actively engaged in systems that will equalize the talent recruitment process.
For this too, technology is offering new answers. Some companies are using advanced algorithmic recognition technologies to troubleshoot gendered language in job advertisements. Maersk, for example, is a shipping and logistics company that’s partnered with a gaming studio to help hiring managers avoid cognitive bias. The game oversees a simulated recruitment process and alerts users to places where bias might exist.
Similar technological interventions can be applied to talent sourcing. It’s useful to analyze the response to recruitment initiatives, and the technology now exists to make that more than possible. In an analytic exercise, Maersk found that job description language was leading fewer women to apply, indicating that the recruitment protocol in place was not accessing 100% of the available talent pool. With those data-driven insights, the company began again and altered its strategy to appeal to a wider applicant base.
Lastly, continued employee learning is a great way to ensure a satisfactory employee experienceOpens a new window , and technology is making opt-in learning communities more accessible than ever. Free training courses, inclusive workshops, and facilitated mentor relationships enhance both productivity and job satisfaction at any stage of an employee’s career. With endless courses available online, and new capabilities to host workshops from anywhere globally, investing in employee training has never been easier, and it’s a part of maintaining workplace diversity that shouldn’t be neglected.
Preserving Inclusion and Diversity Through COVID-19
If workplace inclusionOpens a new window and diversityOpens a new window can be preserved through the COVID-19 pandemic, the social and economic returns will be unparalleled. Employers must build an intentionally inclusive corporate culture. Remote work offers new possibilities to make the corporate experience more accessible to caregivers, workers with disabilities, and talent across state lines.
Using new advancements in technology to troubleshoot bias in early stages, and to continue to provide training and connection throughout an employee’s career, the post-COVID workplace has the potential to be a more inclusive (and therefore more successful) space than it has been in the past.
Why do you think diversity and inclusion is important to streamline organization culture while working from home? Share your thoughts with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window .