Companies today spend millions of dollars on workplace diversity programs and outreach, often with little to show for it. Research has found that most workplace diversity programs fail to produce meaningful diversity and inclusion, and some have actually increased bias among individual employees. In STEM fields, both the private and public sectors continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. As of 2017, nearly 75% of those in computing and mathematical fields were men and fewer than 15% were black or Hispanic.
5 Things We Learned About Creating a Successful Workplace Diversity Program
Companies today spend millions of dollars on workplace diversity programs and outreach, often with little to show for it. A team at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a large, federally funded research institute, kept this in mind when creating a workplace diversity training program. The program is now a routinely offered, four-part course that covers topics related to power and privilege, gender, and race, and includes a three-hour bystander intervention training. They found it has increased collaboration among participants, helped research labs create more inclusive environments, and made employees more actively engaged in diversity-related issues throughout the organization. After three years of iterating, evaluating, and improving UNEION, they’ve learned five key practices for how to implement a successful workplace diversity program: 1) Focus on intervention, not just bias reduction; 2) Invite non-managers to foster communication across the organization; 3) Keep the focus on workplace issues, not personal ones; 4) Keep the conversation going to stay accountable; and 5) Be flexible, in both content and delivery.