Workplace diversity and inclusion are important issues these days. If a commitment to diversity is something you value in a company, you probably want to look for one that demonstrates these values when you’re looking for a job.
Most companies claim to value diversity, but how can you tell if these claims are true, rather than just lip service and virtue signaling? Let’s take a look at some ways to tell. But first…
What is workplace diversity?
An organization with a diverse workforce employs people from a range of backgrounds and characteristics. These may include but aren’t limited to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, and socioeconomic status. In a diverse workplace, you’ll see a range of different types of people.
Why does workplace diversity matter?
Diversity matters for various reasons, one obvious one being that the world is populated with different types of people who are all better off when we’re well represented.
Another reason is that workplace diversity is good for business. Research by the Wall Street Journal found that the 20 most diverse S&P 500 companies performed better financially over five- and ten-year periods than non-diverse firms. The most diverse companies in the study had an average operating profit margin of 12%, compared with an eight per cent average profit margin for the least diverse companies.
Among the top companies was Proctor & Gamble. David Taylor, P&G’s CEO, president and chairman, is quoted as saying, "A diverse team supported by an inclusive environment that values each individual will outperform a homogenous team every time," Taylor told WSJ he believes the diversity of the company’s teams contributed to its strong financial results.
Another study by the Boston Consulting Group found that “increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance.”
The research found that “in both developing and developed economies, companies with above-average diversity on their leadership teams report a greater payoff from innovation.” They also saw higher margins. It was also found that companies can start generating gains with relatively small changes in the makeup of their senior teams.
More research discovered that:
- Companies reporting the highest levels of racial diversity in their organizations earn nearly 15 times more sales revenue than those with the lowest levels of racial diversity.
- More diverse teams are more engaged, innovative, and creative in their work.
- Companies that employ higher numbers of women earn higher profits.
Not all companies are created equal
Despite the numbers showing the benefits of a diverse workplace, hiring bias is a real thing in Canada and around the world. A 2019 study at Northwestern University found that Canada has ranked fourth on a list of nine countries studied for the level of discrimination shown during the hiring process. And a 2017 study from the Munk School of Global Affairs found that job applicants with Asian names were significantly disadvantaged during the hiring process.
Even if an employer presents well at first glance, they might not be as diverse as they think they are or claim to be.
A Canadian organization might employ many people from a range of ethnic backgrounds, but dig deeper, and you learn that they all have Canadian experience and Canadian education. How many newcomers are working there? And, before people start patting themselves on the back, how many working there – and not on the leadership team - are over the age of 50?
Ageism is, in fact, one of the most common forms of employment discrimination. Research published in 2017 using more than 40,000 fake applications found that job candidates between the ages of 29 and 31 were 35% more likely to receive a callback from an employer than those aged 64 to 66, even when they had similar skills and qualifications.
Regarding newcomers in Canada, a study found that applicants with English-sounding names, Canadian education, and Canadian experience were 2.6 times more likely to receive a callback than applicants with foreign-sounding names from China, India, or Pakistan, and foreign experience and education!
Moreover, how many LGBTQ people work in an organization? Or people who don’t have a university degree? Like ageism, university degrees are a good example of an insidious hiring bias. They are expensive and only available to certain segments of the population. They are also often listed as requirements for jobs in which they’re not actually necessary. An increasing number of people are “skilled through alternative routes" (STARs),” and more well known, innovative companies are starting to realize this. Like Google, Apple, and Hilton, all of which no longer require employees to have university degrees.
Now, how to tell if an organization is truly committed to diversity? Here are a few ways:
Look at the company website
What do the employees look like? Are there pictures on the website? Are many groups of different types represented (those that are visible to the naked eye, anyhow)? Do they state a commitment to diversity on their website?
You might also be able to learn something from corporate social responsibility initiatives and the type of charities or causes the company is committed to.
Check out the leadership team
Who is in charge, and what can you tell about them? Are they all of one gender, age group, or ethnicity? Or are different groups represented? If a company claims to be diverse but the entire leadership team represents only one group, that says something different.
Scroll through social media
What do their social media pages look like, including the customer branding and employer branding pages? If there were no employee pictures or videos on the company website, you might find them on social media instead. Look at LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok. What does it look like? Is there a diverse group of employees?
And what can you read from their posts? Do they wish their followers a Merry Christmas and Happy Easter but say nothing about Hanukkah, Passover, Eid, or Diwali? Do they celebrate different types of families? What do their pages tell you?
Read online reviews
You can find reviews of workplaces online by employees past and present. See what they say about the workplace. In this case, you’re probably looking for negatives rather than positives. People might not go out of their way to state in a review that an employer creates an inclusive and diverse environment, but they will go out of their way to complain about an employer who doesn’t create a welcoming environment and is not diverse. Look for red flags about discrimination or a lack of inclusion.
Ask questions in the interview
If you make it to the interview stage, ask about their diversity and inclusion policies. Do they have a mandate around diversity? What are the goals, and what is the plan to reach these goals?
A workplace might not appear to be diverse at first glance but might be aiming to improve this going forward. It’s not enough to have a goal, however. You also have to have a plan for achieving it. For example, a company might be aiming to increase the representation of women and minorities on the leadership team to 50% in four years. That’s great, but it requires that either a certain percent of the team leaves or that the team expands in size, and often these things don’t actually happen. Talk is one thing. Taking action is another. Some sample questions you might ask in the interview regarding diversity include:
Do you have diversity and inclusion policies, and what are they?
Are there groups that are underrepresented in your workplace?
If you plan to improve your workplace diversity and inclusion, can you tell me about the steps you plan to take to do this?
What are your company’s values, and are diversity and inclusion among them?
What programs are in place to promote inclusion and diversity?
If none, do you plan to implement some?
Do you have corporate social responsibility initiatives, and what are these?
Can you describe what a successful team looks like to you?
It’s also important to note if the interview is a panel. If so, who is on it?
Be your authentic self
Canadian federal and provincial human rights laws prohibit employers from asking candidates about their age, sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, family status, race, colour, religion, and mental, or physical disability, according to SHRM. But that doesn’t mean you should hide who you are. We read a lot about how one should present oneself in the job interview, and sometimes it’s suggested that we hide some things about ourselves, like tattoos, or that we dress to fit in. It’s fine to take this advice to a degree, but you also want to present your authentic self in the interview.
This may mean presenting openly as a member of an underrepresented group or voicing your commitment to and interest in diversity and inclusion. After all, if this is important to you, that’s part of who you are as a person and as a potential employee.
If the interviewer is prepared to talk about diversity and has thoughtful answers around goals and strategies, this is probably something that matters to them because they have put some thought into it. If they aren’t prepared, they haven’t thought about it, and it probably doesn’t matter as much.
These strategies should help you find a company that values diversity and that works for you.
