Increasing & Facilitating Access in the Workplace
Leveraging our proprietary framework, the Categories of Inclusion, Aleria measures inclusion at organizations by looking at the unique experiences of exclusion of employees. The data we collect tells a powerful story. This post is part of a series where we touch on each of the Categories of Inclusion, sharing the trends we see in the data and how to enact change.
The word access comes up often in diversity, equity and inclusion. It relates to a variety of different aspects of this work and it is a key element of one of our nine Categories of Inclusion, Access & Participation.
As the name of the category suggests, accessibility considerations that support and prioritize disability inclusion are a crucial part of this category. Importantly, accessibility considerations should be included in both physical and virtual spaces
By increasing accessibility for all, employers can ensure that every individual is able to show up and do their best work in the way that is right for them. More than that, greater accessibility is beneficial to the entire organization: research shows that companies that prioritize disability inclusion see a positive impact on their bottom line. Specifically, an Accenture report found that these companies have 28% higher revenue & double the net income.
In addition to issues related to accessibility and disability inclusion, the Access & Participation category includes situations in which an individual is unable to gain access to something such as a person, a resource, or an activity. The reasons might include physical inability to access due to geographical location or other physical constraints, or to policy and procedural barriers. An example of this is ensuring that employees have access to their managers and leadership. This access is crucial to support their growth and visibility within an organization. However, according to to one study, only 35% of employees meet with their manager at least once a month. 12% never do.
When looking at our collective dataset of experiences of exclusion, 41% of employees from all our client organizations shared at least one experience tied to Access & Participation. Additionally, nearly 1 in 4 experiences of exclusion were linked to Access & Participation.
Some of the related experiences of exclusion that were shared include:
- Not being able to attend a training or event due to lack of accessibility considerations
- Not having access to the same resources when working from satellite or remote locations
- Certain age groups purposely not being invited to formal networking and other professional gatherings
- Off-sites and other social events heavily skewed towards one group while others are discouraged from attending (i.e. “a golf day for the guys”)
- Lack of an onboarding experience that helps new hire integrate into the organization and become comfortable
In our work we also ask participants to indicate which of various “sources” led to an experience of exclusion within each category. As shown in the accompanying figure, with regards to Access & Participation, Leadership is cited most often, being listed as a source of the experience of exclusion on 64% of shared experiences. Peers is in second place at 48%, and Direct Manager is in third place at 41%. As we have seen consistently in our work, experiences of exclusion are attributed to people, not to policies or HR practices.
Based on the feedback collected from participants, as well as numerous other sources, we can offer several tips to support anyone in driving greater inclusion in this category.
Prioritize accessibility in both physical and virtual spaces
Accessibility is crucial to making everyone feel included, and there are a number of ways we can ensure that physical and virtual spaces are set up so that anyone is able to participate if they would like to. In the virtual world, a staggering number of websites and digital offerings fail to meet even basic accessibility requirements, such as providing “alt text” descriptions for images, using large fonts, and checking that the contrast for all text elements meet WCAG standards. There are a number of great tools to help you, ranging from simple do-it-yourself WCAG contrast checkers, to companies such as Stark that can provided an integrated set of tools. You can also easily find extensive checklists such as those provided by HackerNoon and Kickflip.
If you are holding an event in a physical space or if your work requires presence in a physical office, at a minimum you should ensure the space is wheelchair accessible, you should consider how lighting and sound are used, and you should provide comfortable spaces and furniture to accommodate individuals with different needs.
Create inclusive events
If you are organizing an event — whether virtual, in-person or hybrid — be sure to be mindful of people with different needs. For in-person events, as we mentioned for physical offices, you should always ensure wheelchair accessibility, adequate sound and lighting, and dedicated spaces for those with low vision, low hearing or impaired mobility.
For example, consider having real-time captioning and sign language translation. For virtual events, the videoconferencing platform Zoom recently entered into an agreement with speech-to-text company Otter to provide native captioning. Also, Microsoft PowerPoint offers real-time subtitles, which you can enable through the Slide Show settings.
You should consider these issues from the earliest stages of event planning, and you should make it known to your audience: individuals with disabilities are likely to assume that your event will not be accessible unless you specifically indicate otherwise, which will discourage participation. Hence, by planning ahead you are much more likely to have greater inclusion and broader representation at your events.
Be careful of proximity bias
Our research has revealed that problems with lack of access are not limited to individuals with disabilities: research has shown that employees that are physically closer to their managers and leaders tend to get promoted at a higher rate and have greater access to perks and other opportunities. Also known as proximity bias, this issue is exacerbated in remote and hybrid work settings where teams are distributed.
Those who choose to come to the office could unfairly benefit while those who would prefer to work from home due to caregiving or other responsibilities could see their career opportunities decrease. Evaluate how proximity bias might show up in the way opportunities are advertised, decisions are made, mentoring opportunities are offered, and more.
Prioritize inclusion of all identities during meetings and events
Formal and informal social gatherings of colleagues often come up as a time where folks feel excluded for a range of reasons tied to other aspects of identity, such as religious beliefs and dietary requirements. These problems can be easily avoided by being more intentional and thoughtful. For example, when organizing meetings and events that include food, be sure to provide non-alcoholic beverages and consider a range of dietary needs. Solicit feedback from or invite folks from underrepresented groups to be part of the process of event planning if they’re interested. Even if they don’t want to help plan, their feedback can be helpful in identifying what you may not be thinking about.
Finally, make sure you’re aware of certain groups of people getting together often in a way that excludes others. One typical example is a golf game or other outing just for “the guys”.
Enabling and facilitating access for everyone in your organization is crucial to supporting an inclusive environment. Each individual should feel like they can access the people, places and resources they need to perform at their peak in the way that is best for them. Ensuring that physical and virtual spaces give access to all will create a more positive experience for everyone and will have a positive impact on the company’s performance overall.
Wondering where your team members may be looking for more access? Get in touch to learn about Aleria’s Inclusion Assessments.
