What’s the E in ID&E?
Understanding the differences between Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
by Alyxandra Smith, Organizational Effectiveness Consultant
In the wake of what can only be described as the social and political chaos that is 2020, establishing a robust and impactful Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) strategy is more important than ever. More companies are seeing the value and taking steps to establish an IDE strategy at their organization. However, some of these organizations may regularly make statements around IDE and form committees, without fully understanding what the three different terms mean. “IDE” (or any of the other variations such as DEI, EDI, or DIE) is a concept that can be misunderstood, and the words are often used interchangeably. To have an impact and create a meaningful strategy, it is crucial to understand what each component of IDE means and what actions companies can take to create an authentic IDE strategy.
What is the difference between Inclusion and Diversity?
Inclusion
When discussing diversity and inclusion, you may often hear the quote, “Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” Keeping this in mind, inclusion is the act of creating environments for different identities to feel that they are not only being welcomed to participate in an organization but more importantly that they are being valued, leveraged, and respected there. Your company not only wants you to be there, they want you to feel that you belong there. Inclusion is not a natural consequence of diversity nor does having a diverse team of talent equate to an inclusive workspace. There may be an extremely diverse workforce yet if those underrepresented minority groups (URM) do not feel welcomed nor have support to grow and be valued, diversity falls flat. Inclusion starts with leadership, where leaders need to create a safe environment where all employees can speak up and be heard authentically. This unleashes potential talent and expertise between employees, fostering collaboration and psychological safety to create a foundation for inclusion to thrive in the workplace. An organization must actively change their environment through actions like this rather than depend solely on headcount to create a culture of inclusion.
Diversity
When there are differences within a given setting, that can be defined as diversity. However, when we think of diversity in an organization we think of diversity as a representation of varied identities like race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability, and neurodiversity. When using the term “diverse” and “diversity” it is important to note that a team can be diverse and therefore contribute to a diverse organization but that should not be conflated with the idea that a person is diverse. In order to have more substantive and accurate strategies around diversity of identities, organizations should not use diversity as a euphemism for URMs collectively and instead be more specific and accurate in the goals of the organization. Does your organization want to promote more black women into leadership? If so, openly discuss it rather than tiptoeing around the subject. By making this distinction, an organization can avoid the pitfalls of using the word “diverse” as code for people who aren’t considered part of historically dominant or privileged groups. This is one way to really begin a clear and impactful IDE strategy.
What is Equity and why is it important now?
Equity has always been a part of inclusion and diversity work, but it has gained critical focus in recent years. It can be defined as an approach that provides everyone, regardless of their ethnic background, country of origin, age, physical ability/disability, gender, etc., the same access to the same opportunities. As organizations continue to diversify their workforce, people will require support in different ways. Incorporating equity in an inclusion and diversity strategy makes an organization acknowledge that its workforce has different needs, experiences, and opportunities. In recognizing these different needs, an organization also acknowledges the advantages and barriers that exist as a result of these differences. A person may not have been allotted the same fiscal and social resources to begin their careers as others in their company due to their race, gender, socio-economic background, or any other combination of identifiers. Equity acknowledges this and makes a commitment to correct and address the imbalance.
An example of an equity program that may mitigate these barriers would be a mentoring and sponsorship program that provides resources, training, and connections that will help promote URMs into C-suite positions. If you think back to the dance analogy, equity is providing everyone with sufficient transportation options to get to the dance from wherever they’ve been. In the mentoring example, URMs may not have access to the same connections or resources as their white counterparts and therefore hindering their advancement through their organization. Equity addresses this and tries to eliminate those hurdles.
Equality and equity are often used interchangeably although they have two very distinct definitions. The image below demonstrates an example of what equality looks like, what equity looks like, and what a society or organization can look like once equity is put in place to remove barriers.
It’s important to understand these distinctions if systemic barriers are to be erased. By acknowledging barriers and inequities and incorporating equity in its inclusion and diversity strategy, organizations will provide a variety of support to a variety of people.
What steps can an organization take to present an authentic IDE program?
The biggest step an organization can take in presenting an authentic IDE program is by working together to determine an agreed upon definition for inclusion, diversity, and equity. Once your organization has an understanding of the differences, it can help focus the scope of strategy. When thinking through your IDE strategy, ask yourself:
1. What is the organization’s common understanding of inclusion, diversity, and equity?
2. Is my organization tackling these three subjects?
3. Are the terms being conflated as one issue or are they being addressed individually?
4. Where does my organization have gaps in their IDE strategy? Where are we excelling?
5. What can we do to close these gaps?
6. What targets are we setting and holding ourselves accountable to?
7. Are we continuously monitoring our IDE strategy to ensure no groups are marginalized?
If organizations can work to promote the understanding of these different terms, they can move from just having conversations around IDE and instead take concrete actions on how to drive it throughout the culture.
Want to learn more?
Learn more about inclusion and diversity at Slalom. Or reach out to Slalom Orange County Business Advisory Services at slalomocbas@slalom.com.
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