Why Is Diversity Important in the Workplace?

Diversity is essential in the workplace because it improves employee morale and satisfaction, boosts innovation and productivity, and improves a company’s brand and global reputation. But it’s not something that needs to be policed by management or HR; diversity is everyone’s social responsibility. To ensure cultural safety in the workplace, every person must work together to accept, understand, and collaborate despite individual differences. One way to lay the foundation for this is through online cultural awareness training in Australia, such as Evolve Communities’ renowned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency course.

What Is Workplace Diversity?

Workplace diversity refers to the coexistence and collaboration of employees with different identities, including age, religion, race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, languages, education, and so on. A diverse workplace fosters an environment of openness, acceptance, and inclusion, and provides equal opportunities to all its employees; it’s free from discrimination, bullying, and harassment.

Why Does Diversity Matter in the Workplace?

Diversity is important in the workplace because it allows all kinds of individuals to openly and efficiently contribute to a working environment, bringing different perspectives to the table. Employers must encourage respect for diversity in the workplace to create an environment where people can work productively.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity is advantageous to companies both internally and externally. Here are some benefits that diverse workplaces enjoy:

Diverse Perspectives

Workplace diversity welcomes various perspectives from people with different upbringings, environments, and situations. These come through as creative ideas and innovative concepts that develop into better products and services. With more people with diverse voices on the team, can also connect to more people and have a better understanding of a wider market, enabling them to scale even more efficiently.

Improved Company Culture

When a workplace is diverse, the company culture is founded on mutual acceptance and respect, allowing employees to coexist and collaborate with ease. This, in turn, translates to better productivity and increased employee engagement, which does wonders for a company’s revenue. And with improved employee engagement, talent is more likely to stay, effectively reducing turnover.

Positive Reputation

Diverse workplaces tend to have a more positive reputation. As a brand, they’re perceived as more inclusive and relatable; as a partner, they’re seen as more trustworthy; and as an employer, they’re considered better bosses.

Less Conflict

Conflict in workplaces often arises from differences and biases, but when a company fosters diversity, problems occur less frequently because people are predisposed to be more understanding of the variety of perspectives present. If any issues do occur, they’re solved more efficiently and quickly, since the myriad of ideas makes way for more creative resolutions.

Increased Revenue

A diverse company will have more happy employees that are inspired, engaged, and confident, and this encourages them to enjoy their work even more which, in turn, increases revenue. Statistics that companies that foster diversity see up to 35% more in returns versus businesses that don’t focus on inclusion.

How to Achieve Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity takes time to achieve since it involves breaking down old systems and cultivating a new environment. It takes even more work to maintain, but it’s not at all impossible and, with the right tools, managers and employers can easily turn their workplaces into more inclusive ones. Here are some tips to get started:

Review Company Guidelines

Take a look at your current company handbooks and code of conduct and review your existing guidelines. Do they help in cultivating a diverse workplace? If not, it’s time to make revisions. In particular, pay attention to sections on company culture, hiring practices, and conflict resolution.

Provide Cultural Sensitivity Training

Cultural sensitivity training, such as Evolve Communities’ renowned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency course, are great avenues to build a foundation of diversity. These programs equip people with what they need to understand the concept and practice it, helping them fully embody diversity in their actions and perspectives.

Cultivate an Open Environment

Build your company culture on openness. Strive to ensure that no one feels undervalued, silenced, or ignored. Make channels accessible, and encourage everyone to contribute openly to discussions.

Start Building Workplace Diversity With Evolve Communities

Evolve Communities is dedicated to fostering diversity in all environments—big or small. Their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency course has helped multiple companies cultivate more diverse workplaces with happier, more confident, and more productive employees. Help your teams build deeper cultural competency today!