By Dr. Anthony Robins
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Robert Morris University
The war against COVID-19 has had unprecedented impact on every part of our lives. From our daily temperature checks, physically distancing, wearing of masks, employing good hand washing hygiene practices to our rethinking how we do business (to include Zoom conference calls), we feel the bullish touch of the virus. What is often missed during these precarious times is the impact COVID-19 has had on diversity and inclusion initiatives. To what extent of that impact, we cannot be certain.
This ubiquitous virus has become the herald event that now fully exposes the deep and chronic wound to US companies: the lack of diversity and inclusion. This observation is rooted in the recalcitrant reality of the deeply entrenched history of inequities and may settle as the most painful example yet of the regressive tax on underrepresented minorities. We must address a scourge even worse than COVID-19: inequity. It is time to end the refrain. Diversity and Inclusion are the bellwethers.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for diversity and inclusion initiatives and programs or Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers. We would bring together and harness diverse forces and resources in a way that was beneficial. We would put the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect and connection where the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives were harnessed to create business value and overall success. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, but rather one that has been tainted by outdated laws, traditions, social norms and prejudices that have created inequitable situations and hostile environments, robbing many of opportunities to excel or thrive.
It is our ethical responsibility to change our way of business. We must define diversity broadly to include all that makes us unique, but not limited to legally protected groups, but also the diversity of thought rooted in our race, gender and ethnicity. Only then will we realize the performance advantages that diversity offers. Diversity and inclusion must be the cornerstones of our talent management strategy and our business processes.
Intolerance to diversity breeds disastrous and costly results. We must understand that Diversity and Inclusion enhance performance and productivity; they are business, economic, and social imperatives. However, we must first guarantee equity in the workplace before diversity and inclusion can thrive. We must understand that inclusion is the process of valuing all individuals and leveraging their diverse talent, not in spite of their differences, but because of them. It is our conscious effort to involve all human resources in the fabric and mission of companies as a critical value add.
One might ask how do we do this work? There is no toolkit available. Leaders are pressed to make quick decisions based on daily changing federal and state guidelines. There are lots of moving parts without any precedent to draw upon. The evidence supports that diverse and inclusive teams produce better solutions, more creative ideas, fresh perspectives and lead to better outcomes. When making business decisions in our current climate, we must evaluate if decisions made exclude certain individuals and why. Leaders must access the real and actual capabilities needed. Further, they must decide who to be brought into the decision process.
During this COVID-19 crisis, organizations cannot afford to take diversity and inclusion off the table as strategic imperatives to combat related challenges. Diversity and inclusion are key essentials for businesses who value innovation and divergent thinking. How leaders act today, more how they commit, will have profound impact on their companies’ successes. Their actions will influence their ability to attract and retain diverse talent. This will impact growth strategies which they will most definitely need on the other side of COVID-19. There is an alarm at the door for leaders to foster diversity and inclusion. COVID-19 is not our only challenge. It’s how we make decisions about how to combat it that is critical. Those leaders who include more diverse employees in business decisions, at all levels, will stand a better chance of weathering the storm and coming out safely on the other side.