Community Futures West Yellowhead supports and promotes a diverse and inclusive workplace. Do you?
There's often some confusion between diversity and inclusion. These terms are used interchangeably, but their meaning is quite different.
Diversity
A diverse workplace means that the workforce is made up of employees of different races, genders, abilities, backgrounds, etc. and is representative of the population, as a whole, where the business operates.
For example, Anywhere's population is made up of 100 people - 40 men and 60 women. The age range of these individuals is 30% under 35 years of age; 40% between 36 and 60 years of age; and 30% are 61 years of age and older.
The goal of the employer is to reflect the diversity of its population in its workforce. In a perfect world, the employer's workforce would have 40% men, 60% women, 30% would be under 35 years of age, etc.
A diverse workplace is not always easily achieved hence the development of tailored programs and incentives to recruit and retain given workforce demographics.
Inclusion
An inclusive workplace refers to a work environment where all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully and have equal access to opportunities and resources, regardless of race, gender, physical or mental disabilities, etc.
Fully inclusive workplaces often have employee assistance programs, required access and specialized equipment (i.e. ramps, DragonSpeak, ergonomic furniture), break rooms for nursing mothers, quiet rooms for decompression, gender neutral bathrooms, etc.
Here's an example of an inclusive workplace that was unintentionally excluding individuals. The employer provided 6-days a year of special leave which was to be used specifically for bereavement, marriage, adoption, medical appointments for the employee and their children, or the ability to remain at home if an employee's child required care (i.e. illness, daycare closed, etc.).
The special leave restrictions were perceived by many employees as favouring persons with children. They did not consider that some people had elderly parents or cherished pets that also had medical appointments and might also require care.
The language was amended to allow employees' more flexibility in using this leave to best meet their individual needs.
Practice Makes Perfect
As a member of the business community, let's encourage other workplaces to embrace diverse and inclusive practices.
What are some examples of inclusive and diverse practices you've encountered? Email us at
