Why is Diversity Important in the Workplace?

In order to have a truly productive and positive workforce, you must promote and support diversity in the workplace. A good diversity and inclusion policy will ensure that people feel valued as individuals at work. Businesses should see diversity and inclusion as essential in order for all employees to feel positive about work and have the facilities to achieve their full potential. Employers should not only ensure that their workplace is diverse but also inclusive in order to stop any discrimination.

Diversity and Inclusion 

Diversity promotes acceptance amongst people of different backgrounds and identities and acknowledges the benefit of having a range of perspectives in the workforce. An inclusion policy should focus on making everybody in the workforce feel valued and ensure they are given the right support to complete their role regardless of their background or identity. It should support and encourage a diverse range of people working together effectively.

Legal Requirements

Having an inclusive environment will ensure your employees feel empowered in their role. In the UK there is a minimum standard covering age, disability, race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. These laws promote equal opportunities for all, allowing everyone to reach their full potential at work. Despite the efforts to remove bias through UK law, inequality is still wide spread. Businesses should aim to go above and beyond the legal compliance to obtain a truly inclusive environment. A good strategy will add value to your business contributing to employee wellbeing, productivity and engagement. 

Benefits of Diversity

Diversity is all about creating a team of people whose differences make the team stronger. Diversity equals creativity and having people from different backgrounds means there is more opportunity for ideas. Individuals of different backgrounds can offer a range of ideas based on their own needs and experiences which can develop and improve business practices and therefore helps your business stay innovative and drive the company forward. Encouraging diversity will construct a workforce complete with different abilities and skill sets in turn leading to higher productivity and new ways of thinking.

Diversity should be celebrated in the workplace, a diverse workforce can lead to some great creative and innovative ideas and make your business a more exciting place to work. Embracing diversity can help you hire the best types of people and Inclusion will help you retain these people. A good strategy will not only impact your employees positively but also your clients and customers and therefore should be a large part of any business policy.