If you were to ask organizational leaders whether their company prioritizes providing a safe and inclusive space for employees, the majority would likely respond with a resounding yes. A recent survey by Indeed found that 77% of employers believe diversity and inclusion are crucial for organizational performance. However, an increasing number of employees report not feeling a sense of belonging in their workplaces. According to a study by EY, 75% of respondents have felt excluded at work, and 56% feel either unable or reluctant to share dimensions of their identity in the workplace.

While organizations generally express a strong commitment to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace, these intentions often fail to translate into meaningful action. To bridge this gap, we offer three key strategies to help organizations cultivate a truly safe and inclusive culture.

1. Align DEI Initiatives with Organizational Strategy

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives must be closely aligned with the organization’s overarching strategy. Recent rollbacks of DEI programs in many companies suggest that these efforts are often perceived as supplementary rather than integral to the core mission and strategy of the business. To create a truly inclusive culture, organizations need to embed DEI into their strategic framework. Additionally, managers’ performance should be evaluated based on their contribution to fostering safety and inclusivity within their teams.

For example, when Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, one of his key initiatives was to make diversity and psychological safety a part of the performance metrics for managers. This kind of accountability drives real change. Research shows a strong link between diversity and improved organizational performance. A study by Forbes reveals that inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time, and they reach those decisions twice as fast with half the number of meetings. Similarly, Boston Consulting Group found that companies with diverse management teams report 19% higher revenues and nine percentage points higher EBIT margins, largely driven by innovation.

2. Measure the impact of the DEI Initiatives

While the link between diversity and organizational success is well-documented, companies and managers are unlikely to implement DEI strategies unless they can see a clear, tangible impact in their own organizations. In for-profit organizations, initiatives with no measurable ROI are often the first to be cut during times of financial constraints or crisis. This is where HR analytics can play a pivotal role.

The growing popularity of HR analytics means that many organizations now have dedicated teams responsible for measuring the impact of DEI initiatives. Google, for instance, has used HR analytics extensively in projects like Project Oxygen, which identified key qualities of effective managers, and Project Aristotle, which discovered that psychological safety is the most important characteristic of high-performing teams.

Although many of these insights may not be groundbreaking, having long been established in academic research, the value lies in their application within the organization itself. When these findings emerge from studying the company’s own managers and employees, they resonate more deeply, making managers and employees more likely to embrace and implement them. Therefore, it is crucial for HR teams to quantify and demonstrate the impact of DEI initiatives within their specific organizational context.

3. Manage Unconscious Cognitive Biases

To create truly safe, diverse, and inclusive spaces, organizations must actively manage unconscious cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are the mental shortcuts our brains use to process information and make decisions more efficiently. While these biases can help us make decisions quickly, they often lead to errors in judgment, particularly in the context of DEI. Biases such as stereotyping, confirmation bias, and affinity bias can significantly impact critical HR processes like recruitment and performance management.

A recent study published in The Leadership Quarterly highlights the profound impact of cognitive biases on diversity and inclusion efforts. In an experiment where researchers varied the names on resumes and submitted over 12,000 job applications to 4,000 job advertisements, they found that ethnic minorities received 57.4% fewer positive responses for leadership positions despite having identical resumes to applicants with English-sounding names. This and other studies underscore how biases contribute to unequal workplace opportunities.

While DEI and bias-awareness training programs are beneficial in raising awareness, organizations must also implement concrete processes to mitigate biases. Simple but effective practices can make a big difference, such as:

• Masking demographic details in resumes
• Using a panel of interviewers instead of relying on a single interviewer
• Establishing clear and objective performance goals for employees
• Increasing pay transparency

These strategies not only help reduce bias but also foster a culture of safety, diversity, and inclusion.

Building a safe and inclusive workplace is not just about having the right intentions—it is about integrating diversity and inclusion into the fabric of organizational strategy, measuring their impact, and actively addressing unconscious biases. By aligning DEI initiatives with company goals, using data to track progress, and implementing practical measures to combat bias, organizations can create environments where all employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to contribute their best work.

Authors’ Bios

	Dr. (Prof.) Balaji Subramanian is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.
	Lavanya G is a Junior Faculty at the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.

 
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