The Benefits Of Connecting Your Diversity & Inclusion And Harassment Training
A healthy workplace culture training approach
Posted on 08-03-2020, Read Time: Min
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Flat. Matrixed. Divisional. Functional. Most companies intentionally select an organizational structure that maximizes the collaboration, engagement, and effectiveness of teams and individuals. When it comes to harassment and discrimination (H&D) prevention and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, structures and programs are often not as deliberately aligned to drive positive outcomes. We often see distinct silos between the team responsible for DEI trainings and the team that is responsible for anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training.
Unfortunately, if you don’t have a cohesive approach to DEI and H&D, you are doing a disservice to both. Focusing your company’s efforts on just one area without the other, or failing to coordinate the two, can increase your risks of harassment and discrimination and undermine your efforts to create a healthy and inclusive workplace.
Diversity is a critical element of harassment prevention work. The EEOC has found that having a workforce that is homogenous, or where only a few employees from underrepresented groups are present, is one of the top risk factors for harassment. There are several reasons for this according to the EEOC:
EEOC Risk Factors of a Homogenous Workforce
- Employees in the majority may feel uncomfortable around those they view as “different.”
- Differences in language, customs, dress, communication styles, and other behavioral patterns may cause employees in the majority to avoid, or actively exclude, the “others” to avoid awkward situations.
- Dominant-group employees may feel threatened that employees of different backgrounds will cause the work environment to change.
These actions and beliefs, if left unchecked, increase instances of harassing and discriminatory behavior.
Unfortunately, having a diverse workforce with low levels of inclusion can exacerbate the tension, isolation, and power dynamics that can lead to harassment and discrimination.
Inclusion is a critical piece of a healthy workplace culture. One of the most important components of inclusion is encouraging behaviors that mitigate bias. These positive behaviors help address microaggressions that can escalate into harassment and discrimination and undermine efforts to foster inclusion.
It works both ways. Just as ineffective DEI practices can lead to harassment and discrimination, harassing and discriminatory behaviors will undermine an organization’s DEI efforts. If addressing microaggressions or identity-based hostile treatment is not properly prioritized, employees will feel unsafe and unwelcome at work.
This leads to a dangerous cycle: lower productivity, engagement, employee net promoter scores and company loyalty within the organization will increase attrition and, likely, negative employee reviews on social media; these reviews and a damaged employer brand, in turn, serve to further undermine DEI recruitment efforts, leading to a decreasingly diverse workforce which then increases the likelihood of workplace harassment.
Unfortunately, having a diverse workforce with low levels of inclusion can exacerbate the tension, isolation, and power dynamics that can lead to harassment and discrimination.
Inclusion is a critical piece of a healthy workplace culture. One of the most important components of inclusion is encouraging behaviors that mitigate bias. These positive behaviors help address microaggressions that can escalate into harassment and discrimination and undermine efforts to foster inclusion.
It works both ways. Just as ineffective DEI practices can lead to harassment and discrimination, harassing and discriminatory behaviors will undermine an organization’s DEI efforts. If addressing microaggressions or identity-based hostile treatment is not properly prioritized, employees will feel unsafe and unwelcome at work.
This leads to a dangerous cycle: lower productivity, engagement, employee net promoter scores and company loyalty within the organization will increase attrition and, likely, negative employee reviews on social media; these reviews and a damaged employer brand, in turn, serve to further undermine DEI recruitment efforts, leading to a decreasingly diverse workforce which then increases the likelihood of workplace harassment.
What is the Impact of Siloed Training Approach?
DEI and H&D are mutually reinforcing efforts. And unless you take a proactive, comprehensive approach to both, the vicious cycle will continue.
Author Bios
| Jesse Bridges serves as the Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at EVERFI. As EVERFI’s lead subject matter expert on DEI, Jesse represents the organization’s thought leadership across the corporate, higher education, and K12 networks and serves as part of the executive team to enhance DEI within the organization. Jesse joined EVERFI after serving as the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Education Advisory Board (EAB). Prior to her time at EAB, she served in various campus practitioner roles focused on access and equity issues, most recently as the Associate Dean of Students at Purdue University. Visit https://everfi.com/ Connect Jesse Bridges |
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| Elizabeth Owens Bille, JD, SHRM-SCP, is an employment law attorney and currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Workplace Culture at EVERFI. Elizabeth was the General Counsel of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); she also served as SHRM’s corporate secretary and chief ethics officer. She was a legal and policy advisor to the Vice Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); in this capacity, she provided advice to the EEOC regarding the federal laws prohibiting harassment and discrimination in the workplace and contributed to the development of EEOC regulations and enforcement guidance Connect Elizabeth Owens Bille Follow @EVERFI |
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