5 trends in equity, diversity and inclusion for 2022
By URelles
December 7, 2022
Diversity, equity and inclusion – DEI – have become a fundamental value and success factor for organizations. Over the past year, we’ve seen the emergence of many considerations – both internal and external, cultural and socio-political – that will weigh heavily on DEI trends in 2022. We interviewed five experts to find out what organizations should expect. Here are 5 of the most pressing equity, diversity and inclusion trends we see coming in 2022.
Diversity and inclusion will be an essential part of tomorrow’s skills profile. Why? Because the market demands it. Because the market demands it. Think of the tech world’s transition from Waterfall to Agile: a better way of innovating, making decisions, satisfying customers, creating synergy between teams and valuing everyone’s work…an organizational approach! That’s exactly what “doing” diversity and inclusion is all about. Now, who will have a front-row seat at this turning point? You already know: senior executives, human resources and managers! Employees are at the heart of every business (as the labor shortage clearly shows), so developing a competency profile focused on diversity and inclusion is essential if we are to be ready for tomorrow’s world.
As of March 2020, yesterday’s reality no longer exists. Technological shifts that were slow to emerge have suddenly become a priority. The talent pool that used to be limited by physical borders now depends solely on an internet connection. New generations entering the workforce are demanding a social conscience from their employers. These changes, and many others, call for a new way of doing business. Equipping yourself with in-depth knowledge of diversity and inclusion will be the key to success for companies that excel.
Strangely enough, pandemic working conditions have had their benefits. It’s not what it seems at first glance, but neurodivergent people have often discovered a wonderful world where working according to one’s energy level, preferred mode of communication and work-life balance is finally possible.
This is no small feat: almost 20% of the population is neurodivergent.
With so many people working in the security of their own homes, the masks have come off, and so has neurotypical and social desirability. Many neurodivergent people have been granted the right to be themselves, to work in suddenly much more flexible conditions without bearing the responsibility of asking for an adaptive measure or the weight of prejudice. Cutting ourselves off from society felt good.
For many neurodivergent people, going back is unthinkable. And that’s just as well.
The next step is to go even further down the road to neuroinclusion. The masks have come off: we now need to temper friction, encourage communication and value differences. In short, it’s all the more important to learn to welcome others and allow them to flourish. The aim is to keep moving forward – together.
Moving from diversity to equity, diversity and inclusion
In recent times, it has become clear that a focus on diversity – i.e. increased representation of people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences – is only part of the equation. A great deal of effort has been and continues to be put into diversity, but the more initiatives emerge, the clearer the realization becomes: you can’t have fully inclusive organizations if you only focus on representativeness.
Inclusion, which means making room for and amplifying the voices of everyone in the workplace on an equal footing, is a concept that will be at the heart of organizations’ concerns in the years to come. The idea is that companies should not just focus on the number of individuals, but rather on whether workers feel they can be themselves and be part of the group.
Some organizations are also beginning to incorporate the notion of equity as part of their DEI strategy. We can move towards greater equity when we look at our internal policies, processes and rules and ask ourselves how they are inclusive or perhaps partially exclusive. Examples include talent development, benefits, the recruitment process and so on. The focus on equity in the workplace will be all the more important as companies are called upon to demonstrate greater transparency with regard to their remuneration, board composition, promotions, and so on.
, founder and CEO of Bindia Savaria Consulting and JEDI KIDS
Inclusion: How can we prepare the next generation?
With the wind of change brought about by the social justice movements, many DEI initiatives and programs have been created and implemented in the past year. However, this focus on the workplace omits an essential aspect of the individual journey: the home environment.
All change begins at home, and DEI learning is no exception. So it’s our responsibility to ensure that our children don’t develop the same biases and blind spots that we do.
Biases begin to form as early as kindergarten, or even earlier. In fact, infants as young as 3 months old are already beginning to show a preference for skin color, so it’s not hard to imagine that by the age of 2, a child could be demonstrating discriminatory behavior depending on the environment in which he or she is raised.
What’s more, children are keen observers of the adults in their lives. The biases shown by adults will greatly influence their perception of different dimensions of human identity, such as skin color or gender. Children absorb the stereotypes they see in those around them, and also become increasingly attentive to the social labels, status and biases of family members. The good news, however, is that these biases can be unlearned. In 2022, we all have the opportunity to help children overcome their biases and explore the history and everyday experiences of people from diverse groups. This in turn encourages your child to create a welcoming environment for everyone.
What are the DEI trends for 2022? I’d say: we need more resources to raise awareness of the need for real inclusion of ethnocultural diversity in the regions.
Okay, I’m clearly not guessing, since regionalizing immigration is absolutely nothing new, and many programs are already in place to support communities in setting up welcoming and inclusive structures.
What is new is the echo, louder by the day, on the radio, in the newspapers, on social networks, that we’re eagerly awaiting these people who will come to save our economy, keep the bakery open, watch over the Tim du Témiscouata drive-thru at night.
Opening the door wide to the inclusion of these superheroes of the labor shortage, known as “temporary foreign workers” and “students recruited abroad”, will require an openness to change, a collective willingness to welcome and include greater diversity in our regions. And how do we achieve this inclusion? It will require more minds open to diversity in our lives, by:
taking an interest in people beyond their culture, in order to consider and discover their experiences;
encouraging activities that bring together mutual interests;
highlighting the mutual courage to meet others in all their difference and uniqueness;
finding ways to overcome the discomfort associated with newness and change.
Interested by building up inclusive cultures? URelles offers the following services:
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