Diversity | Inclusivity is a culture, not a policy

Research released last year, by the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Deloitte, highlighted the importance of inclusivity in affecting our feelings towards our employers.

The overwhelming majority of individuals confirmed that inclusion is central to them deciding whether or not to remain within their current role, sharpening the perspective of inclusion alongside its cousins - diversity and equality.

There is a wealth of evidence backing up the fact that a diverse workforce is a good thing. Clearly, outcomes have yet to match effort, but one hopes that we are heading in the right direction. This is all reasonably positive, but delivering diversity does not automatically deliver inclusion.

Hiring individuals from diverse backgrounds into a culture which excludes or undermines them (accidentally or otherwise) will inevitably result in those employees seeking new opportunities elsewhere. Hiring into an environment in which they are able to flourish will have the opposite effect.