Preventing Discrimination at Work: Promoting Diversity to Meet Labour Market Challenges

With the arrival of new generations in the labour market, a new social conscience, and the current labour shortage in Canada, organizations are increasingly striving to promote diversity and fight discrimination at work. These efforts are needed to meet the challenges of a changing job market and to strengthen employers' reputations.

Now seen as a driver of success, workforce diversity is part of corporate culture and strategies at all stages of hiring, managing, and retaining talent. In this article, we discuss key trends and the benefits of nurturing a culture of diversity and freedom from discrimination.

Diversity and the employee experience

Diversity and employee experience are closely linked. The Inaugural 2023 Hiring & Workplace Trends Report from Indeed & Glassdoor reveals that in order to continue attracting and retaining talent in the years to come, companies will need to focus on certain key factors. These include employee wellbeing and diversity and inclusion, among others.

Generations X, Y, and Z are at the heart of the issues that are changing the job market. According to the Business Development Bank of Canada, millennials and Gen Zers are expected to make up half of the workforce in 2020, and almost three quarters of it in 2030. A strong social conscience drives millennials, and they tend to stay twice as long at companies that promote diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Given the importance that this group of workers will soon have in the workforce, organizations will have no choice but to devote significant resources to this aspect of their personnel management.

Better understanding the concept of diversity

In its survey of the current state of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in Canada, Deloitte makes a clear distinction between the concept of diversity and inclusion:

1. "Diversity" is a term that encompasses the variety of people and ideas involved in a company. Companies frequently define the diversity of their staff in terms of exclusive or legally protected differences, for instance, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, maternity status, as well as a range of other "invisible" qualities and backgrounds.
2. "Inclusion," meanwhile, means creating an environment where people feel a sense of belonging and interconnection, consider themselves respected and valued, and can all express their "authentic" selves—their ideas, backgrounds, and perceptions—in the way they work with both coworkers and clients.

In practice, it is no longer enough to bring together a group of different employees to claim to be a diverse organization. Diversity doesn't mean just accepting employee backgrounds. Each worker who joins an organization brings a different life experience and approach to meeting challenges as well as a unique cultural contribution. These contributions must be accepted, recognized, and valued. The organization must promote the creation of an inclusive and welcoming environment for all, regardless of differences. It must implement policies and a plan to combat prejudice and nurture a culture of zero tolerance for discrimination in the workplace.

Diversity is an organizational strategy

A study conducted in 2019 by Dalhousie University in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion provided the following insights:

• The overwhelming majority of senior executives (95%) believe that diversity is a business strategy that contributes positively to innovation, creativity, and problem solving
• 100% of senior executives believe that a diverse range of perspectives brings increased value to their organization
• 91% indicated that they value the mission of improving diversity and inclusion and are committed to it

However, despite these statistics, only 73% of them stated that they emphasize DEI in their business strategies, and 68% said that they communicate with their employees about this issue on a regular basis.

The results of Deloitte's survey to assess diversity in hiring, promotion, and retention processes are discouraging. While 40% of diversity managers agreed that their organization sets diversity goals for certain positions, only 28% said their organization considers candidate diversity when awarding promotions.

Gartner agrees. It indicates that most organizations feel that the evaluation measures of DEI strategies are not sufficiently monitored. Or they are just treated as a secondary priority in comparison to other business goals.

However, to gain a position as an employer of choice, we can be certain that diversity and the fight against discrimination are now part of the strategic practices that should be adopted. There is still a long way to go between awareness and real action.

Diversity as a competitive advantage

A Gartner study reports that a diverse workforce improves performance by 12% and retention by 20%, provided diversity is embedded throughout the organization and not only in the hiring process.

In addition to helping retain employees and enhance employer brand, diversity improves employee engagement, benefits customer relations, and enables the company to tap into a much larger talent pool.

According to HR specialists, diversity practices should be aligned with business objectives and integrated into decision-making in all business processes. Diversity then becomes an organizational strategy based on a comprehensive and permanent approach. Leaders will support it by allocating resources and time, and they will promote it through a communication plan.

Assessing the state of diversity in your organization

To help you take stock of the current situation within your organization, the Regional Municipality of York has published a company self-assessment tool on strengthening diversity in your organization. This exercise can serve as a starting point for deeper thought.

Along the same lines, Indeed has published an article discussing how to measure the success of your diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategies.

The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion also provides toolkits to help companies manage diversity and inclusion. It also provides a range of educational and inclusion guides so organizations can gain a better understanding of DEI and learn how to achieve it for different audiences.

Diversity goes beyond hiring ethnic minorities. It has become an essential issue for hiring, integrating, and retaining an increasingly diverse and increasingly demanding workforce. In this changing labour market, companies must be able to count on the collective wealth of workers from all backgrounds, all creeds, and all affiliations to meet their needs and future challenges.