Our September 4, 2015 blog titled"Is Diversity Destroying Your Company?" (see link at the end of this post) explored how “diversity” differs from “inclusion” and why focusing on diversity alone may cause the efforts of many well-meaning employers to fail.

A real-life illustration of our blog’s message appeared on September 8, 2015 when newswires reported the story of a “Muslim flight attendant for ExpressJet who says she was wrongly suspended from her job...because she refused to alcohol to passengers, citing her religious beliefs.”

A review of the details (link to the full USA Today article appears at the end of this blog) shows that ExpressJet started off on the right track: after flight attendant Charee Stanley had converted to Islam and learned that her faith prohibited the handling/consumption of alcohol, Stanley approached ExpressJet management on June 1 to request religious accommodation. 

ExpressJet accommodated Stanley's request by having the employee work out an arrangement with her fellow flight attendants.   This well-meaning support dovetails nicely with advisories published on the EEOC’s website which states in part (underlining added): “The law requires an employer or other covered entity to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices... [e]xamples of some common religious accommodations include...modifications to workplace policies or practices.”  So far, so good…diversity upheld.

On August 2, the article continues, a fellow ExpressJet employee filed a complaint that Stanley was not fulfilling her duties.

On August 25, ExpressJet responded by revoking the religious accommodation and suspending Stanley.   

Such actions appear to severely dilute ExpressJet’s diversity and accommodation efforts, all the more given certain remarks in the fellow employee’s complaint, i.e., that Stanley had a “book with ‘foreign writings’ and wore a head scarf." These comments imply a lack of understanding on the part of this fellow employee that could have been remedied by education.    

Our earlier blog post observed, “Inclusion is creating a work environment where every employee feels they are safe, can contribute and can succeed.”  Did ExpressJet add inclusion to its diversity efforts by educating the fellow employee about “foreign writings” and “head scarfs” before deciding to revoke Stanley’s religious accommodation and suspending her?  To be fair, if ExpressJet did attempt to so educate the fellow employee, the article doesn’t say so.  

But a clue lies in the formulaic press statement made by ExpressJet spokesperson which – to our earlier blog’s point – takes into account only half of the equation (diversity) and omits its essential companion (inclusion).  As reported in the news article, ExpressJet spokesperson Jarek Beem told CBS: “We are an equal opportunity employer with a long history of diversity in our workforce."  That’s good to hear, but we don’t see the word “inclusion” in the spokesperson’s statement…do you?  

Pioneering psychologist Carl Jung said, "You are what you do, not what you say you do."  When we do diversity and  inclusion as two halves of the same coin - not separately and not just in words - then we all prosper and succeed...employees and employers alike.

We hope you enjoyed this post and we thank you in advance for sharing it with your friends, especially any small or mid-sized business owners who need assistance with their HR needs.  We'd love to hear your comments and as a firm that is experienced with HR outsourcing, offshoring HR and effectively managing offshore resources, we invite you to explore the full scope of the services on our website.

Regards, PhoenixHR LLC

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Fueled by current events across the nation – from anger over suspected racism and police brutality to a clarion call for hiring more women in technology and exaltation over the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage – “diversity” is once again a buzzword on the lips of the American public, including many employers.  As a result, many companies have (or will) step up their diversity efforts – and many will fail.  Some thoughts as to why:

Diversity Is More Than Just Numbers

Some employers consider their diversity responsibilities met once they have dusted off their Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs) and received sign-off from legal counsel and/or the OFCCP…or when they look across their conference rooms and see the “visual” diversity of employing various minority groups.  But AAP statistics and “visual” diversity are not enough.  For a company’s diversity efforts to bear fruit, it must also encourage diversity in how their employees think.  True diversity in the workplace means encouraging all employees to openly exchange ideas and – by working together – develop strategies that achieve company goals and solve business problems.  Consider: 

Diversity, Meet Your Other Half

Numerous studies have found that diversity alone actually lowers performance, morale and corporate financial performance.  To truly succeed, diversity must be integrated with inclusion.  Some employers think diversity and inclusion are the same thing; they are not.

Diversity in the workplace is about a company assembling a mix of different people…across genders, race, religion, skills, generations, etc.

Inclusion in the workplace is about action - it's what a company does with that mix,.  It's the deliberate steps a company takes to actively engage and support a diverse work-group in every phase of employment from new hire orientation to performance management to career development.  Inclusion is creating a work environment where every employee feels they are safe, can contribute and can succeed.

In the title of an article published by the American Bar Association, attorney and diversity consultant Vernã Myers described the difference between diversity and inclusion with brilliant simplicity: “Diversity Is Being Invited to the Party; Inclusion Is Being Asked to Dance.”

Inclusion Is Evergreen

To be successful, inclusion must be an ongoing action: every day, every month, every year.  Inclusion is at its most powerful when it is:

• An integral part of the workplace culture, demonstrated at every level of the organization beginning with top leadership. 
• A part of everyday workplace language and focuses on the person, not their differences.  Examples: not using dated or offensive terms such as “handicapped” or “crippled”, and saying, “Jane got promoted today” instead of “Jane – that girl in the wheelchair – got promoted today.
• Demonstrated through brave action.  Example: when HR sees 2 candidates – a male and a female being hired with apparently equal qualifications and experience but with the female being paid less, that HR professional has an obligation to question the difference.
• Displayed through meaningful corporate initiatives: ongoing education.  Diversity/inclusion training.  Programs for collecting and responding to employee feedback.  Tackling issues of company-wide relevance through work teams that cut across functions, departments and generations while encouraging creative thinking and leveraging diverse talents.
  

Yes, doing Diversity and Inclusion together and in proper balance is a lot of work.  But as "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" author Hunter S. Thompson once observed:

We hope you found this post helpful.  Thank you in advance for sharing it with your friends, especially any small or mid-sized business owners who need assistance with their HR needs.  We'd love to hear your comments and invite you to explore the full scope of human resources and resume services on our website.

Regards, PhoenixHR LLC 

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