Have you already applied any of the advices we gave you in the last post about the management of some changes related to your work? Today we are going to talk about another important aspect to manage in a company: diversity.
Contextualising the term “Diversity”
Managing diversity in the company is one of the challenges which more and more companies are facing. It is a reality that is pushing us to make use of resources and strategies to be able to address and respond to the needs of the different profiles present in society. To put it into context under the Spanish legal framework, what we are discussing here is the general law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion (LGD), which was approved in 2013 and superseded the term LISMI.
In the same way as the law which governs these rights, the terminology and language linked to disability has (thankfully) undergone many changes. That allows us to speak today of “functional diversity” to discuss disability, a term which has advanced significantly since the not-too-distant past when we referred to this reality in terms that we would now consider unacceptable.
Yet language is not the only challenge which companies face on equality and diversity. Managing diversity is a challenge requiring continuous work that still has much room for improvement in many companies, even for those that are most committed to it.
Start by appreciating differences
In the society we live in, there are too many stigmas and barriers which make us view disability as something that doesn’t concern us, something far removed from our own experiences. Often, for people who have closer contact with it, either due to family or friends, it may be easier for them to empathise or better understand different realities to our own. Yet even that may not be enough.
To truly appreciate the differences between us, we must start by discovering and to discover we must want to understand, listen, want to learn about realities which are different to our own, and step out of our bubbles, that individualist reality which leads us to focus on ourselves, sometimes excessively.
If you want to embrace differences and really appreciate them, start by taking a closer look at diversity rather than looking at it from afar or even out of the corner of your eye. Start by looking diversity in the eyes, let go of your prejudices, and start looking at it in the same way as you look at yourself in the mirror, as you listen to yourself, and as you accept yourself.
Shape your environment
Embracing diversity and committing to including people with disabilities is not just about opening the doors to our organisation. It is rightly about training people in the organisation, providing them with experts on the issue who can give them tips and offer them the necessary knowledge on creating an inclusive atmosphere.
The key to good diversity management involves a lot of educating and support, not only for the new person but also for the people who will spend time with them so that they can have the necessary tools for real and effective inclusion.
And once you have committed and prepared the environment, identifying the people who can be disability or diversity spokespeople in companies is a big advantage. Identifying these ambassadors can be very positive in making it possible to spread all that knowledge to everyone and helping the message to sink in within the organisation until it becomes part of its DNA.
Be fully committed
This is about people, believing in them, and committing 100%. It’s about giving and doing everything we can to do better and be better for the world.
Diversity, it bears repeating, is very diverse. This means there will be easier realities and other more difficult ones. That is why committing to diversity also requires responsibility, awareness, and self-awareness in the organisation. It’s important to know how far we’ve come, what we’re ready for and what we’re not ready for.
Once we are clear on all this and we decide to commit, it becomes about giving our all, offering the very best so that the benefits we have are also benefits for everyone. Diversity makes us better people, it allows us to detach ourselves from our ego, it opens our minds, and makes us more empathetic, which is what being human is all about.
At BETWEEN, we are aware of the challenges that lie ahead, but every year we continue to be committed to making improvements on diversity by raising awareness in the organisation and strengthening inclusion every day. This December, the month of diversity, we want to create adiversity mural in our offices and headquarters.Would you like to find out more? Don’t miss out on anything here.
