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Section 1:
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity is defined as the range of human differences including race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, social class, age, political beliefs, national origin and/or ethical values system (Silverman, 2010). Whereas, inclusion entails involvement and empowerment in an environment where all the people’s worth and dignity is recognized (Mor Barak, 2015). An inclusive environment promotes and sustains the belonging sense of people along with valuing and respecting their talents, beliefs, ways of living and background.
Diversity means all the ways in which people differ from each other. It could include the visible differences like race, gender, ethnicity and some visible disabilities (DiTomaso, Post, & Parks-Yancy, 2007). It also entails some non-visible differences like social class, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, unseen disabilities, education, status and age. Whereas, inclusion is more about celebrating and valuing the differences in order to develop a workplace and culture where all the members can thrive (Pitts & Wise, 2010). Such environment contains individuals that are supported, engaged and respected which develops their skills and talents while aligning with the organizational values.
With passing time, more and more organizations have recognized the importance of diversity and inclusion in order to maintain competitiveness. According to Mor-Barak & Cherin (2008), the organizations that instill inclusive cultures are twice more likely to meet or exceed their financial targets, thrice more likely to perform highly, six times more likely to be agile and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes. The stages of diversity and inclusion within an organization might move along a continuum starting from civil rights, affirmative actions, management of diversity and inclusion and developing the diversity and inclusion as a strategic plan (Greene, 2003).
According to Hayles (2014), diversity cannot be completed without inclusion. The research also identified a basic formula of success for companies i.e. diversity + inclusion = better business outcomes/results. Although diversity and inclusion are two different concepts, yet defining inclusion has become difficult now days as its left for organizations to personally interpret it. Without proper understanding of inclusion, people generally indulge into miscommunication and it becomes difficult to track progress reliably. According to Aquino & Robertson (2018), people feel equally treated only when respect is given in equitable manner. Inclusion can be achieved by giving fairness and respect, providing safe and open environment, giving sense of value and belongingness and empowering the people to grow in the environment (Downey, 2015).
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