The faces of leadership in workplaces and boardrooms remain largely white and male. But as our economies and societies become more diverse, those holding positions of power are also slowly changing. As that gradual shift plays out, the discourse about diversity and inclusion will be less about “white privilege” and more about who holds decision-making power and the often-implicit biases held by any dominant group that has power or privilege in any workplace.1.
As the above examples show, businesses should be more prepared for discrimination complaints to come from different groups that haven’t traditionally been complainants. It’s important to realize the role of underlying changing biases associated with shifts in power, as well.Bias is in all of us – we tend to prefer people most like us and to exclude those who are different. Such implicit biases can seem benign , but left unchecked, they can easily cross the line into discrimination .
Leaders need to prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion in today’s business environment, not only for competitive edge, but also to mitigate against real risks of discrimination or harassment claims. To do this, inclusion practices need to be more robust, going beyond organizational policy statements to making them reality.
A level of accountability needs to exist within organizations to not keep repeating the same mistakes over and over.