Looking to change jobs or even switch your career to a new field? As well as looking for better salary, benefits, and perks, it’s also worth investigating how inclusive your prospective employer is likely to be. In this article, we’ll go through what an inclusive workplace looks like, and reveal five of the most telling green flags of an inclusive employer.
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Inclusion champions vs. inclusion marketing experts
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) have topped the list of priorities for most organizations, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in significant shifts to remote and hybrid work, opening opportunities to reach a wider talent pool and recruit more diverse candidates.
As a result, over these past few years, we’ve seen a myriad of diversity and inclusion campaigns, statements, and promises by companies pledging to hire professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
But not all that glitters is gold. And while this increased awareness is laudable, it might be difficult to identify employers who are truly committed to EDI from those simply stating that they are. In other words, as a job seeker, you’ll want to hear more about your potential employer’s ability to champion inclusion, rather than their ability to market themselves as an inclusion champion.
An inclusive workplace is one that values people who come from all backgrounds—regardless of personal factors such as gender, age, sexuality, race, or level of education. In an inclusive workplace, all differences are acknowledged, catered for, and most importantly, seen as an advantage, rather than a deficit, by the company. For instance, with 44 nationalities working together at Revolent, we believe that great minds don’t think alike, and that it is in fact our differences, not similarities, that make us stronger as a team.
An inclusive working culture also means that everyone within the organization is given the same opportunities for growth. Not only are there policies in place to prevent discrimination—there’s also a great deal of effort put into preventing any forms of unconscious bias from creeping into the workplace.
When working for an inclusive organization, employees feel like they can bring their “authentic selves” to work. Unsurprisingly, a whopping 80% of workers surveyed in an CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey said they want to work for a company that values EDI.
Yet, many industries (tech being no exception) are still riddled with all sorts of inequalities. For instance, the latest Mason Frank Careers and Hiring Guide (which surveys one of tech’s leading ecosystems, Salesforce) reported that only 59% of respondents believe that their employer pays men and women equally. What’s more, only 52% believe that promotion decisions are made fairly in their company.
What are the advantages of an inclusive workplace?
The impact that valuing diversity and inclusion holds within a business is huge. Inclusive businesses reap huge benefits, as more diverse representation leads to more creative, innovative ideas, and more effective decision-making. In fact, research published in the Harvard Business Review has shown that teams with cognitively diverse members can solve problems faster than non-diverse teams.
On an individual level, an inclusive workplace not only benefits your morale, well-being, productivity, and career progression—it can also help you develop your soft skills, too. Working within a diverse team means you’re constantly putting skills like adaptability, collaboration, curiosity, empathy, and open-mindedness into use, allowing you to refine them along the way. Not only does this make you a more accepting person overall—in an increasingly competitive hiring market, your soft skills make you stand out as a better candidate and employee, too.
The tell-tale signs of an inclusive workspace
Now that we’ve defined what an inclusive workplace is and highlighted some of the benefits of working within one, let’s look at the signs you should keep an eye out when reading a job ad, browsing the company’s website, or going through the application process.
#1: Transparency of EDI practices
Over the past few years, companies have become more vocal about their EDI efforts. Whether it’s through a clearly defined policy on their website, or through their social media presence, transparency over a company’s EDI practices is something to keep an eye out for in a potential employer, as it is often an indicator of a well-designed EDI strategy. However, you do need to be somewhat critical when assessing these practices, and look for signs at how the company’s actions are supporting its EDI policies, rather than simply doing it for performative reasons.
Here are some ways you can find out whether the company is truly inclusive:
- Look at the company’s reviews on websites such as Glassdoor, as well as any posts on social media by its current or previous employees.
- Ask questions before or during your interview to ensure your personal values are aligned with those of the company. For instance, you can ask your interviewer about what the company is doing to ensure that everyone across the organization is given the same opportunities to thrive.
- If you’re a working parent, look out for initiatives that empower working parents and find out what the company’s parental leave policy looks like.
- Ask what initiatives the company has in place to support underrepresented or minority groups to succeed.
#2: Flexible working arrangements
An inclusive workplace is a flexible workplace, as it creates the right conditions for everyone in the company to manage both their work and personal lives. Plus, flextime, hybrid, and remote working policies open doors to opportunities that have previously been inaccessible for certain groups, such as people with caring responsibilities or those who live further away from the company’s office location.
Similarly, remote work can remove any physical, mental, financial, and time obstacles hindering people with accessibility needs from taking on any roles that are typically office-based. Although, on the bright side, remote work options have risen considerably over the past few years, this still leaves plenty of room for certain forms of discrimination—especially proximity bias.
To spot signs of proximity bias, look out for ways your potential employer is streamlining their in-office and remote workers’ experiences:
- Are their training opportunities favoring one group over another?
- Do the events they organize cater for their remote workers, too?
- Are their collaboration tools adequate to support an equal opportunity to contribute?
#3: Diverse leadership and representation
An inclusive workplace leads by example—and this is usually evident through the diverse representation at all levels of the business, especially the leadership roles. Verifying a company’s leadership composition, as well as its efforts to improve its current makeup to make it more diverse, is a great starting point—whether that’s through the resources available on the company’s website, or by asking directly during an interview.
Similarly, there are plenty of awards across different industries that recognize and celebrate the diversity efforts of organizations worldwide. One example in cloud tech is the Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year, presented by the Digital Revolution Awards. This award celebrates those working within the cloud industry who are making concrete changes and effective efforts to improve their EDI efforts across all levels of the business.
#4: Diverse hiring practices
Inclusive companies work hard to eliminate the risk of any biases creeping into the hiring process, especially when it comes to any personal characteristics, such as gender, age, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
While most companies will say that their recruitment process is inclusive, you can often tell whether these efforts are genuine from things like:
- The language used in the job post. Studies have shown that certain gender-coded words, such as “rockstar”, “ninja”, or “ambitious”, tend to discourage women from applying.
- An extensive list of requirements on the job description. For instance, are you being asked for a degree for a role that doesn’t strictly require one? Especially in industries like tech, where the most in-demand skills are constantly changing, a degree might not necessarily be the best measure of your suitability for the role. Not to mention that not everyone has the same access to university-level education. For instance, research shows that disabled students are 10% more likely to have lower educational expectations when compared to their non-disabled peers, despite having similar levels of performance at school.
- Blind screening and recruitment processes are also a good indicator that the company is taking its commitment to EDI seriously.
#5: Equal career progression opportunities
A workplace that encourages inclusivity is one that empowers all its employees, no matter what background they come from or how junior their role might be. Such a company provides them with opportunities to grow and fulfil their professional dreams. However, realistically, equal career progression opportunities are something organizations need to cultivate as not all employers might have the same access to or budget for learning and development resources.
There are many ways companies choose to do this, which are all green flags of the organizations commitment to providing equal progression opportunities:
- Supporting its employees by fully or partially funding any industry certifications required for their role and career growth
- Showcasing clear progression routes to getting a promotion
- Offering paid time off to attend classes and seminars
- Allocating regular time slots during its employees’ paid working hours for learning and development
- Offering mentorship opportunities, particularly to marginalized or underrepresented groups
While this information might not always be available publicly, it’s something that can be weaved in well with questions on your career goals and aspirations during your job interview. So, don’t be afraid to ask your potential employer what policies they have in place to support all their employees’ growth and development equally!
We all stand to win from building a more inclusive world. And, as a professional, choosing an organization that champions EDI will not only be beneficial for your career progression but also support your progression within the industry you work in (or wish to transition to) as well.
At Revolent, diversity is at the heart of who we are and what we do. Through our cross-training programs, we want to make tech an accessible career choice for everyone, making the tech ecosystems in which we work as diverse as possible.
