The title to this piece is a single sentence but within it are encapsulated many scenarios and conditions, each of which is vast and complex. That said, we can identify one word in the title which is of the upmost importance.
Q: Can you guess which of the words in this title says it all?
A: ALL
Everyone: no exclusions, no discriminations, no one left on the outside. If you are in the organisation then you matter, you count, you are important. Otherwise, why are you there?
There is a single term which covers the above title and which every organisation that cares about its members and its future should understand and follow:
Total Inclusivity
In my research and writings on Diversity, Equity, Justice and Inclusion, I define TI as follows:
Total Inclusivity means recognising, valuing, protecting and nurturing diverse identities, including those of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, age, religion and language.
Whitehead, S. 2022, ‘Total Inclusivity at Work’, Routledge, London
If you recognise the inherent worthiness of that intention, if it speaks to both your heart and your head, then you are on your way to being an Advocate for Total Inclusivity.
You may ask why do we not include every other possible aspect of human identity within this definition. The answer is simple – it would be impossible to create such a definition without losing its impact – the list would, in theory at least, have no end. Why? Because every single one of us, each of the 8 billion people alive today is unique, occupying and experiencing a different mix of identities across different cultures and communities. And there is a second, equally valid reason; anyone who can accept to ‘value, protect and nurture’ race, gender, sexual and class differences, together with those of age, religion, language and do so across the human spectrum, will be for inclusivity in total.
Q: Does anyone get excluded from Total Inclusivity?
A: No.
Those for Total Inclusivity exclude no one.
Those against Total Inclusivity exclude themselves.
Therefore, recognising, understanding and accepting the unassailable and non-negotiable principle of Total Inclusivity is the very first step towards fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce that values all employees and their unique perspectives.
The second step is to stop thinking of your organisation as an organisation, a place of work, and imagine it as a ‘community’.
Organisations are not only locations where people might earn a living, they are sites of identification where individual employees at all levels can achieve a sense of belonging. Indeed most employees WANT TO BELONG. Why? Because it validates their identity; gives them ontological association; and provides existential comfort. But belonging to an organisation is risky and it is tenuous, especially in this increasingly transient world (and its workplaces). Organisations can appear impersonal, ruthless, uncaring, and insincere. Organisations may be profitable but they can also be seen as heartless. And yet we spend most of our working lives within them, often in a fraught relationship. Even those of us who love our work rarely love the organisation we work for – we turn up for work but we don’t feel we belong there.
Without a sense of belonging at work there is little hope of wellbeing at work.
In short, a Totally Inclusive organisation is first and foremost a community. Whether for-profit or non-profit, if an organisation is not a community then it is failing its employees, clients, stakeholders. In which case, one is entitled to ask what is its purpose, what is its true value?
The third step is to ensure the Senior Leadership Team is operating to maximum effectiveness. That means not focusing exclusively on profit and financial returns but equally focusing on employee wellbeing, motivation, commitment, loyalty, engagement, and retention. Please do not leave all this so-called ‘woolly stuff’ to the HR Department. Sure, you’ll need to enlist the HR people in order to carry out research, PD, get employee feedback, but they cannot be expected to lead on it – that is the task of the SLT. Wellbeing and safety (physical and emotional) should be at the heart of the operation and permeate throughout the organisation/community culture because otherwise the chances of achieving TI – or even getting close to it – are zero.
This all sounds important and probably self-evident, but to achieve it the SLT themselves will need supporting, need PD, need guidance and need critical feedback. No leaders can achieve TI on their own, no matter how enlightened they are. So, contained within this third step is the critical condition of leaders knowing their limits, recognising and accepting their weaknesses. But also having the commitment to overcome them.
Like everyone else, leaders are work in progress.
The fourth step is finding out where your organisation is currently placed on the TI Continuum. Every organisation is located at one of these six stages:
- Actively Discriminatory
- Tokenistic
- Reflectively Unsettled
- Embracing
- ReBuilding
- Totally Inclusive
Where your organisation is placed you’ll need to find out. And the only way to do that is ask your employees. In other words, the SLT organise a TI audit of the whole operation, using their HR department to carry it out but overseen by a dedicated team of TI Advocates within the organisation. That audit will reveal a lot – some good, some bad – and the ensuing data will require careful analysis. But without that feedback the organisation is working blind.
1. Actively Discriminatory (A Failing Organisation)
- Intentionally and publicly excludes or segregates by race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, age and religion. This includes discriminations over marital status, pregnancy, health needs.
2. Tokenistic (A Rhetorically Correct Organisation)
- Tolerant of a limited number of ‘token’ Black (BAME) people, LGBT+ people, women, but not in positions of authority or power.
- Uses progressive rhetoric in public presentation of organisation but systems and culture remain unchanged and discriminatory.
3. Reflectively Unsettled (A Contradictory Organisation)
- Makes official policy pronouncements regarding multicultural, sexual, gender diversity
- Leaders accept the need for inclusivity but reluctant to engage in this process personally, certainly if it results in what they see as a diminution of their power and authority.
4. Embracing (Learning to Become a Community)
- Leadership have begun to strategise diversity and inclusivity into the training, professional development, systems, planning, and recruitment processes.
- Growing understanding of racism, homophobia, sexism, masculinism, classism, as barriers to effective diversity.
5. Rebuiilding (Transformative and Advancing)
- Commits to process of intentional institutional restructuring, based upon Total Inclusivity values, ethics, aims and objectives.
- Audits and restructures all aspects of institutional life to ensure full participation of every member.
- Strategically and openly pursuing a vision of an institution and wider community that has overcome systemic racism and all other forms of oppression.
6. Totally Inclusive Community (Harmonious and Highly Positive Climate)
- Institution’s life and culture reflects full participation and shared power with diverse racial, sexual, gender, cultural and economic groups fully participating and represented equitably.
- Leadership and staff work in harmony in ensuring a Totally Inclusive mission, structure, constituency, policies and practices.
- Members across all identity groups are full participants in decisions that shape the institution, and inclusion of diverse cultures, lifestyles, and interest
- A sense of restored community and mutual caring.
So these are the four key steps. Taking them will require effort and commitment, not least from the bosses. Sure, it’s a long, never-ending, journey but like any journey it starts with one step – the rest is just persistence and intelligence, together with a smattering of wisdom and a healthy dollop of patience.
Is it worth it? I certainly believe so. But just in case there are any bosses reading this who are still not convinced of the value of TI, I ask them to reflect on these eight questions:
- Do you want to be on the right side of history or not?
- What are you working for – what is your big vision?
- What will be your legacy – and will anyone care?
- Do you believe in the difference between good intent and bad intent?
- Why are you a leader – is it just an ego trip or something greater?
- How do you want to be remembered?
- What value do you put on human relationships?
- How much love are you bringing to your work, your role, your organisation?
