14 Tips to Make Your Business More Diverse and Inclusive

They say variety is the spice of life, and that is certainly true when it comes to people. We come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colours, cultures, references and challenges. This means that we all bring fascinating perspectives to the table. It seems a no-brainer then, to make sure your business embraces diversity and inclusivity, not just to serve the community at large, but also to bring in the innovation and creativity that comes from considering different life experiences.

Yet, this topic fills many people with a fear of making mistakes, and overwhelm at all the different aspects and subtleties that come with this topic. So, this month I have asked a number of experienced entrepreneurs to share their insights and practical tips to help you on your way to make your business more diverse and inclusive.

I often link my learning when it comes to issues of diversity to the time of my sister-in-law’s arrival in our family. It took me months to get out of the habit of just calling her name across the room when trying to get her attention. It’s just auto-pilot behaviour, right? You want someone’s attention, you call their name. The problem there is that my sister-in-law is deaf. Of course, I knew this rationally, but the automatic behaviour of calling her name was a hard habit to break.

To me, becoming more aware of issues of inclusivity is about overwriting these automatic behaviours, subconscious ideas and questioning myself more than others. This is a learning curve, and it’s important to embrace the fact that you are going to mess it up sometimes. Own your mistakes, and also commit to wanting to do better.

#1. Add your pronouns

Do you find people constantly assume to be the wrong gender? No? In that case, you have gender privilege. We live in a society that has conditioned us to apply a gender to many things, like names, clothing, hairstyles, mannerisms, vocal pitch or tone… the list goes on. For many trans and nonbinary people, this means that they are constantly assumed to be the wrong gender and having to make a point of listing their pronouns. When they are the only ones doing so, it just makes them stand out even more.

By listing your own pronouns on your social media bios, email signatures, Zoom IDs and name badges/lanyards, you normalise the practice of doing so. It is a simple yet profound act of allyship. It doesn’t just help to make the process of checking someone’s pronouns an everyday thing, but it also subtly symbolises that you are an LGBTQ+ ally. It lets people know you are aware of the daily challenges that many gender diverse people face and you choose to use your gender privilege to stand with them.

G Sabini-Roberts, Co-Founder of The Queer Box ( website | LinkedIn)

#2. Make sure your website is accessible

An automated accessibility checking tool can detect some things on a website. However, there is nothing that can replace the testing of an end-user who uses assistive technology to navigate the web such as a screen reader, colour contrast, or augmented communication device. It is imperative that your technology be tested by people with disabilities to increase not only your diversity but your market share as well. compliance with guidelines is very helpful but not enough. Only end-user testing will make sure your material is truly accessible, and help you gain a 20% increase in traffic and revenue.

Dave Bahr, CEO at In-sightful Living ( website | LinkedIn)

#3. Start where you are

Use your introspection to begin to recognise your implicit biases, then seek out books and trainings to improve and to undermine your assumptions. Work toward enlightening yourself about inclusion and use your social media to follow experts and educators. Then, retweet or share what you learn so you can support the learning in others, too!

Kryss Shane, author of “Creating an LGBT+ Inclusive Workplace: The Practical Resource Guide for Business Leaders” ( website | Twitter)

#4. Expand your network

Reach beyond the usual group you interact with by following and engaging with organisations and individuals that support underrepresented groups. Make sure your intentions are genuine as no one wants to be the “token” friend or colleague. The primary point of expanding your network is to better understand the struggles and celebrations of diverse people so that you can be more actively inclusive and equitable.

You can find new connections or folks to follow through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Virtual or In-Person Meet Ups, Chambers of Commerce, Community News or Events, Conferences and many other types of social gatherings.

Janifer Wheeler, CEO, Founder and Certified Diversity Professional® at The JOYFull BadAss Business Academy ( website | LinkedIn)

“We know that diversity can sometimes be more uncomfortable because things are less familiar — but it gets the best results”

~ Megan Smith

#5. Gather a diverse team around you

Hire, collaborate or partner with people who can teach you something. Someone older or younger. Someone who doesn’t look like you or think like you and has something to bring to the table that is different from what you bring. Embrace differences don’t be afraid of them. Start one person at a time.

Tamara Mendelson, Emotional wellness coach at Mendelson Creative Consulting ( website | Facebook)

#6. Love the learning curve

The way we listen and do the work is just as important as the work itself. The journey starts with awareness and a desire to learn. Open your heart and mind to learning about someone and/or a community that is different from your own. Recognise that we are not a singular identity and humans have multiple layers to them. When you open yourself up to discovering a different point of view, lesson or life path, you can make change. Small changes lead to big impact.

Heidi Duss, Award-Winning LGBTQ+ Inclusion Consultant, Executive DEI Coach & Founder of Culturescape Consulting ( website | Instagram)

#7. Walk the walk

It is crucial that companies are diverse and inclusive, especially in 2021. The benefits of diversity are endless, It is a shame that some companies are still failing to be inclusive to this day. Not only is it the right thing to do, but there can be so many benefits from having a diverse and inclusive workforce. People from different backgrounds and different cultures bring new ideas and perspectives to the table. The team helps us make all of our customers feel included, accepted, and loved, and we strive to do the same with our employees as well.

Olamide Olowe, CEO at Topicals ( website | LinkedIn)

#8. Deliver a diversity statement

Part of achieving diversity includes being straightforward and open about it. Do a diversity audit, and openly release a diversity report with the results and decisions from the audit. A diversity report consists of data on the number of marginalised people working with you, especially in leadership roles if that applies to your company. It also looks at new diversity and inclusion goals, training you and your team plan to do in order to enhance visibility and awareness of diverse partners. A diversity report helps you establish goals and targets to promote diversity and inclusivity, and keeps you on track to achieve them.

Shiv, CEO at Incrementors Web Solutions ( website | LinkedIn)

#9. Make small tweaks to how you communicate

There are small changes you can make to your communication strategy that make a big impact when it comes to inclusion. Publish a note about what you’re doing to create a more inclusive and diverse business. Let people know what you’re doing to meet their needs! If you’re changing your hiring practices, your investing practices, or your accessibility practices, share that!

It can be easy to overlook things like gendered language and imagery if we’re not intentional. If your business doesn’t appear to represent certain consumers, then those consumers won’t feel like your business is for them. Also, consider the identities and ethics of your vendors and partners. More and more people are paying attention to how their purchases are impacting the world by understanding how the final product they’re purchasing came to be in their lives, so share and celebrate who you work with.

Ashley Schwedt, Facilitator Lead and DEI Lead at LifeLabs Learning ( website | LinkedIn)

#10. Include a diverse group of brand ambassadors

Inclusive visuals are one of the most impactful ways to make your online business more inviting to marginalised people. The catch is that these visuals need to be authentic — and the only way to ensure authenticity is to make sure to ask your target demographic for feedback (don’t assume how they want to be spoken to) and ensure that the team behind your business is diverse itself, to avoid group thinking and cultural sensitivities you may overlook. Another way to ensure this is having a diverse group of brand ambassadors who can advocate your products in their own voice and style to their individual brand communities who already trust them. At the end of the day, trust and authenticity are of utmost importance to a consumer.

Aleena Khan, Co-founder and Head of Marketing and Creative at CTZN Cosmetics ( website | Instagram)

#11. View your company through many different lenses

Ask questions and deliberately poke holes in your current processes and strategies. Consider if the fonts and colours on your website support people with disabilities. Review if your language is inclusive and neurodiverse-friendly. Does your marketing include a diverse range of people and sizes, and do your products represent that range too? Have you created alt text on images on your website and social media shares, and are you refraining from special characters? Practice what you preach and want to see, not just in your marketing, but within your company too. So make sure your systems and processes are inclusive and accessible, as well as your hiring procedures.

India Bastien, People Operations Generalist at AMP Creative ( website | LinkedIn)

#12. Make diversity your unique selling point

A diverse workforce gives your business priceless versatility. As unique as a company might be, it is fairly obvious when there is a rigid set of backgrounds. Working with people from different walks of life and varying perspectives helps to produce the most innovative products or services and allows you to grow a more diverse set of customers. We currently have a team that consists of talent from different countries and different educational and personal backgrounds which helps foster an inclusive environment and a unique approach to our business that helps us stand out from the competition.

Jonathan Zacharias, founder at GR0 ( website | LinkedIn)

#13. This is a project, treat it as such

Implementing a diversity and inclusivity strategy is like implementing any other major structural change in your business. You need to have a detailed project plan, and give it the top-level attention it deserves. A post-implementation strategy is important to make sure that the changes you make stay relevant, and all your hard work doesn’t end up gathering dust on a shelf. Like any other major change project, there may be some people who are resistant to such change. That being the case you will need to have a strategy to either get them on board or make sure that they cannot delay or scupper the change.

Steve Wardlaw, Chairman at Emerald Life ( website | Twitter)

#14. Demand better from your partners and vendors

Have you noticed that a service or system you use is not living up to the standard you hope to uphold? Ask them if improvements are on the way and when you can expect them to be implemented. Write an email, leave a comment or review. You can be polite about it, we’re all on a learning curve together, but I would definitely invite them along on your journey.

Is the company not open to these suggestions, or unwilling to make change? See if you can find another supplier that does uphold your standards for inclusivity. If words don’t create change, hopefully your money will.

Mags Thomson, Story and Impact Coach at House of Hives ( website | LinkedIn)

About FEM

FEM stands for Feminist Entrepreneurs Magazine (or Finally Eradicating Misogyny, if you’re feeling cheeky), and is a House of Hives publication. We started this magazine to support entrepreneurs who feel disenchanted with the 24/7 hustle culture, the competitive narrative of toxic masculinity and narrow definitions of success, value and wealth that it peddles. We want to talk about balance, the importance of mental health, the power of collaboration and diversity, and much more.

We hope to inspire and support entrepreneurs as they build their businesses in enjoyable and sustainable ways, by sharing stories and tips from thought-leaders and change-makers. Join the mailing list to have the FEM e-magazine sent directly to your inbox.

Originally published at https://www.houseofhives.com on June 9, 2021.