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Tips For Valuing Diversity

PURPOSE OF TOOL

You may have recently participated in diversity training.  While you may view it as good business and the right thing to do, you may not be sure exactly what you can do to support diversity and inclusion.

Examples of situations in which to use the tool

• As a tool for reflection

ASSUMPTION

• You have had some previous exposure to diversity and inclusion training and issues.

Tips For Practicing And Valuing Diversity

• Actively solicit input from a wide variety of people and functions.
  
  
• Involve diverse groups in solving problems and developing opportunities.
  
  
  
• Challenge your own and others’ assumptions that limit opportunities.
  
  
  
• Seek to understand diversity from a global, not just a national, perspective.
  
  
  
• When asking someone to explain a point of view different from your own, be sure to convey that your intention is to understand that person's viewpoint, not to have him or her justify it.
  
  
  
• Stand up and speak out when others are not valued or their ideas or views are not heard or taken into account.
  
  
  
• Identify your customer base. Then examine your organizational strategies and practices to make sure they reflect your actual customer base.
  
  
  
• Be sensitive to the fact that some people want their differences to be recognized while others do not.
  
  
  
• Watch any tendencies to joke about differences. When you do hear joking, take a stand and let others know that you are offended.
  
  
  
• Talk openly about the tension between the need to value and accept different perspectives and opinions, and the desire for shared organizational values.
  
  
  
• Give feedback openly and respectfully to those whose different behaviors and values affect their credibility and effectiveness.
  
  
  
• Become a mentor to an individual whose background and experiences are different from your own.
  
  
  
• Broaden your view of diversity beyond just race or gender issues.
  
  
  
• Watch educational videos. Learn about your own cultural values and background.
  
  
  
• Look at issues and opportunities from others' viewpoints before making decisions.
  
  
  
• Talk openly about the amount of time it may take to change the organization's acceptance of people who are different.
  
  
  
• Confront people directly about their prejudiced behavior or comments, encouraging a way for them to change without "losing face."
  
  
  
• Challenge organizational policies and practices that may be exclusionary.
  
  
  
• Build a support network with colleagues who are interested in valuing diversity.
  
  
  
• Continually monitor your automatic thoughts and language for unexamined assumptions and stereotypical responses.
  
  
  
• Learn how to manage disagreements for ways to handle conflicts that may arise.

The Diversity Toolkit
(A Product of Cook Ross, Inc.)