Fostering an Inclusive Work Environment: Embracing Diversity in Every Form

BY Angelica Frey | June 26, 2023

Diversity is not limited to the identities that are visible upon first meeting someone. Kristen Carlisle, the VP and general manager at the benefits platform Betterment has been living with an auto-immune condition for the past ten years, something that had a considerable mental, physical, and financial impact on her. Dave Wilkin, founder of the mentoring and networking platform 10kc.com, grew up a gay, STEM-loving kid in a small town who would never have gone to college were it not for a scholarship. Timothy Fair, VP of DEI at Burlington, is proud of his religious identity. “I am deeply guided by an identity that’s usually invisible,” he tells journalist Lydia Dishman during a panel titled “How to Embrace Diversity of All Kinds in the Workplace” during From Day One’s June virtual conference.

“Those principles have really guided the way I see the world and how the world sees me,” said Fair. Sometimes, being less overt about one’s own identity makes it also harder to connect to one’s own heritage and community. “I faced a little bit of discrimination around my heritage: if you don’t present a certain way, your own community pushes you back,” said Stacie deArmas, SVP of DEI at audience insight platform Nielsen.

When it comes to diversity and inclusion, we're not always looking at the full, intersectional picture. There can be a lack of awareness around diversity that we cannot see. Especially when around 15-20% of the working population is neurodivergent; 21% have some type of disability; and an estimated 50% don’t have a college degree.

It’s easy to overlook these aspects of one’s identity, as they require intentional inquiries that don’t arise from day-to-day small talk or surface-level conversation. “People need to remember that this is a discipline: most of us have been doing it a very very long time,” said deArmas. “I have a business card from 2002 where [this work was called] multicultural advocacy.”

Beginning a Conversation

“What we have to anchor ourselves in is that there are still a lot of places where you can still lose your job through these invisible barriers,” said Wilkin. “For me, as a white male that’s gay, I don’t need to come out unless I want to. Some people don’t have that luxury, they come out in every single meeting they walk into.” The questions to ask are: do people with invisible barriers have the mentoring, the sponsorship with colleagues who give them space to share mental health challenges? “Everyone has to be anchored in the fact that if you don’t create the spaces, people are not going to bring their skills of uniqueness to the table,” Wilkin continues.

The full panel of speakers during the June virtual conference, from top left, moderator Lydia Dishman of Fast Company, Stacie deArmas of Nielsen, Kristen Carlisle of Betterment, Pragashini Fox of Thomas Reuters, Timothy Fair of Burlington Stores, and Dave Wilkin of 10kc.com (photo by From Day One)

Fair concurs with Wilkin, adding that it’s crucial to actively bring people in. “One of the things that’s critical is having people across the organization see themselves as part of the diversity narrative,” he said. He sees the way we tend to dichotomize differences as a hindrance. “By virtue of doing that, we’re not allowing people with invisible identities to leverage the array of identities in a way that leads them to say “oh, I am X.” One question to ask is: “As it relates to your team, what are the voices that are missing?” asked Fair.

Pragashini Fox, the head of talent and DEI, and head of HR for product at Thomson Reuters, says that the difference in talent acquisition in the past three years has mostly been about intentionality. Job postings have to have equitable language. “We implemented talent reviews with the CEO just to keep it top of mind,” Fox said. In addition, when it comes to neurodiversity and invisible barriers, they implemented internship programs for people with autism, even in high-school and university level.

Leaders Buying into an Inclusive Workplace

Stacie deArmas encourages engagement with Nielsen’s diverse population through business resource groups (BRGs), the voluntary, employee-led groups that serve as a resource for members and their employers by fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace while aligning with the organization. “Through that, we have seen more openness in accessibility, a better understanding, where we can see the engagement occur more naturally,” deArmas said. 

“Improve engagement through opportunities that are deliberate; create engagement opportunities that are authentic and lead to the development of that leader.” This involves having allies explicitly invited, and Nielsen makes that clear for all their sessions. 

“That’s something we’re trying,” Fox adds, referring to Thomson Reuters’ efforts. "The feedback is that it’s hard to get others to opt in, and the reason I found is that they don’t attend out of fear." They are told that they don’t have to actively say anything, but limit themselves to listening. However, Fox also gave specific guidance on how it is fine to ask questions in the spirit of learning. “We’re starting to see these walls break down, with allies becoming sponsors,” says Fox. 

The Leading Role of Benefits

On the benefits front, employers are facing a really big challenge, in large part because the macroenvironment has changed significantly. “One of the major challenges is identifying those needs and continuing to nurture them as the climate changes,” says Carlisle. For example, people are thinking a lot about student loans because the payment pause is almost up. “It’s hard to hit the masses, and the first thing is actually listening to the employee base,” she continues. “We suggest just regular surveys and focus groups and bringing in consultants—because it feels less about the boss having info about you—to really understand the themes, and how you can fit those needs.” If you reviewed your benefits five years ago and they had been proven to be great, the likelihood of them being obsolete and outdated is quite high. 

“It’s important to think them through on a regular cadence. Do it every quarter,” said Carlisle. Part of the challenge is balancing cost and coverage. “Work with partners, programs helping you center around a core theme with intentionality,” she said. This happens through empowering managers across the hierarchy. “We expect a lot out of managers,” Carlisle concludes. “That’s not a known skill, that’s a learned skill. Invest in the management layers: help them understand and promote values.”

Angelica Frey is a writer and a translator based in Boston and Milan.

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