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Abstract: This article discusses strategies for organizations to achieve meaningful diversity, equity, and inclusion by embedding it into their culture and operations. Despite commitments to increasing representation, superficial diversity efforts often fail due to social and cognitive forces that privilege homogeneity. Research shows people disproportionately bond with similar others, reinforcing familiar norms through homophilous networks. Unconscious biases also affect judgments and decision-making. To disrupt these status quo dynamics, the article recommends strategic approaches like cultivating allyship programs, adjusting hiring to recruit more diverse candidates, and periodically reshuffling teams and assignments. Specific tactics then help operationalize the strategies, such as rotating discussants in meetings and pairing executives with employees of different backgrounds for job shadowing. Case studies of companies like AB InBev and Verizon demonstrate how tailored tactics allow enacting strategic diversity approaches in hands-on ways. Leaders must recognize dynamics undermining equity and take proactive long-term steps through deliberate strategies and oversight.
Achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remains an elusive goal for many organizations. Despite stated commitments to increasing representation and belonging, superficial diversity efforts often fail to enact meaningful, systemic change.
Today we will explore how to truly embed diversity across organizational culture and operations and how leaders can recognize and remedy patterns of "sameness" that perpetuate inequity.
Reinforcing the Status Quo: Social Networks and Cognitive Biases
Research from social psychology provides valuable context on why diversity goals so often fall short. Studies show that people disproportionately interact and bond with those most similar to themselves across visible and invisible identity dimensions like gender, race, age, profession, and values (McPherson et al., 2001). This "homophily effect" powerfully shapes social networks in organizations and wider society. Left unchecked, homophilous patterns reinforce familiarity and comfortable cultural norms rather than fostering diverse perspectives and new ideas (Gibson & Lawrence, 2010).
Compounding this tendency is the prevalence of unconscious cognitive biases. Leaders and employees alike make quick assumptions and form judgments without full awareness due to implicit biases around attributes like attractiveness, age, gender, and more (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). Confirmation bias also motivates us to selectively seek and accept information that preserves prior attitudes while dismissing dissonant views (Nickerson, 1998). Together, these social and cognitive forces create cyclical patterns that privilege "sameness" and inhibit diversity goals.
Breaking the Cycle: Strategic Approaches
To disrupt status quo dynamics, leaders must take deliberate, long-term steps to broaden interaction networks and perspectives across differences. Some strategic approaches include:
Cultivate Allyship - Formal allyship programs educate majority groups on advocating respectfully for underrepresented colleagues. When implemented authentically, allyship builds empathy and accountability across identity divisions (Miller & Katz, 2018).
Adjust Hiring Practices - Recruit from diverse talent pools, reexamine job requirements for bias, and implement blind resume screening. Broader candidate slates bring new social networks and weaken homophily's grip on organizational composition (Purdie-Vaughns, 2015).
Rotate Teams and Assignments - Periodically reshuffle work groups and responsibilities to disrupt ingrown interactions. Cross-pollinating teams expands perspectives and relationships in low-risk ways (Henderson, 2009; Kaplan, 2012).
Provide Unconscious Bias Training - Trainings educate all employees on common biases using evidence-based techniques. When coupled with accountability, training chips away at taken-for-granted mindsets over the long term (Devine et al., 2012).
Specific Tactics and Organizational Examples
To apply strategic approaches, leaders can deploy targeted tactics with careful oversight. Some options include:
Rotate Discussants - When facilitating meetings or brainstorms, invite a range of employees to lead discussions in turn. Moving beyond loquacious "usual suspects" brings new insights.
Shadow Executive Days - Pair executives with mid-level employees from different backgrounds for full-day job shadows, exposing senior leaders to new perspectives through direct interaction.
Diversity Book Clubs - Sponsor voluntary reading groups themed on diversity topics led by a rotating mix of employees across levels. Discussions prompt cross-functional reflection.
For example, the global brewer AB InBev disrupts ingrained patterns through its "accelerators," rotating small teams comprising diverse staff across regions, functions, and levels to incubate new ideas (FitzPatrick, 2019). At Verizon, leaders job-shadow frontline technicians and retail employees from various identities and geographies in its "ride-along" program to address biases (American City Business Journals, 2019). With oversight, tailored tactics let organizations enact strategic approaches in a hands-on way.
Conclusion
Achieving authentic diversity requires breaking entrenched cycles that privilege sameness over time. Leaders must recognize how social networks and cognitive biases naturally gravitate toward homogeneous norms, then implement deliberate strategies to broaden interactions and perspectives across differences. Formalizing allyship, adjusting hiring, rotating teams and assignments, and mitigating unconscious biases strategically interrupt status quo patterns. Targeted tactics help operationalize these approaches by disrupting typical interaction dynamics. When authentically implemented with oversight, strategic diversity efforts have the power to embed inclusion truly in organizational culture and operations for lasting impact. The onus remains on leaders to recognize dynamics that undermine equity, and take proactive steps to cultivate belonging for all.
References
Gibson, C., & Lawrence, B. S. (2010). Women's and men's career referents: How gender composition and comparison level shape career expectations. Organization Science, 21(6), 1159-1175. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0497
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102(1), 4-27. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.102.1.4
Henderson, M. D. (2009). It's not personal, it's strategic: Exploring crowd-out of creativity in idea generation in groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 641-646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.012
Kaplan, S. (2012). Fostering transformative learning in organizations. In E. W. Taylor & P. Cranton (Eds.), The handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 336–351). Jossey-Bass.
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), 415-444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415
Miller, C. C., & Katz, J. H. (2018). The path to allyship: Why LGBT support is essential for your company's success. https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-path-to-allyship-why-lgbt-support-is-essential-for-your-companys-success
Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175
Purdie-Vaughns, V. (2015). Identity contingency threat: The impact of circumstance and context on identity salience and test performance among African Americans. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 61, 119-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.08.002
Additional Reading
Westover, J. H. (2024). Optimizing Organizations: Reinvention through People, Adapted Mindsets, and the Dynamics of Change. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.3
Westover, J. H. (2024). Reinventing Leadership: People-Centered Strategies for Empowering Organizational Change. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.4
Westover, J. H. (2024). Cultivating Engagement: Mastering Inclusive Leadership, Culture Change, and Data-Informed Decision Making. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.5
Westover, J. H. (2024). Energizing Innovation: Inspiring Peak Performance through Talent, Culture, and Growth. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.6
Westover, J. H. (2024). Championing Performance: Aligning Organizational and Employee Trust, Purpose, and Well-Being. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.7
Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Workforce Evolution: Strategies for Adapting to Changing Human Capital Needs. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.8
Westover, J. H. (2024). Navigating Change: Keys to Organizational Agility, Innovation, and Impact. HCI Academic Press. doi.org/10.70175/hclpress.2024.11
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Moving Beyond Surface-Level Diversity: Strategies for Embedding Inclusion Through Organizational Change. Human Capital Leadership Review, 15(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.15.3.6
