Developing Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Best Practices for Your Business
                     Developing Diversity and 
Inclusion in the 
Workplace Best Practices 
for Your Business
https://goodmanlantern.com/
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The world is full of beautiful, smart, funny, and insightful people. People from 
all walks of life, cultures, ethnicities, races, and genders. It’s people’s 
diversity that makes daily life interesting and unique. Imagine a world where 
everyone had the same views, upbringing, and opinions as you? It would be 
rather boring, wouldn’t it?
Diversity is important. It allows for new ideas and experiences to be shared. 
When we open our minds to integrating with different people, we open 
ourselves up to learning more. It’s the same in life as it is in business. 
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are vital for this very reason. 
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It’s not only great for the cultural side of the business but for 
productivity and business processes too. Studies have shown that 
inclusive teams have shown to have better productivity and staff 
engagement. This is attributed to a diverse team having better problem-
solving skills, as every individual brings a unique view to the table. LinkedIn 
has reported that diversity is directly tied to company culture and financial 
performance. Their data indicates that 78% of companies prioritise 
diversity to improve culture, and 62% do so to boost financial performance. 
Here’s how you can improve equality and diversity in the workplace as a 
business owner. 
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Diversity and 
Inclusion in the 
Workplace Means 
Breaking 
Stereotypes and 
Unconscious Biases
We all have an 
unconscious bias. These 
are beliefs that are 
hidden deep within us 
that may not necessarily 
align with our conscious 
beliefs. But, they’re 
extremely important to 
pay attention to. 
Knowing when we are 
being biased and 
creating an awareness of 
the stereotypes we may 
hold of people based on 4
the way they look, speak 
or present is the first 
step to overcoming 
them. 
Leaders in companies need to question themselves and employees so that 
everyone is constantly aware of their assumptions. The best way to tackle this is 
to keep a thought journal and track behaviours. The more a company can learn 
about stereotypes within their organisation, the easier it will become to avoid 
them. With this bias test project, you can get your employees to learn about 
their associations with race, gender, and sexual orientation. 
It’s important to understand that having an unconscious bias does not make you a 
bad person. It makes you a human. Everyone – and we mean everyone – has 
unconscious biases. The best thing you can do as a business owner to break these 
biases is to have regular internal bias training seasons. Open up a path for 
discussion for this, and you’ll see great results for your company’s diversity. 
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A diversity training program is a great idea to help employees navigate and 
understand cultural differences. Programs like this help employees feel 
connected and give them an understanding of each other’s communication 
styles, identities, customs, and more. In the long run, investing in training can 
prevent and help a company deal with conflict. 
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Equal Pay for 
Equal Work
One of the best ways to 
encourage diversity and 
inclusion in the 
workplace is to be a fair 
employer. Employer’s 
that reward their 
employees fairly are 
companies that retain 
staff at much higher 
rates and attract a 
diverse applicant pool.
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When a company provides a level playing field and equal opportunity for all 
staff members, workplace satisfaction levels go up, and so does productivity. 
By paying employees fairly, you’ll garner the reputation of being an attractive 
organisation to work for. When posting a job listing, you’ll soon find that you’ll 
have more applicants who feel encouraged to apply and feel a positive 
sentiment towards your company. 
Who doesn’t want their pick of the best employees out there? 
Make sure your business evaluates its current employees’ earning potential 
and ensures that it matches their output only. This needs to mitigate any 
biases that you may have identified at this point. 
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Understand and 
Acknowledge 
Different 
Observances
With a team that is 
inclusive of many cultures, 
religions, and orientations 
comes the need to be 
sensitive to holidays and 
observances. This can be a 
beautiful thing. Team 
members have the 
opportunity to share 
cultural events, learn more 
about their colleagues’ 
religious practices and 
extend good wishes for 
any celebrations. The more 9
a team can understand 
one another, the more 
inclusivity and tolerance it 
breeds.
By keeping track of various holidays and understanding who observes them, 
you can be respectful towards your team when it comes to scheduling 
meetings around these dates. It’s also important to note if these impact 
catering for business events, as some religions avoid certain foods, such as 
pork.
Acknowledging these holidays will gain your company a considerable amount 
of respect with your team and make each member feel seen and included. 
When people feel seen, they perform better. It’s a win-win for everyone!
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Mix Teams up Regularly
Did you ever sit at the same desk in school and hang out with the same group of 
people during break time? If your answer is yes, that’s quite normal. As humans, 
we gravitate toward what is familiar. We like to be comfortable. However, you 
don’t grow within a comfort zone. It’s the same for work teams that have become 
“comfortable”. 
Prevent your employees from forming “cliques” and encourage them to mix up 
teams often. By having teams made up of people from differing backgrounds, 
they’ll learn from each other and better understand each other’s values, cultures, 
and experiences. 
Perspective increases understanding within teams, and this will spur creativity and 
productivity. People of different genders, backgrounds, or even ages will bring 
fresh ideas to the table. Your projects will benefit from this range of knowledge. 
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Diversity Is a 
Constant Work 
in Progress
The benefits of diversity 
and inclusion in the 
workplace are clear. 
More perspective builds 
more understanding and 
compassion. However, 
always remember this is 
a constant work in 
progress. 
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At Goodman Lantern, we like to reach out to our teams with anonymous surveys 
to discuss any concerns anyone might have. We encourage all companies to 
facilitate “check-in” mechanisms that discuss employee well-being as well as 
inclusion. If your team feels safe enough to be transparent with you, it fosters 
inclusion. Understand a bit more about why 
diverse teams are so important to our culture. We hope it can inspire your 
teams!
Diversity, equity, and inclusion will drive engagement in your company, making 
it more resilient and holistic. Focus on improving diversity and inclusion in the 
workplace, and you’ll be sure to create a thriving business.
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THANK
YOU!
Goodman 
Lantern
Phone: Email: Website:
+1 9292993999 [email protected] https://goodmanlantern.c
om om/
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