Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are not just a nice-to-have; it is vital for a successful business. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are important to promote unity and build a strong company culture.
In this article, we have compiled the list of inspirational diversity and inclusion quotes to help celebrate diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Diversity is the mix. Inclusion is making the mix work. —Andres Tapia
Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance. — Verna Myers
Diversity and inclusion isn’t about making your company look good on paper (or in the papers). Teams must create a truly inclusive environment where people are encouraged to share their different perspectives and voices.
Diversity, or the state of being different, isn’t the same as inclusion. One is a description of what is, while the other describes a style of interaction essential to effective teams and organizations. — Bill Crawford
Diverse workforce does not mean an inclusive workforce. Effective teams are diverse AND inclusive.
We will all profit from a more diverse, inclusive society, understanding, accommodating, even celebrating our differences, while pulling together for the common good. — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise. — James Surowiecki
Research has shown that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. Diverse opinions and different perspectives are essential for innovation and creation.
The point isn’t to get people to accept that they have biases, but to get them to see [for themselves] that those biases have negative consequences for others. — Theresa McHenry
If you exclude 50% of the talent pool, it’s no wonder you find yourself in a war for talent. — Theresa J. Whitmarsh
There is a war for top talent, and excluding part of the candidate pool will only hurt you business. Some tips to help eliminate bias in hiring include:
- use language that speaks to a broader range of candidates
- Encourage referrals from diverse employees
- Develop an employer brand that showcases diversity
- Use blind resumes to remove bias
- Train your interviewers about unconscious bias & use bias prompts to help make interview process more objective
For more other great tips to ensuring diversity, inclusion, and equity in the hiring process, check out this article.
What’s often ignored is that diversity is not only a pipeline or recruiting issue. It’s an issue of making the people who do make it through the pipeline want to stay at your company. — Andrea Barrica
Encouraging diversity does not start and end with the hiring process. Performance management processes must support DEI initiatives and building an inclusive workplace should be a key priority for organizations.
When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization.— Pat Wadors, Head of HR at LinkedIn
To have a truly diverse and inclusive workplace culture, organizations need to prioritize celebrating and recognizing each individual’s differences.
For more information on celebrating employee differences, check out this episode of the Working With People podcast.
Inclusivity means not ‘just we’re allowed to be there,’ but we are valued. I’ve always said: smart teams will do amazing things, but truly diverse teams will do impossible things. — Claudia Brind-Woody
A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone. — Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
Organizations should encourage their employees to give their opinions when making big decisions. Having a diverse team allows organizations to make the best overall decisions to become successful. In fact, research by Cloverpop claimed that companies with diverse and inclusive teams “lead to better business decisions up to 87% of the time”.
The path to diversity begins with supporting, mentoring, and sponsoring diverse women and men to become leaders and entrepreneurs. — Denise Morrison
Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation. — Doris Kearns Goodwin
We all have the ability to promote a culture of acceptance and inclusion — and that is something I believe every leader has a responsibility to do. It starts with having a dialogue until we are all comfortable and no longer have the fear of saying the wrong thing. — Inga Beale
Organizations should encourage their employees to bring up new ideas and opinions (that may even challenge the status quo). Managers have to be able to support their employees’ ideas.
Diversity and inclusion, which are the real grounds for creativity, must remain at the center of what we do. —Marco Bizzarri, CEO of Gucci
We’re supposed to be bringing out-of-the-box thinking and innovation, and you cannot do that unless you’ve got diversity… It’s everything from gender to ethnicity to geographic diversity. — Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture
Innovative ideas do not stem from repetition; new ideas, new people, and new voices pioneer the way to new ideas.
D&I needs to be something that every single employee at the company has a stake in. — Bo Young Lee
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is something that needs to be adopted by everyone, not just HR. There are several ways to promote a diverse and inclusive company culture:
- Be aware of unconscious bias
- Promote compensation equity
- Communicate the importance of diversity and inclusion (starting with top management)
- Celebrate different culture holidays in the workplace
- Develop a training program
We know that diversity can sometimes be more uncomfortable because things are less familiar — but it gets the best results. — Megan Smith
It is clear that having a diverse and inclusive organizations is powerful. Check out a recent article on how to create a more inclusive workspace if you are feeling uncomfortable with it.
Takeaway
The first step that organizations must take to create a better workplace is to start making people aware of the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity.
