The COVID-19 Impact on Diversity and Inclusion

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[...] The COVID-19 Impact on Diversity and Inclusion It's no secret that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the world, bringing entire nations to a standstill, and devastating the global economy. For many organizations has been a real struggle with businesses closing down, making redundancies, and losing large amounts of revenue during the first six months of the year. It has certainly changed the way we live our lives. This year we have had to re-evaluate what is important and organizations have had to find the balance between keeping afloat and looking after the wellbeing of their employees and valued customers. [...]

[...] And we're not just talking big names like those in government, for true diversity and inclusivity to happen, we must work from the ground up. Every employer and every business must take an inclusive approach to people management and success. This means no longer just paying lip service to diversity but walking the walk and putting real changes in place. They must understand and learn from the events of this year, making diversity and inclusion an integral part of all business and HR functions. [...]

[...] There are several steps that businesses can take to adapt their HR processes and start building positive, inclusive working environments. These include: Ensuring that all decisions meet the legal obligations and do not discriminate against any employee More than this, organizations must go beyond the minimum of simply complying with the law and actively change their policies to ensure every individual is supported, valued, and given equal rights. Ensuring inclusive approaches to hiring Examining and understanding your current people management practices to see where the main issues lie and making changes to rectify this. [...]

[...] Firstly, there is the moral obligation to ensure that we create an inclusive labor force that offers fair opportunities and safe working environments to everyone - regardless of their background, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. It's also important for innovation. Businesses that embrace people from different backgrounds will benefit from diversity of thought, creativity, and different experiences. This is what keeps a company driving forward. Finally, people want to work for employers that offer fair opportunities that are moral and respect their workforce. Those that promote diversity and inclusivity. As such, it's vital to ensure your organization has a good reputation and is able to build a strong employer brand that attracts talented professionals. [...]

[...] Similarly, women were more likely to be let go and find themselves unemployed. Statistics have also shown [HYPERLINK: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/30/865413079/what-do-coronavirus-racial-disparities-look-like-state-by-state?t=1599754474499] that Black people, Latinos, and other minority groups have been disproportionately affected by the virus. Not only this, but older professionals who were more at risk experienced a great deal of stigma and discrimination being seen as too vulnerable to work. Other Contributing Factors Though we are here primarily to discuss diversity and inclusion in a post-pandemic world, COVID-19 wasn't the only thing that contributed to these conversations of diversity in 2020. [...]