Why “IDEA”?
Perhaps the better question to start on is “What IDEA?”
IDEA is an acronym for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.
Why would I go with this less recognisable acronym when so many more recognisable terms are out there?
I have experience in advocacy, and it was in this space, in my role as a researcher on the Accessibility and Equity committee for the Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society (ACNS) that I first heard the term. We ended up changing to “IDEA” for the committee (which I later chaired for a period). Inclusion is often a tick box exercise for organisations. There seems to be an assumption that meaningful change is time intensive, costly and doesn’t really achieve much or worse, it allows people into spaces who don’t “deserve” to be there. It is easier to do the bare minimum and call it a day. With the media discourse I see around the topic, I can certainly empathise with finding inclusion a bit overwhelming, and it is often easier to go with “safe” options when it feels like a risky space where mistakes can be made and judged.
IDEA isn’t just a cute acronym. It is a roadmap, providing 4 pillars that will help with not only establishing sound practices around inclusion, but also in developing strategy to leverage the assets that exist in marginal communities, that are usually undervalued and under-utilised. Let’s unpack the terms and concepts they contain first:
· INCLUSION:
It is important to ensure that people from all backgrounds are included at work, from hiring, to how teams are managed through to how exits are handled. This often looks like a statement that people of all backgrounds are encouraged apply for roles, sometimes it looks like quotas or targeted advertising of positions or big companies having booths at job fairs for marginal communities. If a company has a newsletter, they might highlight diverse staff, and questions about those groups might be directed to staff from the same background. Exit processes most likely include some extra steps to avoid litigation for diverse workers.
Inclusion can be so much more than this. Businesses, especially business owners and executives, can maintain a presence with marginal communities that exist within their larger community. Even 1-2 events per quarter signals interest, connection and safety for a very low cost. Those attending might even have a fun time meeting people they otherwise would not. That safety and recognition goes a long way to encouraging marginalised people to apply for roles and can lead to any reputation issues being communicated directly.
Ensuring that diverse staff are properly onboarded, with ample opportunity to discuss needs (more on this to come) and learn about the workplace culture and where they can fit is important. Working with direct line managers so that they understand the backgrounds of their team and what the implications are, as well as the advantages and how to make use of them will improve morale and productivity – building stronger teams that feel connected and secure. When staff exit, making sure that useful information is sought and the transition out of the company is supported will ensure that learning continues and relationships are maintained, where possible.
· DIVERSITY:
Diversity is currently treated like a bit of a dirty word in political discourse, but I would suggest that it is vitally important that we resist this trend in professional spaces. There are clear productivity increases with diverse workforce and there are also challenges that come with managing diverse teams. Any strategic planning around diversity in an organisation needs to be as authentic about these challenges as it is open to the benefits, in order to have meaningful and applicable results.
Diversity covers many aspects of self. It includes people who come from privileged backgrounds and those from marginal backgrounds. A person can also be both privileged in some ways and marginal in others; these terms reflect how a person’s identity impacts them in systems, not how they behave or the choices they make as an individual. In fact, this is why they are so important. Ensuring, as much as possible, that a team has a people from a range of backgrounds, ensures that the work product will reflect a broad mix of lived experience and knowledge. What may be considered a challenge by some, I see as a wonderful opportunity to change the “work culture” of the team.
Often when hiring, the likelihood of a new employee “fitting in” with the team easily and with little manager input is seen as an ideal aspect of the candidate. Where this fit may be challenged by an otherwise fantastic candidate, I would say this; taking the time to re-establish the norms of a team in a mindful and conscious way could uncover subtle issues that may have been brewing and allow for new group dynamics to arise. Often norms are established by the “strongest” voice in the room, but this person isn’t always the most competent or the best voice to ensure the team runs well. By mildly disrupting the status quo and allowing everyone a chance to speak, the team dynamic can grow, allowing new workers and old alike to find a rhythm moving forward.
· EQUITY:
Don’t you mean “equality”, Taz? Nope, equality is giving everyone the same stuff to work with and that usually means that few people on the team get what they actually need. It is wasteful and often performative.
Equity, however, is making sure that each gets what they need to do the same job they are hired for (in this context). If there is a Dyslexic team member, they may need quality speech-to-text software, whereas, my typing is far more fluid than my speech, so that would be a hinderance for me. Having a pumping room set up for a breastfeeding mum would be appropriate, but every office doesn’t need one. Ideally, workers should have the opportunity to discuss what they need to do their best work and the most equitable way to manage this is to not require documentation to “prove” why they need it.
It doesn’t matter why an adult worker needs reasonable adjustments at work, if they are having the conversation they clearly need it. At that point it is a matter of working out if there is a cost effective and accessible option to support them to do their job to the highest level. The caveat I would give here is where the support is high cost or structural and there is a government grant process involved to mitigate the costs.
· ACCESSIBILITY:
This is where we get into nuts and bolts of inclusion, especially around what a worker has the capacity to do. You would not (one hopes) expect someone who mobilises with a wheelchair to drag themselves up and down stairs every day. Expecting the only woman on your team, who also has AuDHD, to take minutes because she is a woman is so many layers of problematic, but there is a very good chance she is not functionally able to pay attention, manage the social expectations, contribute the content for her own role and also accurately minute the meeting (apologies for any AuDHD women who enjoy taking minutes and are great at it). Expecting a worker who has recently immigrated to join a team and is still adjusting to the language (where they have picked up English for this role and are not already fluent) and environment to fluently respond verbally to a complex work briefing, also given verbally, with no time to process would also be an unfair expectation that doesn’t honour their access needs. In that case giving in writing notes and time to respond alongside a chat about the task would be a more accessible approach.
At its core, accessibility is recognising the capabilities and challenges of each worker and structuring workplace communication and production in a way that focuses on what people need to get their job done, rather than working off workflows that only capture one option. The best way to handle this at scale is to develop processes with universal design in mind, providing options to cater to the most common access needs as standard operating procedure, instead of treating access needs like something special to be separately accommodated. The impact this will have on your company is profound.
This blog has been a long one, but it is important to know that when you work with me, you are getting a grounded approach that is built on these four pillars. IDEA isn’t a catchy name signalling I am up to date with inclusion trends, it is at the core of who I am, how I have lived and move through the world and it is what you can expect from me, when I consult with you to enrich your business and mitigate your risk.
Contact me to set up a free, brief meeting to discuss how we can work together.
