"Shattering Myths: The Truth About DE&I in the Workplace"

Season #1 December 10, 2024

Summary:

In this episode of the Just Human podcast, Jay Boykin delves into the critical topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), focusing on common myths and misconceptions surrounding it. He emphasizes the importance of DEI in fostering innovation, employee satisfaction, and overall business success. Boykin addresses various myths, such as the belief that DEI lowers hiring standards and that it only benefits underrepresented groups. He advocates for open conversations about DEI to build trust and understanding within organizations, highlighting that DEI is a long-term strategy that benefits everyone. The episode encourages listeners to reflect on their own practices and to continue the conversation around DEI in their workplaces.

Takeaways:

DEI is essential for thriving workplace cultures. Myths about DEI can undermine progress. Diverse teams enhance problem-solving capabilities. DEI is not just about race and gender. Creating inclusive policies benefits everyone. DEI is a long-term commitment, not a trend. Open discussions about DEI foster unity. DEI initiatives improve overall employee morale. DEI is about creating value for all employees. Challenging misconceptions can lead to better practices.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to DEI and Its Importance

05:50 The Misconception of Lowering Hiring Standards

12:12 DEI as a Long-Term Strategy

18:08 Creating Unity Through DEI Conversations

23:55 Encouraging Open Conversations About DEI

Keywords:

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, DEI, Workplace Culture, Leadership, Myths, Business Success, Employee Satisfaction, Innovation

Episode Transcript

Jay Boykin (00:02.21)
Well, hello and welcome back to another episode of the Just Human podcast. My name is Jay Boykin. I'm your host and I'm so happy that you took the time out of your day to watch or listen. So again, thank you for that. Just Human focuses on several core pillars of subject matter. One is around leadership development. Another is personal growth.

One of the key areas that we talk about and an area that we're going to focus on today is around diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we're going to focus today on some DE &I myths. So a lot of things that you hear out there about DE &I, but I'm going to give you from my perspective what the facts are around that. So whether you are on YouTube,

Thank you. Be sure to subscribe, leave a comment or listening on your favorite podcast provider. Please leave me a review, leave me some comments, help me to make the show better each and every episode. So in recent years, DE &I has become in my opinion more than just a buzzword, especially in 2020 after

everything that happened with George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. DE &I really became a significant movement and it is the cornerstone of a lot of thriving workplace cultures. And for a lot of businesses, it's become a strategic imperative. There are a lot of organizations out there who

recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is not just about checking some box. It's not just about trying to make a few feel good. And it's not just about doing what's right. There are business imperatives around DE &I. It's about driving innovation. It's about increasing employee satisfaction.

Jay Boykin (02:29.274)
And for most businesses, what they are there for is trying to achieve the best success that they possibly can. But DE &I is also one of the most misunderstood and at times very polarizing topics out there. And there are a lot of misconceptions and myths.

about DNI that can really undermine any progress that has been or can be made. There are these topics that create a lot of skepticism and a lot of resistance and it prevents organizations from really reaching their full potential. So today we're going to talk about some of these myths on my website and on in my blog.

I have 10 of these myths and the associated facts that we explore here on the podcast. We're only going to get into a fraction of those, but feel free to go to the website, jboykin.com and look for the book of J blog and read the ones that we don't discuss today. So the other thing that I want to do is leave you with some actionable strategies.

that you can take to your workplace that can really reflect the best of humanity and really lean in on what this podcast is all about. We are all just human to begin with, and that is where we wanna focus. So let's set the stage a little bit and start with some context. During the most recent election cycle,

DE &I came under significant criticism, not only in the political arena, but also in the workplaces. And if you are someone who pays a lot of attention to that, as I do, you read a lot about companies walking back some of their previous DE &I initiatives.

Jay Boykin (04:50.67)
You read about organizations that have completely cut their D and I programs altogether and leaders are facing increased scrutiny around D and I and They're they're dealing with navigating these competing expectations because you've got employees who have expectations you've got your

external stakeholders, potentially shareholders who have their expectations, and then you have customers who have their expectations. And so these leaders of these companies are having to navigate this current environment. But despite these challenges, there is data out there that tells a completely different story. There are companies that are continuing to

invest in DNI and they're not just trying to weather the storm. They are continuing to thrive. Research indicates that diverse teams are better at solving complex problems. And when you have an inclusive environment, you have much higher collaboration and you get better creativity. The data just

shows that. we're not going to argue that point. We can bring data point after data point to show that that is the case. So why do we have these myths about DE &I? So let's start to unpack that. So one of the first ones that we need to address is that, and I think it's a big one, is that DE &I lowers

the hiring standards. People often think that prioritizing diversity means that you are automatically sacrificing the qualifications. They think that DE &I means hiring people for jobs that they are not qualified for, and that is completely untrue. What DE &I focuses on, what the truth is, is that it enhances

Jay Boykin (07:18.988)
the talent acquisition. You talk to most hiring managers and they will say things like, just want the best person for the job, regardless of their demographics. I don't care what color they are, where they come from. I just want the best person that I can possibly get for the job. But let me ask you this, if you have,

recruiting practices in place where you continue to get the same type of candidate time and time again. Are you really getting the best person for the job? You don't know. So the point of DENI is not to give someone a job that they can't do. That would be as ridiculous as

hiring me to be the the chief of surgery at a hospital when I am Definitely not qualified for that. I'm not in a medical field We're not going to we're not talking about that what we are talking about is finding ways in your recruiting process to eliminate biases and

to open the door to other candidates, qualified candidates, who might be overlooked in your current practices. so again, studies show that diverse teams perform better when they've got these various perspectives. And so I think that most people...

are open to that, especially people that are looking to succeed with their businesses and with their companies. So the myth is that we're reducing the qualifications and we are hiring people just because they meet a demographic standard that we have set and that they are not qualified based upon their education or experience. That is totally not true. We're just

Jay Boykin (09:36.79)
changing the way that we look at the recruitment process. I talked about in a previous episode how I was in an interview where the person who was interviewing me had their criteria that was based on where you went to school, what your GPA was, what you did on your standardized test.

and it focused less on the experiences that you had achieved in your career. And so as we look at the many, many thousands of schools out there, if we focus on the same handful, then we're gonna continue to get the same type of person. So again, reiterating the fact that we are not talking about

allowing people to sit in jobs that they're not qualified for. We're just opening up and diversifying the talent pool so that hiring managers have the opportunity to interview and select from a diverse pool. Blind recruitment techniques is a game changer. So when you focus on skills and qualifications and focus less on

the name of the school that someone went to or the person's name, that can help to reduce the unconscious bias that can be in your processes.

Another myth and misconception is that DE &I is only about race and gender. race and gender are important. And many times that is where people default to when they think about DE &I. But DE &I covers so much more than just

Jay Boykin (11:43.594)
race and gender. It can be age, disability status, socioeconomics, sexual orientation, religion, and even neurodiversity. When you start to think about the topic of cognitive diversity, there are many studies and more coming out weekly that

talk about the different ways that individuals think and it is putting more value on having these different ways of thinking about things and it is being recognized more and more as a driver of innovation. So,

If you have someone who may have voluntarily disclosed the fact that they are cognitively diverse, don't automatically exclude that individual thinking that it could be more of a challenge. Recognize how that person can be an add to your team. Don't focus on how they fit with your team, but think about

how the way that they think can add to your team. Build inclusive policies that really address the broad spectrum of diversity. Don't just focus on the race and the gender. you know, another area is think about the fact that you might have individuals who need some accessibility accommodations and we'll get into this.

a little bit later in this episode, but just because you are allowing one person to have an arrangement that is slightly different than someone else doesn't mean that they're getting preferential treatment, but I'll talk about that here in just a few more minutes.

Jay Boykin (13:56.398)
Another myth that we hear very frequently is that DNI is just a passing trend. And that couldn't be further from the truth. DNI has been around for many decades. I believe that you can look at different names. I also believe that DNI, five, 10, 20 years from now,

may not even be called DNI. It may be called something entirely different. That being said, DNI is a long-term strategy. It's not a fad. And again, the data reflects that companies that have strong cultures, strong inclusive cultures that take into account some of these principles of DNI are

36 % more profitable than their competitors who do not. So it's not easy. Creating these type of initiatives is not easy, but it makes a difference and it can make a meaningful difference to your company's bottom line. So as you continue to evaluate

your company's Create a roadmap that include DNI efforts and set some measurable goals and track yourself to that progress annually. But it is not a passing trend. I totally believe that it is not going away.

I believe that one of the most damaging myths out there is that DE &I only benefits underrepresented groups, that it's only for women and brown people and people who have a different sexual identity. And that couldn't be further from the truth. When you have in reality,

Jay Boykin (16:13.44)
an inclusive workplace, it benefits everyone. When all of your employees feel valued, when they feel that they can come to work truly as themselves, then your morale is going to improve and your collaboration is going to improve and

the overall productivity of your company is going to increase when people enjoy what they do and who they are working with. Their output is going to be so much better and employees who truly value the companies that they work for and feel that the companies that they work for value them are going to give you so much more of their energy and so much more of their effort.

So it is not just a situation where it's those people over there that are going to benefit from the DENI program. It benefits everyone. If your company does well, especially if you have things in place like bonuses or profit sharing,

If your company's doing well, it's not gonna be just the women and brown people that get bonuses and profit sharing. Everyone is going to benefit from that. And so being able to create an environment where everyone is at their best, it's a great thing for everyone. So continue to communicate what the overall and universal benefits of these DE &I initiatives are.

whether they are flexible work arrangements that can benefit everyone, especially as people go through different life changes. It could be something that you don't need today, but it could be a benefit that you could use in the future.

Jay Boykin (18:26.836)
it's again something that will benefit the entire organization.

There's another myth where people feel that talking about DNI, especially in the workplace, that it causes division. Now I believe that this is 100 % true when conversations and initiatives are not handled thoughtfully. I believe and I have seen

where having open and honest discussions about diversity, taking the time to truly lean in and learn about the lived experience of someone who has a different culture, maybe has some different beliefs than you do, it helps to build trust and understanding on those teams. And again,

I'm beating the same drum. It's going to drive innovation. It's going to drive collaboration. I think that if you facilitate workshops or allow the creation of employee resource groups where people can share their experiences in a safe and supportive environment, those are good things. And

Here's the other thing. It has been my experience with many of the companies that I've had the opportunity to read about or have discussions about. Employee resource groups are not simply for the individuals who identify as the demographic of that employee resource group. So if you have an ERG,

Jay Boykin (20:32.172)
that was created for individuals that are part of the LGBTQIA plus community. It's not just for those individuals who identify as such. It can be for those of us that just want to learn how we can be a better person, how we can perhaps support someone else in our life who identifies as such.

or how we can learn to be a better coworker for someone on our team who identifies as such. So you can be an ally and be a part of these groups. It does not have to create division. In fact, it can create ways where it creates more unity than division.

Jay Boykin (21:27.17)
The last one that I want to focus on today is the area, the idea that DNI is a zero sum game. And what I mean by that is there's the belief out there, the assumption that if one person or group gains something, then that means that another group has to lose.

But DE &I isn't about taking resources from one group and then redistributing them to another. It's about creating a value that benefits everyone. So an interesting topic that I have discussed with some friends here lately, for those of you that are sports fans and for those of you that pay attention to the National Football League,

You see players more and more during games that are wearing these guardian caps. And they're basically these padded devices that go over the top of the existing helmet. And it provides extra protection against head injuries and concussions. Well,

Guardian caps in the NFL are not a zero sum game. If I'm an NFL player and I decide that I want to wear a guardian cap, that doesn't mean that they have to take it away from one of my teammates and they can't have it now. That's not the case. As many players that want to make that choice and wear a guardian cap, we may get to a place where the majority of players

are wearing the Guardian caps. And quite frankly, Tua, I wish that you would wear one and that we would see more players wearing the Guardian caps. Going back to our workplaces, if you have an individual on your team who needs some sort of an accommodation, let's just say, for example, that they've got a physical

Jay Boykin (23:55.7)
ailment and getting them a more ergonomic chair will allow them to be more productive and to get their job done in a better way. The zero-sum game attitude would be to say, well, I can't afford to buy this chair for everyone in the company, so you can't have it either.

or to have the attitude of why does this person get a special new chair when I'm still sitting in my terrible old chair. If you don't need the chair, then why are you looking to receive a benefit that you really don't need? That being said, if you do need an accommodation, have you asked for it? So again, it is not

taking away from one in order to give to another. It's making sure that everyone has what they need and works in an environment where they can be their absolute best and contribute to the overall long-term success of that team and that company. So debunking these myths is

just the beginning. think that we need to continue to have these conversations. I believe that by having these conversations, can hopefully, we're not going to change people's minds overnight. There may be someone who is listening to this podcast and quite frankly, I hope there is someone who is listening to this podcast who started out thinking that everything that I said was

wrong. It takes all kinds. It takes all these different opinions to make the world go around. And I'm not looking to necessarily change your mind, but I am looking to broaden your perspective a little bit and perhaps get you to think about things just a little bit differently and to recognize that maybe there is another way to think about

Jay Boykin (26:19.424)
some of these issues. If you haven't personally experienced it, then maybe you haven't had the opportunity to challenge the way that you think. again, let's continue to have these open and honest conversations. If you are someone that is leading a business, leading an HR team, trying to begin or drive DENI efforts, continue to focus on your goals.

set new ones and foster environments where these open conversations, these honest conversations can take place. Take a look at your organization. What are the attitudes that are in that building today around DNI? Are some of the myths that we talked about today, are they present? Are there gaps in some of your policies in the company that could use a little bit of reevaluation?

Are there opportunities for growth? So I encourage you to share this episode with someone that you think could benefit from it. Start that conversation and again, focus on what we're all here for. We're all here to thrive and to do the best that we can on our jobs and to contribute to the success of the company so that we can all benefit from that. And

Again, remember that this is not just about the business, but it's about reflecting our shared humanity and living these lives together. We are here going through life together and let's think about ways that we can make this the best possible world. Maybe we can shatter some of these myths and break down some of these barriers and make the world.

just a little bit better. So thank you for joining me today on Just Human. Again, if you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave me a review, leave me your comments, even if you didn't like anything that I had to say, let me know what your comments are. And until next time, I'm Jay Boykin. Let's keep this conversation going.