Fostering Inclusivity Within Organizational Change

Consider for a moment the frustration, we have all experienced, of speaking on an online video meeting and realizing that we are on mute. Now just imagine being on mute permanently and you get a sense of what it is like for women who are systematically excluded from decisions about organizational changes.

Creating an inclusive environment within any organization is crucial yet deceptively difficult. There is no universal remedy, and everyone has their own experiences and needs when it comes to inclusion. When it comes to organizational change, ensuring the inclusivity of women is an area that is often overlooked.

Establishing inclusion from the start

To be effective, inclusivity in organizational change has to be an ongoing practice rather than a one-time event or even a one-off process. It needs to be established as part of our approach to change, where individuals and teams are seen as central, and the focus is on capturing the ideas of a diverse range of people and securing their commitment.

It also means not relying on tokenism or treating women as a homogenous group. When done correctly, inclusivity goes far beyond the strategies for consultation and participation that most organizations embrace as part of a business transformation. It reimagines organizational change so that it is collaborative and co-created. This lets women, and others, flourish without barriers or biases so that they feel respected and treated with dignity and fairness.

Clarifying inclusion in your organization

To help create a more inclusive environment, we need to consider how inclusivity can be implemented. This is, whether it will be informal or formal; whether all employees will have a direct or indirect say. Be mindful that some people will have a stronger desire to be included than others, although all relevant individuals should have the opportunity to be involved.

There also has to be clarity on what issues individuals and teams can be involved in - will it be job design and working conditions or strategic issues? – and on what level of involvement people will have - will they be able to express opinions and/or to make decisions? They will also need to know what decisions have already been made.

Fostering gender equity

Unlocking the full value of inclusion in organizational changes requires creating and fostering an environment where everyone feels they belong, is treated with dignity and is encouraged to fully participate. This includes ensuring that the executive team, and eventually the whole organization, understands the value to be gained by advancing gender equity.

It also involves identifying what actions will effectively increase inclusion for diverse groups - not just women as a whole, but specific groups of women. For this, it’s essential to actually ask and listen to women, to gain a deeper understanding of what inclusion really means for them.

Furthermore, demonstrating behaviours that foster the inclusion of women in organizational changes is vital. This could mean, for instance, having formal and informal conversations, recognizing biases, encouraging women to take on leading roles with business transformations and recognizing the value of diverse opinions, even from those who oppose change.

Making inclusivity centre stage

Inclusivity can also often be ignored during a transformation due to unconscious bias. Bias can have a significant impact on attitudes and behaviours and can influence key decisions about a transformation. In hybrid teams, unconscious bias can often accompanied by proximity bias - the tendency to prefer employees we see in person over those who are working remotely. There is, therefore, a need to be mindful of unconscious biases to ensure that inclusivity is centre stage during an organizational change.

Championing inclusive decision-making

The process of decision-making needs to be clear, so people know what to expect. For example, will decisions be made openly in teams or in a confidential ballot? If diverse ideas are not taken on board, then individuals will also need to be given a clear rationale as to why those have been rejected. Through participating in decisions about changes, women have the opportunity to question existing work practices, craft new approaches and change the way that their work is done.

Keeping the momentum going

We have come a long way with gender inclusivity and equity, yet still often fall short. Now is the time to turn off the mute button when it comes to organizational changes.