Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion: Strategies for the workplace

The events of the past few years heightened and intensified conversations around racial justice. As new questions have emerged around what racial inclusion looks like in 2022 and beyond, organizations are taking a look at the faces that make up their workforce and beginning to understand that a diverse workforce can contribute to an organization’s revenue, retention rate, and overall employee satisfaction.¹

Today’s workforce has more women and older workers (55 or older), is better educated and more racially diverse, and includes more employees born outside the US than 15 years ago. So, when it comes to offering support, flexibility, and benefits to your employees — especially to women — they don’t all want the same thing or want traditional offerings. Learn more about strategies to support the women in your workforce.

At least 20 million Americans identified as LGBTQIA+,² which includes 7% of the workforce.³ LGBTQIA+ workers acknowledge progress in workplace and benefits equality but agree that there is a long way to go. Creating an inclusive workplace isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s vital to attract and retain a loyal workforce.

One way to create a better experience for your LGBTQIA+ workforce is to ensure your insurance provider is able to process gender-based claims in accordance with the person and not the gender. Most in the trans and nonbinary community must appeal in order to get baseline care like pregnancy and various types of cancers covered.

Nearly 6 million Americans with a disability are in the workforce, and the employment-population ratio among those with disabilities has been rising over the past decade.² As communities and businesses adapt during the pandemic, we can learn from the disabled community how to navigate life remotely and improve accessibility.

Ensure your organization’s benefits are updated for inclusion. When considering short-term and long-term disability, include trans and nonbinary care in the leave process for any surgeries.

With a growing number of elderly Americans needing daily assistance, people with special needs requiring care, and COVID-19 potentially increasing the amount of family members who have fallen ill, one in seven working Americans identifies as a caregiver. Now more than ever, employer support and workplace benefits that address caregivers’ needs are necessary for this growing segment of the US workforce.