Recent events in which Americans have called for better working conditions, respect, tolerance, inclusion and equity have been the catalyst for change throughout the United States in 2020.
However, the issues and ideas driving this revolution in the way Americans are treated isn’t new. In fact, the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has provided educational development on related topics throughout its 100-year history in an effort to enhance health and safety for all American workers through the advancement of the safety profession.
The panel discussion "Racing Toward Inclusion: How to Impact Your Safety Culture" at ASSP's Safety 2020 virtual conference was in the planning stages months before recent uprisings took place. With current discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion, the presentation took on new meaning.
Defining Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
Dr. Cori Wong, who has more than 10 years of training and leadership experience related to intersectional feminism, anti-racism, social justice, and inclusive culture change, began by saying, “We are currently having this conversation in the midst of major shifts – a global pandemic and now a very strong uprising in our country around issues that have not been new.”
It’s everyone’s job to continue doing the work to change American workplaces and respond to one another’s “needs, discrepancies and opportunities that have been highlighted over the past several months,” she continued. And these changes aren’t going to happen overnight.
The first step to creating a more inclusive workplace is to understand the differences between diversity, inclusion and equity.
“Diversity is acknowledging that people have different identities, different experiences and often with that different perspectives,” Dr. Wong explained.
This encompasses acknowledging that each worker has individual backgrounds and experiences from racial identity, sexuality, class, ability, culture to family structure.
However, she said, that’s not enough to create a workplace or environment where difference is respected and valued. It's not enough to acknowledge that people share a myriad of perspectives.
Inclusion goes a step past having a diverse representation or visibility within the company — past the numbers. Dr. Wong defined it as "bringing those differences in ways that can be beneficial for creating an environment where there is the advantage of more perspectives being used to address significant problems."
With inclusion, people are comfortable speaking and bringing their individual identities into the workplace without the fear that they need to hide themselves.
The advantage of this, Dr. Wong said is that a worker can experience inclusion on an individual level with an organization that supports them.
"In a bigger context within the organization, inclusion actually leads to better-operating organizations because they have the advantage of having different perspectives, experiences and voices at the table helping to shape how an organization runs," she said.
While diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand, stopping there isn't enough. It's about where these concepts matter most: equity.
Dr. Wong told the audience that when an employer is looking to create inclusive environments, they need to acknowledge that inequities that shape how people show up within an organization also are reflected in a much bigger scope on a national scale.
"Where you have inequities within an organization can be disproportionate in power and also risk. So, for safety professionals, thinking about it means focus on the people who have greater harm, greater risk, a greater burden. Not everybody is subject to the same type of risk or the same amount of risk," she explained.
To practice equity, a safety professional should identify who has disproportionate risk and try to rectify, amend and address it. Inequities are not going to be contained within an organization, however.
"Inequities often reflect greater inequities within society," Dr. Wong said.
Because organizations are built on the same value systems as the country, "putting a mirror" on these greater societal issues could benefit a company.
Dr. Wong concluded, "For the safety professional, diversity, equity and inclusion are important lenses to be able to develop so that one can be a more effective professional to protect the safety of everyone by attending to those who are most at risk within an organization and also because of the broader, historical, national political trends of the society in which we're all situated."
In the Context of a Safety Culture....
Thinking about risk on an individual level is key, Lindsay Bell, MPH, CSP, regional health and safety manager at Solvay Novecare, told attendees.
"A lot of times, our controls and the way we protect people are geared toward men or people who are 6 inches taller me or who are much larger than me," she explained. "So we have to think about how can we make this work for everyone. How can we make it adjustable for everyone and start thinking about how we can start helping the people who aren't the mean — the people on the outsides."
A safety professional needs to make the effort to try to listen to the needs and requirements of workers who aren't heard. In many instances, the loudest voice isn't the most common voice, the one with most perspective or the one with the most input that could generate change within an organization.
Bell said that it's not uncommon for employees to refrain from voicing their opinions because they feel like the organization isn't making an effort to be inclusive.
"Therefore they feel like 'if I were to say something, they wouldn't listen anyway.' So we need to reframe that and make sure we are open to hearing and understanding what other people have to say," she said.
Jose Perez, corporate senior manager of The Wonderful Company, added his perspective, "As safety professionals, we have the privilege to interact with our workforce beyond what other departments potentially have in an organization."
Safety professionals have the opportunity to hear and learn about the needs of each individual worker. Because of that, it's crucial to keep differences in mind.
One of the elements that need to be understood are how cultural differences can impact the way workers see safety at an organization.
"It doesn't automatically make someone at-fault or an unsafe worker," Perez said. But there is a difference in upbringing.
For example, certain cultural backgrounds see questioning authority as the wrong thing to do. When a worker is given a task and it is not safe, it will be done because the supervisor ordered it to be completed. Culturally speaking, to bring that up that supervisor might be disrespectful in that person's mindset.
"It is important in our roles as safety professionals and to understand that and to pay attention," he concluded. "We have the privilege to have contact with the workforce more than other departments. It is our responsibility then to pay attention."