Most organisations now say diversity matters. Far fewer can point to what they have changed because of it. National Inclusion Week, which Inclusive Employers has run every September since 2013, is a useful moment to close that gap. Here are practical ways to champion diversity in the workplace, during the week and for the rest of the year.
Leadership sets the tone
Commitment has to be visible at the top. That means senior leaders turning up to events, talking honestly about what the organisation has not yet got right, and putting budget and time behind inclusion work. When leaders hand it all to HR or an employee network, everyone else reads the signal.
Inclusive leadership is also a skill people can learn: listening properly, inviting challenge, adapting how you communicate to the person in front of you. Build it into leadership development instead of treating it as a separate topic.
Look hard at how you hire
Recruitment is where many organisations lose diverse talent before it ever arrives. Strip unnecessary requirements and jargon out of job adverts, offer adjustments at every stage as standard, and ask whether a traditional interview actually tests the skills the job needs. Our guide to making recruitment neurodiversity-friendly has specific steps, and most of them help every candidate.
Build teams that use their differences
Diversity on a headcount report achieves little if everyone is still expected to work in exactly the same way. Mixed teams do their best work when people can contribute in ways that suit them, whether that means thinking things through in writing, working somewhere quieter or taking part in meetings differently. Our working styles guide gives teams a simple way to share what works for each person.
Make flexibility normal
Flexible hours, remote or hybrid working, and clear policies on caring responsibilities and parental leave let a wider range of people do their best work. Where someone is disabled, some of these changes may also be reasonable adjustments that the employer is legally required to consider, and Acas explains reasonable adjustments clearly.
Back your networks and allies
Employee resource groups give people with shared experiences a place to support each other and a collective voice with leadership. They work best with an executive sponsor, a budget and protected time to do the work. Allies matter as well: colleagues who speak up, share the load and push for change when something is unfair.
This support makes a real difference to whether people feel able to be open at work. Our article on high-masking neurodivergent employees looks at what it costs people when they do not.
Measure, then act on what you find
Track hiring, progression, pay, engagement and attrition across different groups, and ask employees directly about their experience. Share what you find, including the uncomfortable parts, and set specific goals. National Inclusion Week is a natural point to report progress each year. For neurodiversity, our piece on metrics for a neuroinclusive culture suggests what to track.
Celebrate, but do not stop there
Events that mark the cultures, identities and experiences in your workforce help people feel seen, and they can be good fun. They work when they sit alongside the harder work above. A themed lunch with no change to policy or practice tends to make staff more cynical, not less.
How Enna can help
Neurodiversity is the part of diversity we specialise in. To see how inclusive your organisation is for neurodivergent people today, try our neuroinclusion maturity assessment, or ask us about a full neuroinclusion audit of your policies and processes. For allies and employee networks, our Allyship in Action and effective ERG workshops give people practical tools to use straight away. Book a call with our team to talk through your priorities.
