The big test: check the refrigerator, what’s in it? And mainly check who interacts with whom, what kind of company outings are organized, and who makes the decisions.
Check Your Fridge
Some companies do not feel the need to be diverse and inclusive, but others do. Yet, many companies that want to be, remain stuck when it comes to diversity. Without succeeding in being inclusive. Then they are mainly concerned with how they can add more color to the team. But they don’t look further into what’s happening on the work floor. Then you can have a diverse team as a company, but often there is no inclusivity.
When I enter somewhere, I often quickly get a sense of the inclusivity of a company. I see who interacts with whom, who seeks each other out. For example, this can be very telling. I also see what’s on the table, or what’s offered. I have also been at a company where only soy milk was available for coffee. Then you can wonder: if all your people drink only soy milk in their coffee, or if you only offer your employees soy milk, how diverse and inclusive are you really? With us there’s a box of baklava or Moroccan biscuits on the table. And at lunch, there’s a wide diversity of dishes: bao buns, spring rolls, shawarma, döner, you name it.
I specifically mention food now, because I believe that the variation in food in the company indicates how diverse and inclusive it is. Like a kind of thermometer. Because if you open our refrigerator, you see so many different things. Foods for someone who eats halal, but also for someone who is vegetarian. And we have them in the refrigerator because we have a diverse team with a variety of preferences. So if you want to check for yourself how diverse and inclusive your company is: check your fridge.
Inclusivity Goes Beyond Food
Having diverse foods in the fridge is an effect of diversity and inclusivity. But of course, it’s not where you should focus if you find that you don’t see this diversity of food in your company. Look rather at the cause. Why is our refrigerator like this diverse, and others are not? First of all, we have the need, because there is a diversity of people. And secondly, the lunch is formed as a co-creation. There is not just one person who decides what is eaten. What is characteristic of a truly inclusive company is that people are willing to bring something from their culture and identity. That people dare to fully express themselves. And that the space is also provided for this. Of course, inclusivity goes further than food. You don’t automatically become inclusive if you start shopping diversity. You can’t mimic the effect of inclusivity and thereby become inclusive. It’s the other way around. If your company is inclusive, your fridge will naturally become that as well.
The same applies to the organization of your company outings. Then it’s good to consider: how are these planned? Are they things that fit a particular culture? Or are they only technical outings? Are they things where mainly alcohol is drunk? Or where only sandwiches with cheese and pizza are eaten? What happens on the outings, and who decides that? That too is a good thermometer for the inclusivity of your company.