The forward-thinking corporate leadership of today is working to address disparities in workplace culture caused by social barriers and biased thinking. As this progress is made, it’s important to emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to hold organizations accountable and work towards a better and more equitable future for employees. Inclusive behaviors and practices are vital skills to cultivate, and luckily, can be taught through ongoing training and learning.

DEI training is crucial to building a safe and equitable workspace for all employees. It has the potential to help an organization uncover hidden biases and address unfair hiring and development practices. It can also benefit company culture, boost growth potential and change the lives of your marginalized employees.

On the other hand, training is only one small part of a much larger DEI puzzle. The reality is that a few training courses aren’t going to be enough to drive meaningful DEI change within an entire organization. But when coupled with other initiatives, such as mentorship programs or workforce education, training can be an effective tool.

Let’s take a look at the different types of DEI training, along with the benefits and challenges that come along with it.

Diversity, equity and inclusion training helps employees at all levels and in all departments to better work with colleagues of differing identities and backgrounds. It aims to build awareness and skills that support marginalized employees and help to cultivate a safe, compassionate and equitable office culture where everyone feels valued.

The emphasis should always be on the human case for DEI training as diversity, equity and inclusion are, at their core, human issues. However, organizations at large also benefit from DEI, and there's a strong business cases for implementing DEI training.

Organizations with high employee engagement resulting from improved DEI can be up to 21 percent more profitable than comparable organizations without. Plus, DEI also reduces occurrences of workplace harassment, which is a problem that costs businesses 7.6 million dollars a year.

Another statistic from Global Diversity Practice shows how more diverse organizations lead industry innovation, as diverse teams make better decisions 87 percent of the time.

Every member of your organization should participate in some form of DEI training — especially those in people management and leadership positions. It's common for workplace diversity to be lowest across leadership and senior positions, and the people in these positions are often the most influential across the organization. This makes it even more critical for your leadership team to participate and be actively involved in DEI initiatives. 

Here are some of the most common topics addressed in DEI training:

Within these topics, here are some DEI competencies to prioritize building:

It’s important to take a good look at your organization and identify areas of bias or homogeneity that need work. No two companies will require precisely the same kinds of training.

Different kinds of DEI training are leveraged to different ends within an organization depending on its needs and culture. Training can work to mitigate biased or unfair behavior, cultivate awareness and empathy or empower your diverse workforce.

Below, you’ll find the types of DEI training tactics developed by cultural competency advocate Glen Guyton:

Once you’ve implemented DEI training in your workplace, how can you tell if they’re successful? The first thing to know is that it will take time before you begin to see results. And it’s important to implement diversity training built for the long-term — think of DEI as a marathon, not a sprint. 

Now, let’s take a look at a few key metrics.

A commitment to DEI needs to be an ongoing practice at any organization. And to achieve a truly equitable workplace for your employees, your DEI initiatives must extend beyond training. Many of these short-term initiatives can have an impact at the moment but may fall short when it comes to creating lasting change.

This is where additional mentorship and learning opportunities come into play. Ongoing mentorship can help to support advancement for underserved employees, while also enabling continuous training for well-represented employees — enabling them to be better allies.

If you’re looking for an even more comprehensive solution, consider implementing a workforce education program that works hand-in-hand with your existing DEI initiatives to provide learning opportunities to your employees. Businesses are in a unique position to offer educational opportunities that break down systemic barriers and serve underrepresented groups. This approach, when coupled with other DEI efforts such as training, can be a major driver of lasting social impact both at an organizational and individual level.

Ready to learn more? Check out this e-book for more insights into how to up-level your DEI efforts with workforce education.