Why Is Respect Important In A Diverse Workplace

Why is respect important in a diverse workplace specifically? Because identical conduct does not land identically, and the difference is easy to miss from the majority position.

A joke about an accent, a repeated mispronunciation, or a comment about someone’s food is trivial once. Received weekly, by the only person in a team it applies to, it is a different experience entirely.

The reporting pattern compounds it. People who are already the only one of something in a room are the least likely to raise it, because doing so marks them out further and they are frequently the newest or least secure in the group.

So a diverse workplace with no complaints tells you very little on its own. Anonymous feedback, exit interviews and turnover broken down by group will tell you considerably more than the complaints register.

The Australian Human Rights Commission covers discrimination duties. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s cultural awareness training and diversity, equity and inclusion course.