Keys to being a truly inclusive company

How to be a truly inclusive company

Luigi Forestieri, manager of PayPal Mexico, told Expansión: “if you take diversity and inclusion as something that doesn’t exist and see it more as a business and a way to profit, it’s pink washing”.

The pinkwashing comes from english rose, what does rose mean, and whitewash; whiten or cover up In the context of the rights of the LGBTTTIQA community, this is a marketing strategy that aims to promote products, people or companies that sympathize with the movement and thus show a more “inclusive and tolerant” image.

But it doesn’t always happen that way. Forestieri mentions: “If you do not live the values ​​of diversity on a daily basis in your hiring policies and in how you treat your employees, you are not being genuine. Any type of campaign that you do, consumers will realize that you only appear when it is convenient for you to appear.”

The Nielsen study mentions that the industries where there is a greater perception of inclusion are “fashion, clothing and accessories”, “beauty, hygiene and personal care” and “alcoholic beverages”; on the other hand, where inclusion is least perceived is in “supermarkets”, “automotive industry” and “musical instruments”.

Additionally, only 26% of the community responded that companies have become “much more inclusive” in the last two years.

Ana Laura Barro, spokesperson for Nielsen, mentioned that a recommendation for brands is to check that communication is inclusive. That is, that the community is not stereotyped, that inclusive language is used and talk to the community about its problems and real needs.

On the other hand, Forestieri mentions that in organizations where there is a truly diverse culture, employees become much more productive. “Imagine the case when a person wants to change her gender identity and in the office they show discrimination for it. That makes them stop focusing on their work and more on what they will say.” Here are some of his recommendations for companies:

1. Human resources policies. Including equal pay and benefits, as well as investment in talent retention and promotion strategies.
2. Be openly committed to diversity. Have specific objectives of responsibility, transparent and known by all, from the moment of hiring new collaborators.
3. Promote training and education on diversity. To all employees, and especially leaders, so that they can empower workers by fostering an environment open to dialogue and attentive to issues of diversity and inclusion.