Inclusion on Purpose An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work

How organizations can foster diversity, equity, and inclusion: taking action to address and prevent workplace bias while centering women of color.

Few would disagree that inclusion is both the right thing to do and good for business. Then why are we so terrible at it? If we believe in the morality and the profitability of including people of diverse and underestimated backgrounds in the workplace, why don’t we do it? Because, explains Ruchika Tulshyan in this eye-opening book, we don’t realize that inclusion takes awareness, intention, and regular practice. Inclusion doesn’t just happen; we have to work at it. Tulshyan presents inclusion best practices, showing how leaders and organizations can meaningfully promote inclusion and diversity. 
 
Tulshyan centers the workplace experience of women of color, who are subject to both gender and racial bias. It is at the intersection of gender and race, she shows, that we discover the kind of inclusion policies that benefit all. Tulshyan debunks the idea of the “level playing field” and explains how leaders and organizations can use their privilege for good by identifying and exposing bias, knowing that they typically have less to lose in speaking up than a woman of color does. She explains why “leaning in” doesn’t work—and dismantling structural bias does; warns against hiring for “culture fit,” arguing for “culture add” instead; and emphasizes the importance of psychological safety in the workplace—you need to know that your organization has your back. With this important book, Tulshyan shows us how we can make progress toward inclusion and diversity—and we must start now.

Ruchika Tulshyan, an award-winning inclusion strategist and speaker, is CEO and founder of Candour, which works with organizations to create diverse teams and inclusive cultures. A former business journalist, she has reported from four countries and writes regularly on inclusive leadership for the Harvard Business Review. She was named to the Thinkers50 list, a global ranking described by the Financial Times as “the Oscars of management thinking.”
 

Foreword by Ijeoma Oluo ix
Introduction: Inclusion on Purpose 1
I Individual Behaviors to Drive Inclusion on Purpose 17
1 How to See Past Privilege 21
2 How to Develop an Inclusion Mindset 37
3 How to Develop Empathy as an Inclusive Leader 55
4 Shine the Light, Then Get out of the Way 75
II Organizational Behaviors to Drive Inclusion on Purpose 95
5 Your Role in Creating Inclusive Hiring Practices 99
6 Pay Women of Color Equally for Equal Work 121
7 How Effective Feedback Drives Inclusion 143
8 How Psychological Safety Powers Innovation and Growth 167
III Looking to the Future of Inclusion on Purpose 193
9 A Future Powered by Inclusive Technology 197
10 Inclusion in the Global Market 219
Conclusion: The Future Is Ours to Create 245
Acknowledgments 253
Notes 255
Index 271