What is chatGPT?

ChatGPT, or “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”, was created by the United States of America’s artificial intelligence company OpenAI. It utilises Natural Processing Language (NPL) like other conversational AI such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. However, Chat GPT also utilises Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that involve training artificial neural networks to replicate the complexity of the human brain generating human-like responses.

It is characterised by its capacity to capture the nuances and subtleties of human speech, build on previous conversations, and generate meaningful conversations with humans.

Meaningful conversations generated by ChatGPT means the capacity to understand the context and generate responses that reflect the user’s personality, mood, and intent.

ChatGPT can be used for conversational bots and customer service to generate creative writing and content.

In HR, for example, IBM is using a Chatbot named “Watson Recruitment Assistant” to improve their recruitment process (to answer questions, provide feedback, and assist with the scheduling of interviews); Unilever is using ChatGPT as “U-chat” to provide real-time responses to candidates, answer questions, and guide them through the recruitment process; McDonald’s is using a Chatbot named “McBot” to assist with their employee onboarding process (answer questions and provide training material)[1].

ChatGPT is trained on a dataset of 175 billion parameters and 570 gigabytes (GB) and can perform various tasks in different fields and industries. This is huge! To give us an idea, 570GB is equivalent to over 385 million pages on Microsoft Word[2].

As we speak, this capability has already progressed as ChatGPT-4 launched in March 2023. ChatGPT surpassed 1 billion users in the same month, an increase of almost 50% since the previous month[3]. Making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history. It might also be relevant to acknowledge that worldwide 11.72% of users are in the United States of America, followed by 6% in India, and an increasing number of nations have banned access to ChatGPT: China, Cuba, Egypt, Italy, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine.

No wonder this is a current hot topic as everyone is trying to understand how ChatGPT can help them in making life easier and work more efficiently. So, let’s now go back to the question that lingers.

Can AI like ChatGPT replace humans in writing inclusion courses and training programmes?

Curious to hear what Chat GPT would say, I asked, and this is what I got:

‘Yes, AI like chat GPT can replace humans in writing inclusion courses and training programmes. AI has the capability to generate content with a high degree of accuracy and speed, and can be used to create content that is tailored to the specific needs of the user.’

It continued to say that the training provided by AI is inclusive, relevant and effective. Out of curiosity I also asked: In what ways AI cannot replace humans? And surprisingly it also gave me a comprehensive answer:

‘Chat GPT is a powerful tool for generating text. However, it has its limitations. While it may be able to generate text that is grammatically correct and coherent, it cannot replace humans in writing inclusion courses and training programmes. These courses and programmes require a deep understanding of the subject matter and an ability to understand the context of a given situation to create effective programmes.’

Case closed, or so I thought. From this simple interaction, I could conclude that Chat GPT can in fact be a powerful research tool, collating vast amounts of existing data and relating this data to the user in a way that is relevant to what they search, hence meaningful. However, its potential seems limited by our capability to ask questions. Therefore, the answers received risk being an extended confirmation of what one already knows or believes in. This directly poses a concern: the risk of confirmation bias.  Further to this, scholars in computer science argue that

“ChatGPT-3 lacked intentions, goals, and the ability to understand cause and effect — all hallmarks of human cognition”[4]

Additionally, when specifically considering Diversity and Inclusion training development, AI cannot match the human capacity for creativity, empathy and understanding. Humans can bring their own personal experiences and insights into the mix based on their learnt and lived experience, which unfolds a complex and intertwined existence, not possible for AI to conceive or even relate to.

Why is lived experience essential?

Lived experience, per see, provides a unique perspective on the world. Lived experience is emerging as an invaluable insight beyond the grasp of AI; some argue that “witnessing and describing the experience is a protected niche (…)Little islands of human-ness amongst the rising tide of automated mediocrity”[5].

Inclusion and Diversity training aims to provide a psychologically safe space where a diversity of lived experiences and views of the world are shared and understood to inform our decisions better and result in better outcomes for all. A successful D&I learning leads to new insights, transforming how we think about the world and act towards each other – inclusion and social justice being a moral drive.

Having a human interaction with expertise on the subject matter, complemented with creative and critical thinking, empathy, and compassion, is something AI can not offer in an emotional and equity-intelligent way.

At Inclusive Employers, we listen to understand the needs and aspirations of our clients. We offer bespoke courses, content, and meritorious experts with diverse lived and learned experiences to deliver an interactive, engaging, genuinely insightful, thought-provoking, yet psychologically safe learning environment – a learning experience worth having!

How can AI help us in the inclusion agenda?

A definite advantage of AI is the speed at which it researches vast amounts of data, generating content faster than humans. Artificial intelligence tools can help identify patterns of discrimination in large datasets, allowing us to understand better the scope and magnitude of the problem or inequities. It can also help create e-learning on basic concepts and subjects, such as equality laws and legislation (UK’s Equality Act 2010).

AI can be used to create more engaging and accessible content, making it easier for people of all backgrounds and abilities to access and understand the information they need. For example, ‘for learners who are deaf or hard of hearing or those who prefer to read rather than listen to content, ChatGPT can provide speech recognition services, transcribing audio and video content, providing captions, and enabling learners to search for specific keywords [6]. Finally, AI can provide personalized recommendations and guidance, helping individuals find the resources to participate fully in society.

Present-day challenges of AI and Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

1. AI systems can inadvertently perpetuate biases and discrimination if not designed and trained appropriately. UNESCO states, “the biases that people carry in their everyday lives can be reflected and even amplified through the development and use of AI systems”. In April 2023 researchers found that “Chat GPT displays toxic behaviour more than expected”,[7] and other researchers noted the difficulty to “define what it means to mitigate known racial, gender and religious bias in a universal manner — since appropriate language use varies across context and cultures”[8].

2. Lack of representation and diversity amongst those who are creating and coding AI perpetuates iniquities and influences what AI is used for, not addressing the most pressing needs of underserved communities. For example, women’s representation in AI development remains low, constituting only 12% of artificial intelligence researchers globally and 6% of professional software developers[9]. The risk of AI being designed only to serve a certain part of the world or part of society is a real possibility.

3. Lack of legislation governing the way AI is used. The rate at which AI progresses surpasses humanity’s capability to accompany it with appropriate legislation. Similar to how legislation is taking time to regulate online bullying and harassment on social platforms.

4. Disinformation at a significant scale. Besides factual errors produced by AI (text generated on the statistical likelihood of being true), current AI can generate convincing text and images. Microsoft’s chief economist warned that ‘AI could do a lot of damage in the hands of spammers with elections and so on’[10].

5. Privacy and use of personal and business data– based on this concern, on 31 March 2023 Italian Government blocked Chat GPT use in the country following concerns on data privacy on the basis of European Union law on GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)

Key points to consider:

• Artificial Intelligence such as Chat GPT mimics human-like interactions but cannot replace human lived experience and the associated human capabilities of creative, emotional and equity intelligence in creating a behavioural-changing D&I training or learning experience.  
• There is a pressing need to broaden the diversity and representation of who develops and codes artificial intelligence and which values it endorses.
• There is a pressing need to ensure AI is designed to be ethical and unbiased and that Conversational AI systems are representative, fair, transparent, and accountable.
• The pace of AI development surpasses human capacity to reflect on its implications, moderate our relationship with and use of AI, and endorse robust legislation and principled ethics to govern its use.

The potential of this powerful AI is promising and exciting yet scary when we cannot yet foresee the extent to which its impact can have on our lives, sectors, industries, governments and humanity at large.

AI professionals such as Elon Musk (OpenAI) and Geoffrey Hinton (early pioneer of AI and ChatGPT apps who recently resigned from Google unfolding a debate on the risks of AI de-regulated use), have overtly called for a pause in major AI projects[11].

UNESCO has been playing an influential role in international efforts towards the ethical development of AI and in March 2023 called all governments to implement the global ethical framework (signed by members in 2021) by developing respective strategies and policies[12]. Worth noting are the four core values the ethical framework permeates[13]:

• Respect, protection and promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms and human dignity
• Living in peaceful, just and interconnected societies
• Ensuring diversity and inclusiveness
• Environment and eco-system flourishing

While artificial intelligence serves a purpose, the human experience in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion environment is one that people resonate with. The human voice and lived experience need amplification in the workplace, and a way to support that is to provide a psychologically safe environment and true inclusion ethos.

References:

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/chatgpt-gpt-3-hr-2023-real-life-examples-hrvisionevent/

[2] ChatGPT could be a game-changer for marketers, but it won’t replace humans any time soon (theconversation.com)

[3] https://www.demandsage.com/chatgpt-statistics/

[4] How Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI (stanford.edu)

[5] ChatGPT and Lived Experience — Simon O’Regan (simonoregan.com)

[6] ChatGPT Can Improve Learning Experiences – Webanywhere

[7] https://www.demandsage.com/chatgpt-statistics/

[8] How Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI (stanford.edu)

[9] https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/gender-equality

[10] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/06/man-v-machine-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ai?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[11] Man v machine: everything you need to know about AI | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

[12] https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/artificial-intelligence-unesco-calls-all-governments-implement-global-ethical-framework-without

[13] https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence

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The driving force for inclusive recruitment

For the past year, I (Molly Byrne) have been implementing my inclusive recruitment strategy for England Rugby. The drive for more inclusive recruitment came from an increased focus on I&D after the murder of George Floyd, which prompted the development of our first I&D strategy. One pillar of this strategy was Employees and Board, where it was recognised that we had significant underrepresented groups across most protected characteristics.

Key focus for improvements

My initial aim was to improve our attraction and engagement of those underrepresented groups. As a sport, rugby has uneven popularity across different groups, with the most popular being white, male and middle class. This means that we must put in extra work to attract people outside this demographic, both within the sport and as an employer. We want rugby to appeal to a wider group and to make rugby a more inclusive sport and space, we need to hire people from those groups. Outside of the benefits of diverse lived experiences to our sport, inclusive recruitment is part of the puzzle of having a good working culture. 

A strategy based approach

My initial task was reviewing the existing process and using the opportunity to procure a new applicant tracker system to embed the changes I wanted into the system. Those changes shifted to anonymised shortlisting and using competency-based questions instead of CVs. 

One of the biggest challenges has been engagement with hiring managers across the organisation. The cyclical nature of hiring and managers dropping in and out of the process has meant that managers have not engaged with the changes until before they begin hiring. Time is in short supply, meaning that by the time they want to hire, they want to hire immediately.

In response to this situation, we created a suite of training, in collaboration with Inclusive Employers, for inclusive hiring, and this has been viewed primarily by those new to hiring. Experienced hiring managers are less likely to complete this training, so I’ve had to reach them differently. I set up weekly drop-ins for two months after the new system was put in place and extended this indefinitely to catch all hiring managers starting the recruitment process.

Effective change through collaboration and close relationships

The single most valuable and impactful measure has been working closely with our recruitment coordinator, who acts as a gatekeeper for the recruitment process. Working together has meant that we have adapted the existing process rather than adding or changing the process, which risks being dropped or shifted back in times of crisis or when time is limited. She has been instrumental in pushing hiring managers to use competency-based questions instead of cover letters and sharing the new job description template. Hopefully, as hiring managers gain more confidence in the new process, we can shift away from using anonymised CVs as a backup and solely rely on the questions.  

Molly’s final thoughts

As with all EDI work, it is a work in progress. We collect and regularly review feedback from applicants and hiring managers, and it has become clear that the interviews aren’t always consistent, so we are planning to start informally auditing some interview processes. We have also prepared some communications to reiterate must-haves in the interview process relating to panels and timely communications to applicants, both of which were raised in the feedback we collected. 

Author bio:

Molly Byrne , Diversity and Inclusion Attraction and Engagement Advisor at England Rugby

I have been working in EDI for around five years and first started out in a local charity in Cambridge, where I organised LGBTQ+ history month for the city. I also advise local businesses on how to make their workplaces more inclusive. After this, I worked at Stonewall for three years as a Client Account Manager, managing a portfolio of around 40 global clients. For this role, I provided inclusive advice, created and facilitated empowerment programmes and worked with our Sports department to help deliver their workshops. Currently, I work for the RFU as an Inclusion and Diversity Advisor, focusing on recruitment. Outside of work, I have played rugby since I was 12 and now play for my local club Shelford. I recently volunteered as D&I officer for my previous club Sheffield.

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There were times when it was hard to influence the conversation and to help colleagues understand what an inclusive workplace was and the power and importance of having one. Nearly all people professions have felt this at some point in their working life. It can be easy at these points for that little imposter syndrome to kick in and to turn the critical narrative inwards. 

My big piece of advice in these moments – is don’t give up, take a breath, and remember you are making a difference!

Having worked in many of these roles myself, I have often felt that my voice wasn’t being heard

Sharon Cooper, Senior Inclusion and Diversity Consultant

Why might we have these moments? 

There are many contributing factors, and here are a few reflections.

When there is a team or role within an organisation whose focus is I&D and culture, there can be a perception internally that the responsibility to develop in these areas is solely to these individuals. Of course, individuals in these roles are there to help drive the culture, advise, influence, bring in best practise, help measure progress and introduce accountability. But one person or team cannot shift thinking and approach it independently. The reality is that everyone has a role in creating an inclusive culture. 

Another contributing factor is that colleagues will have many work objectives and pressures and may need to see how I&D fits into what they do and how they do it. They may see I&D as an add-on, a nice to have, rather than an essential part of creating a culture and contributing to how colleagues feel within the workplace. 

The fear factor also comes in here; some colleagues are worried about having inclusion conversations. They may feel they don’t know enough and worry about offending people or getting it “wrong”. A lot of the hostile media around inclusion topics can contribute to this. All of which can result in colleagues “turning down” the volume on I&D.

What can we do to turn up the volume and make ourselves heard?

I’m a great believer in bringing in the external narrative, what is happening locally, nationally, or globally which we can use as a platform to discuss inclusion within our organisations.

Use these examples to highlight the relevance and that this is every day and affects us all. Its likely colleagues are talking about these things, so why not shine a light on them, utilise the learning opportunity and link back to organisational values and objectives? A great example of this is the publication of the KPMG Social Mobility Progression Report: Mind the Gap, which contains some fascinating findings about career progression.

How can your data, or lack of, help turn up the volume on inclusion within your organisation?

Think about the data you do have and how you use it. Remember, this data isn’t just your diversity demographics.

Look at all these touchpoints too:

• gender pay gap,
• employee engagement surveys,
• exit interviews,
• recruitment analysis

Your qualitative and quantitative information will provide evidence and can be used to create measures to help bring the inclusion conversation to life and make it relevant. It can also create accountability for leaders and others within the organisation, which is essential to progress.

How do I have meaningful conversations around workplace inclusion?

Take time to build your confidence in these conversations and look at your strengths; some great free strength finders are available. Make sure you take an evidence-based approach, as you may need more than moral justification. Practise what you will say and how you will say it and ask a colleague you trust to give you feedback. Of course, you can engage with external experts such as Inclusive Employers!

Working in inclusion is incredibly rewarding and, at times, challenging. Make sure you make space to look after yourself. Take time to reflect and celebrate; enjoy the big and small wins.

How Inclusive Employers can help you turn up your voice on I&D progress

• Join us on our webinar  “Turning up the volume on your I&D voice: Challenging resistance to I&D progress”
• Use our Inclusion Survey Tool
• Use our Exit Interviews and Surveys Factsheet
• Get in touch – Your account manager can provide support, consultancy, and training options to help you drive organisational change
• View our extensive library of member’s resources
• Keep one step ahead and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

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Events including the murders of George Floyd and Sarah Everard, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minoritized groups, the war in Ukraine, climate change and global movements such as Black Lives Matter has forced organisations to confront these inequalities.

Inclusion has for many employers become inescapable. All of this is positive; we are seeing genuine change happen, finally, at organisational level not just interpersonal. However, this shift brings risks with it. The risk now is that the actions taken can be performative, tokenistic and disingenuous.

What is performative Inclusion and Diversity?

Performative means it is a ‘performance’, it is done for show. When actions are performative the purpose is to make the individual or organisation look good without thinking about what will benefit marginalised and underserved communities. Actions may lack integrity, words and actions aren’t aligned and organisations are not fulfilling their promises and commitments.

Tokenism is similar: it means symbolic or performative efforts are made to create the appearance of equality, diversity or inclusion without actually creating genuine change.

Performative or tokenistic actions are not always deliberate. For many organisations, they aren’t consciously setting out to pay lip service, get some good PR and then move on. Of course, for some organisations this is exactly what they do, but often it is a result of well-meaning but naïve attempts to do good, or knee-jerk reactions coming from a place of panic or fear,

If we look at responses to George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent popularisation of Black Lives Matter, many organisations rushed to act. Unfortunately, this led to knee-jerk responses and tokenistic actions such as Instagram ‘black squares’ during the peak of Black Lives Matter in Summer 2020, the proliferation of which were widely criticised by Black people at the time. However, where many people and organisations moved beyond performative or tokenistic actions came after the event.

As this article from Pascale Diverlus explores, for many organisations the Black Lives Matter movement spurred them into making genuine change. These organisations muddled through taking actions, making mistakes, learning and growing as they found new directions. This is the key to avoiding performative or unsustainable inclusion change: your first step might be performative, or even a bit naïve, but you follow it up with consistent action and accountability.

How performative I&D has a negative impact

These tokenistic or performative actions don’t work precisely because they aren’t genuine: they are rarely attached to concrete actions and often don’t look at the wider context of an organisation’s cultural and inclusion challenges. In addition, people can tell when something isn’t genuine, and the biggest risk is that a lack of authenticity delegitimises your inclusion efforts. Once that trust has been broken it is difficult to re-engage staff, as they will always be wary of your true intentions.

Performative inclusion can also lead to fatigue for those attempting to influence change and a subsequent disengagement. It damages reputation and trust – both internally and externally. 

Examples of performative I&D

Common examples of performative inclusion and diversity include:

• Focusing on winning I&D awards, accreditations, or sponsoring events rather than really understanding and addressing the problems
• Having I&D policies on paper which aren’t applied in the workplace
• Having one-off I&D training that isn’t followed up or embedded into the employee lifecycle
• Acting only to bring in diverse talent instead of working to create a culture where diverse talent can flourish
• Focusing on external-facing branding (e.g., diverse imagery) instead of internal cultural change

Often performative inclusion is about grand gestures or big words without any actions, for example, statements of outrage on social media without actually taking any action; or having internal Inclusion and Diversity commitment statements that don’t have ‘teeth’ when it comes to accountability and governance.

How to avoid performative I&D and what you should do instead

Performative and tokenistic actions are often:

• Taken quickly, without thoughtful decision making
• Focus on looking to be doing the right thing rather than actually facing up to the challenges
• Close down conversation rather than make space for it
• Taken to avoid feelings such as guilt, fear or panic

My top tip for avoiding these situations is to stop, breathe and think. Be vigilant for when you and other people are rushing to make decisions and reacting in a hurry rather than thoughtfully responding. Engage your higher-order thinking skills: creativity, curiosity and collaboration.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

Viktor Frankl

1. Look at the bigger picture

Your first step for any inclusion and diversity change should be taking a holistic view of your organisation. For instance, you could undertake the Inclusive Employers Standard to establish your baseline and use the report to build an action plan.

2. Build accountability

Be rigorous in how you define the success or failure of any interventions. Accountability is key, so make sure you build a clear governance structure.

What actually changes for people as a result of an action?

What does your data tell you?

Self-evaluate and ensure your words and your actions are in sync.

3. Be prepared for the journey

Real change takes time. It involves dismantling inequalities that are systemic, institutional and embedded in our processes, ways of working and culture.

Support your organisations to understand that there are no “quick fixes”, and work needs to be transformational, ongoing and consistent.

Deloitte research suggests that organizations frequently underestimate the depth of the change required, adopting a compliance-oriented or programmatic approach to diversity and inclusion.

For most organizations, change requires a culture reset. To be meaningful it cannot be a series of HR initiatives but needs to be a layer over everything your organisation does. Think about your customers, marketing, IT, supply chain, and facilities.

4. Connect to the purpose

Before taking action around I&D undertake a deeper examination of needs, goals and motives to understand why inclusion action is essential and what you are trying to achieve. This will help to connect with your driving force for change and propel real action.

5. Engage allies

To be meaningful inclusion needs broad engagement and the work cannot be left to underrepresented and marginalised communities. Individuals can be given the burden of speaking up for their group, and are put in the spotlight often without regard to their existing workload and position.

Work undertaken should be informed by the lived experience and expertise of those that experience injustices but not left to them to carry out.

How Inclusive Employers can support you in 2023

When you don’t know the answers, Inclusive Employers can help. Here are some ways Inclusive Employers can help:

• Utilise our Members’ Desk and ask all of our 300+ members about their organisations
• Check out our members’ resources and give access to them to your other colleagues so they can login and find the answers themselves
• Drop an email to your account manager to see if they can help you – we’ll always do our very best!
• Look ahead at all our webinars and book yourself in before your diary gets busy.

Many of our account managers have previously been internal I&D colleagues, so we understand what you’re facing, please feel free to be open with us.

If you’re not already a member, find out how Inclusive Employers membership can support your inclusion journey.

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What is Ageism?

Ageism or age discrimination is discrimination or unfair treatment based on a person’s age. Under the Equality Act 2010, employees are protected from age discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, employment terms and conditions, promotions and transfers, training and dismissals. The Equality Act protects people from direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

Age discrimination can lead to the formation of workplace ingroups and outgroups, which reduces information sharing and collaboration.

Stereotyping

Age-based discrimination is linked to negative beliefs and assumptions. Younger employees can be perceived as less reliable, less conscientious, or less capable simply because of their age. As a result, they can be overlooked for training opportunities, greater responsibilities, and promotions. Younger workers also tend to receive lower pay and benefits relative to similarly experienced older workers.

Equally for older workers it is common to face stereotyping in the workplace. Although some assumptions made about older workers can be favourable in that they can be seen as more reliable or as having a stronger work ethic, it’s far more common for older workers to face negative stereotypes; including perceptions that they are less adaptable, lack physical capabilities, have limited technological competence, are less trainable and are resistant to change. These negative stereotypes, although they are largely unfounded, persist and result in significant discrimination.

Age related discrimination and worker underperformance

The presence of negative age-related stereotypes does not only result in direct discrimination. It can also result in worker underperformance, even for employees who have previously performed strongly. This can occur through two routes – one external and one internal.

The external route occurs when an older worker becomes so worried about confirming a negative age-based stereotype that it impedes their ability to focus, causing their performance to suffer. Thus, a vicious spiral is created, and the stereotype becomes self-fulfilling.

The internal route occurs when the worker internalises a stereotype via repeated exposure to it. If you grow up continuously hearing that older people are less competent, when you become older, you might believe that you are now less competent. Such internalised stereotypes create self-imposed constraints. The impact of such age-related stereotypes, whichever route they stem from, is not trivial. They have been shown to cause damaging psychological and physiological changes, ranging from a deterioration in memory and weaker cognitive performance to poorer cardiovascular stress responses.

The exception

There is an important and notable exemption for employers to be aware of here. While the Equality Act 2010 protects you from age discrimination at work or when applying for a job, there is an exception in the law which applies to age discrimination only.

An employer can make a decision based on someone’s age if they can show that it is objectively justified and proportionate. This should only be a defence in a limited number of circumstances and doesn’t mean that employers have ‘free rein’ to discriminate against older workers. Aside from very specific circumstances, employers can’t force employees to retire.
Interventions

Given the complexity of this issue, the most successful initiatives will be those that take a systematic and wide-ranging approach. Ensuring there is a robust and inclusive approach to culture lays the foundation upon which ageism can be identified and rooted out. Understanding inclusive recruitment and unconscious bias is particularly key.

Positive action

Positive action refers to the steps that an employer can take to encourage people from disadvantaged groups to apply for jobs.

For example, if an employer analysis their diversity data and finds that older people are underrepresented in their workplace, they can state in recruitment adverts that older people are welcome to apply. This isn’t the same as positive discrimination, which is against the law. An example of positive discrimination would be where an employer decides to only accept applications from older candidates, even though the job could be done equally well by a younger person. This is illegal.

Positive action is an intervention which can be used at the discretion of an employer, following an evidence led approach. Where two job applicants are both equally able to do the job, the employer can base their decision on positive action to improve the diversity of their workplace. The rules for doing this are strict and the employer must be able to show that the candidates were equally qualified. Either way, employers must always offer the job to the most suitable candidate, even if they fall outside of the protected characteristic that the employer was seeking to target.

AGE model

The AGE model is an approach which has its roots in self-determination theory, it aims to move a workplace’s age-related practices away from being extrinsically motivated (something organisations feel they have to do) to being intrinsically motivated (something they want to do). This comes back to the creation of inclusive culture; Inclusive Employers can support embedding this approach through training and support.

The takeaway

Age-discrimination commonly affects both younger and older workers, and intersectionality will also likely be playing a role. Any steps to level the playing field should be based on age-related audit findings and consider the needs of all affected workers.

Once your organisation has a clear picture of its starting position, it can consider which interventions may be most relevant and effective. Whatever approach is taken, it will be important to measure its effectiveness over time and not just assume that introducing one or more changes means that the issue has been resolved.

You can find out more about intergenerational workplaces in our blog, use our Multigenerational/Intergenerational workforce factsheet or get in touch about Intergenerational Workforces training within your organisation.

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Being an inclusion & diversity professional is a unique role in an organisation. It is extremely varied, and the subject matter can be incredibly challenging for several reasons.

Inclusion & diversity professionals are inevitably talking about historic and societal injustices not only in the workplace but in society which therefore influence the workplace, culture and colleagues. But since we’re Inclusive Employers, we’ll stick to the workplace for now.

An inclusion & diversity professional’s day to day varies and is incredibly broad from exploring and investigating, disadvantaged customers, unbalanced senior leadership, people of different identities not getting promotions/jobs, customers being treated differently because of who they are, and even serious cases of discrimination and harassment.

Not only does the topic vary, but so does the work. They are also expected to analyse data, be communications and marketing experts and project managers.

The variety and seriousness of the subject matter create pressure on the inclusion & diversity lead to ‘fix’ complex societal injustices and can often lead to a feeling of being lost or not feeling they know enough to be great at the job.

On top of that, many inclusion & diversity leads themselves have varied identities, so as individuals they are also caught up in societal and workplace disadvantages. As a result of this concoction of professional and personal barriers, many colleagues experience burnout.

Ways to overcome burnout as an inclusion & diversity professional

The important thing for inclusion and diversity leads to remember is: no one knows everything. Even fellow inclusion & diversity professionals who we work with and are in awe of don’t have all the answers.

Even at Inclusive Employers, as full-time inclusion and diversity consultants, we admit we don’t know everything and on a daily basis learn from each other and our members around the world.

There are things that all I&D professionals can do to combat the pressure of needing to know all the answers.

Here is some advice on how to overcome burnout as an inclusion and diversity professional:

Push back when necessary

Many I&D professionals are lone wolves in a pack, and one person can only do so much in a day, week, and month. So, start saying no to meetings as you can’t be two in places/team calls at once (you could maybe try but I’m not sure even the tech will allow it).

Start engaging with the business for them to also own the responsibility of the inclusion agenda or strategy.

No other strategy or action plan in an organisation is owned by, and expected that it will be delivered by one person. Inclusion & diversity leads are only one piece on the chessboard – they need every other piece in order to win the game. And just like chess, I&D is complicated, strategic and not everyone understands!

Avoid back-to-back meetings

Have 45-minute meetings to allow for small actions in between, standing away from your desk, getting a drink etc. More meetings = more actions!

Find a safe space

Inclusion & diversity professionals are often very aware of complex political and societal injustices which can be incredibly heavy across a variety of identities, lived experiences, and communities.

Inclusion & diversity professionals should make sure they have people to share with such as colleagues they trust or friends/family who they can confide in. There’s a whole community of I&D colleagues on LinkedIn to connect with.

Give it time

Not knowing the answer straight away, isn’t the same as not being able to find out the answer. Inclusion & diversity professionals can say things like “I will find out for you” or “thanks for bringing this to my attention, I am going to go away and find out more about this”.

By taking this approach everyone is listened to and respected but the professional is given time to find the best answer or solution. 

Also, give yourself time! Put in some regular time in your diary to ‘action’ work and some time to develop yourself whether that’s an online course, one of our webinars or be curious and Google search something you want to know more about.

Be kind

Everyone will be coming at their day with different things going on their worlds. Don’t fall into the trap that we are all feeling the same. Give people space, be kind, be clear and allow people to just be.

Inclusion & diversity leads should be kind to themselves and remember progress is sometimes slow. Also, the work you’re doing will be supporting someone, you just might not see or hear about it.

The personal benefits of working in I&D

Even if you don’t know all the answers, knowing some answers changes lives. Your knowledge, kindness and time will make others feel seen, heard and appreciated.

There is no better thing to achieve each day. Inclusion and diversity professionals get the double benefit of supporting individuals and changing organisational cultures.

Changing organisations will make the working world better for those who come after us.

How Inclusive Employers can support you

When you don’t know the answers, Inclusive Employers can help. Here are some ways Inclusive Employers can help:

• Utilise our members desk and ask all of our 300+ members about their organisations
• Check out our resources and give access to them to your other colleagues so they can login and find the answers themselves
• Drop an email to your account manager to see if they can help you – we’ll always do our very best!
• Look ahead at all our webinars and book yourself in before your diary gets busy.

Many of our account managers have previously been internal I&D colleagues, so we understand what you’re facing, please feel free to be open with us. Ask your account managers to direct you to webinars/resources if you want to upskill yourself in any specific areas.

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