Diversity &

Inclusion
A Guide for SMEs

Meghan Eagles
Doug MacAulay
Greg Pitt
Crystal Waye
Human Resources Management
10/18/2019

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 Diversity & Forward
This guide was created to familiarize you with diversity &

Inclusion
inclusion and to provide you with tools and resources for
implementing best practices of diversity and inclusion into
your business. All the information has been compiled from
researching what other SMEs are doing right now that is
A Guide for SMEs working for them. We give credit in our appendix at the end
of the document so you can look into them yourself in more
detail. We thank you for your interest and best of luck!

01 Forward
How to Use This Guide
How to Use This Guide

T
Step 1: Are We Diverse? o set you up for success, we have narrowed our focus to
Step 2: Data select groups and hope that you use the examples to come
up with your own ideas as well and apply them equally to all
02 Step 3: Measure
Step 4: Recruit
protected groups of people in Nova Scotia. The examples and
initiatives used in this guide are centered on four main problem
Champions areas of diversity and inclusion in Nova Scotia:
· Indigenous People
· Persons with Disabilities
03 Step 5: Ongoing
Strategy
· Visible Minorities
· Women in Underrepresented Jobs

These groups are woefully underrepresented in our workforce in

different ways and we explore methods below to improve their ratios
within our communities. Again, we encourage you to think outside
04 Diversity & Inclusion the box and apply the same logic to all protected grounds not just
What is it? the ones we’ve highlighted for this guide.
Definitions

Step 1: Are We Diverse?

05
W
Heading type1 ho do you have in your organization right now? One Way to
figure this out is by conducting a survey and encouraging
Sub heading
people to self-identify. We have provided a sample survey
Sub,sub heading you can use as a template on page ?? of the Appendix.

06 Benifits Step 2: Data Population Vs Workforce

N
Why it Matters ow that we have an
idea of who you
15
already have in your
organization, let’s do some
10
math. Compare your
numbers to the community 5
at large. If your business
does not have a similar 0
percentage of people that
make up your community,
similar to this graph on the
right, then we have some
work to do!
Population Workforce

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 Figure 1 - Diversity Working Together
Step 3: Measure

H
ow do you measure up? Let’s define what
groups are missing from your employees and see
how if differs from the community you are doing
business in. When you are looking at your company
here are some key questions to keep in mind:

 Are there members of underrepresented groups

in senior leadership roles?
 Are there members of underrepresented groups
serving as role models for underrepresented
members of your community?
 Are there members of underrepresented groups acting as mentors for your organization?
 How does your organization recognize diversity and inclusion achievements? Do you have
leadership awards that celebrate and recognize Diversity and Inclusion achievements?

Next 4: Recruit Champions

N
ow that we know the numbers, what’s next? It’s important to look beyond the short-term gain of
hiring people of different back grounds to meet the numbers. It’s easy enough to just set targets
and meet them, but your company would be forgetting something crucial: the people that are
already working for you.

Figure 2 - Widening Doors
We believe that slow and steady is the best way to ensure a
smooth transition. We recommend sensitizing your workforce
before making any quick moves. For example: Your company
wants to widen the office doorways. This will promote
accessibility to allow an easier passage for someone in a
wheelchair. This is going to involve changes in infrastructure.
Now, imagine every door in your building being widened at
the exact same time. Think of how noisy, dirty, and disrupting
that would be?

It is much better to approach it strategically and maybe do one

door at time. Gradually, you will have made the changes
necessary; people are still able to complete their work
comfortably; People dependent on wheelchairs are able to
move freely. It’ a win for all involved. We think that the
greatest success will come from starting in the middle. What
does that mean?

Identify the management in the middle of your organization. They are going to be the most important
influencers in your company for any kind of strategic change. We need these managers to be champions
and invested in the idea of diversity and inclusion. It’s not going to happen overnight. Get feedback from
your frontline managers. Some frank and earnest conversations should be had to ensure that everyone
is on the same page. Your strategy must be started months in advance before the frontline employees
are included and it will need to span years afterwards to make it an intrinsic part of your company. Bring
in the experts for cultural sensitivity training. Provide an opportunity for your frontline managers to make
themselves more culturally aware. Do it over time.

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 “I’ve got my front-line managers onboard. Now what?”
“I’ve got my front-line managers onboard. Now what?”
Step 5: Ongoing
Strategy

W
e know the numbers, we have champions, let’s talk strategy! Not all strategies will look the same.
Some things to consider when you are building your plan are the company values, vision, and
brand. The changes you make should be authentic in their intent and they should reflect that way
to your company population and the public. Any initiative that you choose should avoid stereotyping at all
costs! If you believe in it, then your employees will be more inclined to believe in it too. The decisions
you make will need to be done with a firm footing in the belief that it is the right direction to move your
company. Going through the motions will not be enough. Any half-hearted attempts will be damaging and
set your plan back to the beginning only this time with an air of suspicion. We’ve included some initiatives
in this guide to give you some
ideas. The actual initiatives you
choose should be made by
consulting your community
leaders, experts, and even your
own employees.

It is important to note that just

like the time you took to get your
managers on board, you will
need to take your time with rest
of the company. Slow and
Steady! We do recommend that
when you are ready to share
your strategy with the company,
share it to the whole company
with your front-line managers
cheerleading all the way.

Figure 3 - Champions

Now that we have shown you the steps to finding out what might need to change in your
enterprise, and you know how to use this guide, we are ready to talk about the details.
Below we will explain more about diversity and inclusion, why it’s important, what you can
expect as a return on investment, and provide you with plenty of examples of how other
businesses like yours are already doing it. Hopefully you’ll have everything you need to
create and implement your own policies that align with the vision and core values of your
company!

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 DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
What is it?

F
irst thing’s First. What are we talking about when we are talking Diversity and Inclusion?
To help us figure that out, let’s take a look at the Law. The protected Characteristics that are covered
in the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act are:

 Age  Marital status

 Race  Source of income
 Colour  Harassment (and sexual harassment)
 Religion  Irrational fear of contracting an illness or
 Creed disease
 Ethnic, national or aboriginal origin  Association with protected groups or
 Sex (including pregnancy and pay equity) individuals
 Sexual orientation  Political belief, affiliation or activity
 Physical disability  Gender Identity
 Mental disability  Gender Expression
 Family status  Retaliation

In addition to protection from discrimination, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act also prohibits harassment
based on any of these characteristics and prohibits sexual harassment in all areas of public life.

That looks like a lot of protected grounds! This list can be intimidating to look at. Here are some
other definitions so we have a good idea of what we are talking about in this guide:

Definitions
Diversity – the variety of people and ideas within
a company, according to unique and/or legally
protected differences, such as race, gender,
age, disability, sexual orientation, maternity
status, and other nonvisible qualities and
backgrounds.
Inclusion - creating an environment in which
people feel involved, respected, valued, and
connected— and to which individuals bring their
authentic selves (their ideas, backgrounds, and
perspectives) to their work with colleagues and
customers.
SME – small to medium enterprise; your
business.

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Benefits
W
orried about how Diversity and
Inclusion will impact your SME? This
section will give you all the good
news and explain why you needn’t worry.
Our aim here is to convince the unsure
reader, by showing them what they can
• Richer business perspectives
and processes
• Improved production and quality
• Enhanced creativity and
problemsolving
Services • Greater orginizational flexability
• Access to wider talent pool
• Improved employee retention
• Improved return on talent
investment, training, and
development
• Enhanced employer reputation
• Increased employee motivation,
Workplace satisfaction, and productivity:
engagement
• More maternity returners
• Reduced costs
• Enhanced reputation and a
more attractive investment
• Improved performance
Investors
Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely
to have financial returns above their respective national industry
medians.
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expect, that having a diverse and inclusive
workplace is a more profitable way of doing
business and not just ‘the right thing to do.’
Below you can see how diversity and
inclusion can benefit your commercial
interests, clients, the marketplace, services,
the workplace and even your investors.
So here are the benefits:
• Reduced Costs and increased
productivity and income
• Enhanced Reputation as an
employer and service provider
• Increased attractioin and
retension of the best talent
• Improved employee morale and
Commercial engagement
• Improved long term
relationships with partners and
clients
• Client demographics reflected in
workforce
• Wider customer base
• Increased potential for adding
value for clients through diverse
Clients
thinking and ideas
• Better understanding of client
needs and preferences
• Enhanced understanding of
markets
• Winning new business and
better employee performance
• Enhanced business reputation
and profile
• Increased ability to support
Marketplace clients
• Services and products that
better meet client's needs
 Why It Matters…

t
hose are just some of the benefits that diversity and inclusiveness can bring to your
business. It’s important that everyone is treated with “respect, dignity and fairness”
because it promotes “engagement, openness and transparency” for a safe and
healthy workplace (Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2017). A diverse work
force is a foundation for innovation and improvement—through their experiences and
cultures come new concepts and designs that can improve the profitability of your
business in the variety of ways shown above.

WORKING TOGETHER IN A
According to the SPIRIT OF OPENNESS,
Canadian Chamber of HONESTY AND
Commerce, the main
barrier to innovation in TRANSPARENCY THAT
our economy is lack of ENCOURAGES
diverse thinking. ENGAGEMENT,
COLLABORATION AND
Still not convinced?
Let’s look at some stats RESPECTFUL
from the Chamber of COMMUNICATION.
Commerce and then -Value and Ethics Code for the Public Sector
you can see for 2.4
yourself:

Companies in the top quartile for racial and

ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have
financial returns above their respective national
industry medians.
STATS!!!
Post-Diversity  Statistics demonstrate an increase of 15%
in additional profit observed when the share
Profit Projection of women in leadership positions went from
0% to 30%.
Initiatives
 Over an eight-year period, S&P/TSX
companies with at least one woman on their
board produced an annual 11%
Before
Industry
After
The Four Groups compound return – outperforming peers by
Median more than 3%.
(35%
Chance)

Profit Profits with D&I NIM

Aboriginals

Visible Minorities

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Persons with Disabilities

Underrepresented Women

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 Appendix
!!!!! use the highlighter tool on your citations. I’ll insert them at the end in an appendix!

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