Inclusion, Inc.: How to Design Intersectional Equity Into the Workplace - Hardcover

by Sara Sanford (Author)

Design systemic equity and diversity into your organization

Inclusion, Inc: How to Design Intersectional Equity into the Workplace moves beyond having tough conversations to deliver an innovative and proven approach to organizational diversity. Eschewing the "mindset-first" approach taken by many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, author and GEN founder Sara Sanford focuses on countering the systemic barriers that abet inequity by adjusting "cultural levers" to facilitate organization-wide change.

Inclusion, Inc offers sustainable and cost-effective solutions that yield real, measurable returns, supported by:

• Data from thousands of surveys and interviews with executive-level changemakers.
• Case studies from GEN-certified organizations.
• Innovations drawn directly from the latest in behavioral economics and design-centered thinking.

Perfect for business leaders, human resources and DEI professionals, and scholars and students of business, Inclusion, Inc will also prove invaluable to underrepresented employees and their allies seeking real, evidence-based solutions to the dilemma they frequently face: assimilate, or leave.

Front Jacket

Design systemic equity and inclusion into your organization.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be confusing for employers and employees alike. Approaches to workplace equity have been scattered and progress has stalled. US businesses spend $8 billion each year on trainings that don't work and actually backfire. The cycle of recruiting underrepresented employees, asking them to Lean In, and conducting diversity trainings misses a crucial understanding of the problem: It's not personal. It's systemic.

Systemic inequities require systemic solutions, but there's been a lack of clarity around what works--what mechanics and processes catalyze progress toward workplace equity. In Inclusion, Inc: How to Design Intersectional Equity into the Workplace, internationally recognized DEI leader Sara Sanford identifies the "cultural levers" you can adjust to counter systemic barriers in your organization.

Inclusion, Inc delivers an innovative and proven approach to organizational diversity. Instead of the "mindset-first" approach taken by many DEI programs, Sanford breaks down systemic barriers by offering a design-driven approach to organization-wide change.

Readers will learn how to design workplace environments that counter the impact of bias to become truly merit-based. Sanford acknowledges that we all have bias but does not instruct individuals to just try harder to prevent themselves from being influenced by it. Instead, she shifts the challenge from the employee to "be better" to the organization, to do better, and provides concrete steps and cost-effective solutions that businesses can use to meet it.

Inclusion, Inc offers a "trim tab" approach: simple, purposeful redesigns that businesses can adopt immediately to become equity-centered, better serving employees, consumers, and society.

These sustainable and cost-effective solutions yield real, measurable returns, supported by data from thousands of surveys, interviews with executive-level changemakers, case studies from GEN-certified organizations, and the latest in behavioral economics and design-centered thinking. This book provides clarity for anyone looking to understand the facets of a truly inclusive workplace.

Perfect for business leaders, human resources and DEI professionals, and students of business, Inclusion, Inc will also prove invaluable to underrepresented employees and their allies seeking real, evidence-backed solutions to the dilemma they frequently face: assimilate, or leave.

Back Jacket

Proven, concrete diversity strategies from an undisputed leader in the field

"Inclusion, Inc brings much-needed clarity to a crucial conversation that too often swings between extremes of superficiality and excessive complexity. Sanford has created an accessible and practical guide for employers looking to go beyond diversity to meaningful inclusion. The evidence-backed, straightforward solutions in this book can be invaluable in creating a sustainable, inclusive future of work."
--MATTHEW BISHOP, Former Business Editor, The Economist; bestselling author, Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World

"Inclusion, Inc's design-based approach finally demystifies DEI, with practical, operationalizable solutions that cause real change. Sanford gives readers a step-by-step playbook for engineering bias out of the workplace by adjusting cultural levers. For anyone overwhelmed by the DEI conversation, this book answers the question, 'What can we do that actually works?' Inclusion, Inc is essential reading for anyone looking to go beyond talk to meaningful action."
--JONATHAN SPOSATO, Founder, GeekWire and PicMonkey; author, Better Together: 8 Ways Working with Women Leads to Extraordinary Products and Profits

"Sanford encourages us to consider our words and actions through the lens of the macro-level systems in which we all operate, as opposed to the more legacy-driven approach of influencing individual behaviors. This is exactly the kind of intersectional, design-based approach we need for our workplaces to be truly inclusive."
--NKIRU BALONWU, Founder and Co-Chair, African Women on Board; CEO, Spinlet; Recipient of the 2020 Powerlist International Award

Author Biography

SARA SANFORD is the Founder of GEN and architect of the GEN Certification, the gold standard for intersectional equity in the workplace. Her insights make her an internationally sought-after speaker and advisor on DEI strategy and communication. She is a popular TED speaker and lecturer at the University of Washington's School of Information.