Inclusion embeds gender equality in the long-term and makes employees feel valued, empowered, and part of your organization.

Inclusion allows for gender equality in the workplace to be embedded in the long term. If inclusion is absent from a workplace, all diversity efforts lose value because inclusion is the piece of the puzzle that makes employees feel valued, empowered, and part of the organization. Inclusion enables organizations to embrace all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of their employees, which in turn increases their abilities, innovation, creativity, and contributions. Prior to and throughout the process of implementing measures to improve inclusion, organizations should collect, measure, and evaluate data in order to ensure transparency and accountability for their efforts. Organizations that prioritize inclusion are:¹

• 2x as likely to meet or exceed financial targets
• 3x as likely to achieve high performance
• 6x more likely to be innovative and agile
• 8x more likely to achieve better business outcomes

Individuals or teams responsible for human resources within an organization should ideally be a strategic partner to ensure inclusion; however, all departments and functions in an organization must also be held accountable for an inclusive workplace environment.

We have identified 12 attributes of an inclusive environment on the road towards gender equality:

1. Organizational Culture
2. Capacity Building and Awareness Raising
3. Intersectionality
4. Internal Communication
5. Closing Gender Wage Gaps
6. Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion
7. Career Development
8. Workplace Flexibility
9. Workplace Wellbeing and Safety
10. Marketing and Advertising
11. Supply Chain
12. Outreach Initiatives and Partnerships