Inclusion and diversity are universally considered desirable characteristics for modern workplaces. At Immuta, our commitment to building an inclusive and diverse environment is rooted in Immuta’s core values. In this blog, I’ll share some of the benefits of creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and how we prioritize it every day at Immuta.
What Do Inclusion & Diversity Mean?
Inclusion and diversity, although often used interchangeably, are not synonymous. An inclusive workplace is one in which all employees are treated with respect, have equal access to opportunities, and are able to collaborate and contribute to the organization’s success. A diverse workplace is one in which the employees reflect the ethnic, social, and racial makeup of the society in which the organization operates. Diversity refers to individuals’ traits and characteristics, while inclusion refers to the behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome. Inclusivity helps foster the success of a diverse workspace. Without inclusivity, diversity loses its value.
Diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords — they directly contribute to business success, innovation, and employee satisfaction. To illustrate this, imagine a company that hires employees with different backgrounds, experiences, and skills, and encourages them to share their unique perspectives. These employees will bring a variety of different ideas to the table and will be able to solve business problems more creatively, innovate faster, and improve customer satisfaction.
Much research has been conducted to prove the business impact of diversity and inclusion. For example, McKinsey’s 2020 report, Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters, revealed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity and for ethnic and racial diversity were respectively 25% and 36% more likely to see above-average returns for their industry. Boston Consulting Group’s study showed that companies with high levels of gender, geographical, or industry diversity generated more revenue from new products and services. And Gartner’s 2020 study echoed previous findings of the importance of inclusivity for business performance, even in organizations with an already diverse workforce. Their research found that inclusive teams improve team performance by 30% in diverse environments.
Diversity and inclusion also help build a stronger company culture by improving employee retention, engagement, and productivity. A study run by the International Labour Organization found that companies that establish inclusive business cultures and policies are 59.1% more likely to increase creativity, innovation, and openness, and are 37.9% better at assessing consumer interest and demand. Research from SpringerPlus further proves that diversity and inclusion positively impact job satisfaction and facilitate trust and openness in workgroup communication. A diverse, inclusive workforce creates a sense of community, belonging, and individual worth so that all employees feel valued, passionate about their work, and willing to contribute their ideas.
Diversity and Inclusion at Immuta
Diversity, inclusion, and respect are at the heart of Immuta’s core values. We evaluate employee fit and performance based on our core values and shared mission of promoting ethical data use — not on race, age, social status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender. Below are our four core values and how they contribute to building a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Mission Focused: We always act with empathy and integrity, out of respect for our peers and dedication to our mission of doing good, no matter our differences.
- Humble Intellects: We excel as both students and teachers because we recognize that true expertise requires the ability to learn and adapt. Working in a diverse environment gives us more opportunities to learn from each other.
- Independent Achievers: We do whatever it takes to complete our mission and uphold our values. This means that we hold people to the character they reflect not their unique abilities.
- Helpful & Caring: We always operate with respect and consideration. This means that we take time to understand the varied backgrounds of our peers in order to be a more effective team member.
Putting this into action, diversity and inclusion play a significant role in our hiring processes, internal workshops and training, and company culture. In the past year alone, we have grown the number of non-white employees at Immuta by 20% and the number of female employees, specifically in technical positions, by 7%. To reach these numbers, Immuta’s People Team prioritized attracting, interviewing, and hiring employees from a diverse candidate pool. Specifically, we use Diversity Jobs to post open positions on various job boards exclusively for minorities, such as African American Hires, VeteranJobs.Net, and LatinoJobs.Org.
While our recruiting and hiring practices actively improve diversity, we also strengthen inclusivity through a number of internal programs. Quarterly workshops, virtual training sessions, peer groups, and discussions enable our team to share inclusionary best practices and improve awareness of diversity. For example, Women of Immuta Network (WIN) and Coffee Roulette, a virtual coffee date, offer women at Immuta the opportunity to network, share career development advice, and find common ground in a male-dominated industry. Lunch Snacks, cultural presentations, and events organized by employees celebrate the backgrounds of our team. We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Veterans’ Day, and Diwali, and hold virtual “Lunch and Learns” to discuss everything from the experience of being an expat, bartending, and effective note taking. Overall, these programs have provided the team with the knowledge and resources to feel confident about speaking up, supporting, and embodying diversity and inclusion.
As part of a recent managerial training, each team member created a personal leadership “shield” etched with four words that describe their approaches to leadership and communication at Immuta. From all the shields, we created a word cloud that reflects all the words chosen by managers. The most frequently selected words, as illustrated in the word cloud, include empathy, supportive, mentoring, and respect. To me, these responses illustrate the culture we have built at Immuta – a growing, vibrant, and diverse workplace we are very proud of.
If you’re interested in joining a company that embodies these qualities and is committed to equity, social justice, and data ethics, we encourage you to consider joining our team.
Browse our open positions here or email [email protected] to learn how you can help us in our mission of enabling the legal and ethical use of data.
