20 June 2024 | Professor Binna Kandola, OBE

Why psychology holds the key to inclusion

Psychology enables us to get under the hood and uncover the inner workings of prejudice, and it also gives us the tools to build more inclusive working environments. Professor Binna Kandola, Founder and Senior Partner of business psychology consultancy Pearn Kandola, explains
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The audience was seated in tiered rows of the conference room, surrounded by pictures of some of the broadcaster’s award-winning programmes. The clock at the back of the room showed that the coffee break was fast approaching as the conference chair summed up the key points from the morning’s talks. She emphasised the need for targets and objectives: strategies, timetables, action plans, policies. Streaming out from the conference room for a well-deserved break, the leaders felt satisfied: progress was being made, and a clear way forward had been identified.

As the next speaker up, however, I felt uneasy. The topic was race – but at no point had racism or prejudice been referred to in the morning’s proceedings. Race was seen as a management issue, something that is rational, logical and detached from any emotions.

One of the reasons the leaders felt comfortable with the morning’s discussions was because they understood the management language that was being used – they could associate with it easily, and it was not in the least bit personally challenging or threatening. They could also give themselves a pat on the back for choosing to spend their time engaged in a conversation about race.

The truth of the matter is though that events of this kind are not just anodyne, but they totally miss the point. Racism, in common with other forms of prejudice, such as misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, etc. is something that is driven by emotion, lack of rationality, defensiveness and denial. In other words, it’s personal. It is about our own attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, behaviours and human experiences. When we are prepared to acknowledge this, topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion become uncomfortable, because it means that we all have to recognise the ways in which we are biased.

The psychology of diversity and inclusion

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Psychology is the study of human behaviour, and in order to do this, we need to examine thoughts, beliefs and emotions. When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in organisations, psychology is at the very core of our understanding of what is occurring and why, and it provides many of the solutions and challenges to some of the actions that organisations routinely seem to take.

DEI challenges

Organisations from all different sectors share many of the same problems and obstacles when it comes to DEI, such as:

  • A lack of diversity in the talent pipeline
  • A lack of diversity at senior levels
  • Low engagement scores for women and minority groups
  • Gender pay gaps
  • Inappropriate behaviour and harassment
  • Leadership not acting as role models

The responses to challenges like these are also shared amongst organisations and typically take the form of setting targets and quotas and creating employee resource groups. In all of these situations, however, psychology can help us to get beneath the surface of what is really happening.

Understanding exclusive behaviour

Psychological theories can help explain why some groups are favoured more than others. People refer to the ‘old boys’ network’, which, in a way, describes what’s going on. The more dominant group members in organisations tend to relate to one another in very supportive and meaningful ways. These groups will have access to information, resources and opportunities, and as a result they will progress more rapidly in the organisation and will be viewed more favourably. Being in the in-group means that not only will you receive more support, but your performance will be viewed more favourably too.

Being part of the out-group, however, means being stereotyped negatively and not receiving assistance when you need it. As a consequence of this, performance will be lower than that of members of the in-group, which means less likelihood of being promoted.

Psychology also helps to explain the huge significance and impact of micro-incivilities – the small behaviours that occur on a daily basis which make people feel unwelcome and that they don’t belong. These can include being constantly interrupted, being ignored, or something as seemingly small as not being given eye contact.

Evolutionary psychology can help to explain why these tiny behaviours have such an enormous impact on our emotions, mental health and well-being. When my turn came at that conference at the broadcaster’s offices, I gave examples of where people had been disrespected, undervalued and excluded. I then explained that every single example that I’ve given them had come from their own organisation. There was an audible gasp from the audience, and at that point, the discussion suddenly moved from being something that was managerial to something that was deeply personal.

Psychology helps us to have that connection, to make that impact, and ultimately, when we have that awareness, to make the necessary changes to our behaviour to make our workplaces more socially inclusive.

Tools and training for more inclusive organisations

Explore our range of psychology-backed DEI tools and DEI training programmes for creating diverse and inclusive organisations.

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