Using Pronouns and Other Gender-Inclusive Language in the Office

Welcome to Hire Potential with Indeed, a series of fireside chats with experts in diversity and inclusion, employer branding, recruiting, HR and more.

With 61% of people in Australia affiliated with a religion or spiritual belief, and 29% being born outside of Australia, it’s important to include faith, religion, and cultural practices into your D&I policies. Australia’s rich multiculturalism means there are a large number of faiths, cultures, and beliefs practiced in the country, and likely, in your office as well. 

In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Wilson, Oceania Diversity and Inclusiveness Leader at EY, to discuss why it is increasingly important for businesses to acknowledge the religious, spiritual, and cultural needs of their employees, and what steps they can start taking today to build a truly inclusive workplace environment for everyone.

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Prologue

Erin: Welcome to Hire Potential with Indeed. A welcoming workplace is built from the ground up with attention to diversity, inclusion, accessibility and openness. But the way many leaders and companies approach this is full of gray areas, uncertainty and quite often, fear. Hire Potential with Indeed is here to demystify the process through the most powerful channel possible, conversations, groundbreaking ones, too. 

I'm your host, Erin Waddell, strategic insights consultant and D&I evangelist in Australia for Indeed. I've worked in the recruitment industry in Australia for the last seven years and have been in Australia for 10 years. 

In this podcast series will tackle the issues we face in the modern workplace, from diversity and inclusion to remote working, accessibility, fair hiring practices and more. This podcast is an initiative of indeed.com, the world's number one job site with over 250 million unique visitors every month from over 60 different countries. 

Introduction

Erin: Before we dive in, I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land in which we are meeting today and to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who may be listening. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.

In today's episode, we'll be discussing how to create an inclusive working environment for all cultures and beliefs. With 61% of people in Australia affiliated with a religion or spiritual belief, and 29% being born outside of Australia, it's important to include a faith, religion and cultural practices in your D&I policies. Australia's rich multiculturalism means there are a large number of faiths, cultures and beliefs practiced in the country and likely in your office as well. 

In this episode, we dive deep into why it is increasingly important for businesses to acknowledge the religious, spiritual, and cultural needs of their employees, and what steps they can take to build a truly inclusive workplace environment for everyone. 

Today, we are joined by Alex Wilson, Oceania diversity and inclusiveness leader at EY to learn more about what changes companies can make to ensure all religions, cultures and beliefs are recognised and respected in the workplace. Welcome, Alex.

Alex: Hi, Erin. And thank you very much for having me today.

Erin: Thanks for joining us, we're really happy to have you here. 

The first thing I think we should start with is if you could share a little bit with us about your role at EY.

Alex: Sure. So, I am the Oceania diversity and inclusiveness leader, and I am accountable to progress our firm D&I priorities, which are informed by a wide range of stakeholders, as well as themes presenting in the business and external environments.

Erin: That's quite a big role.

Have you had to adapt to a work from home working arrangement these days?

Alex: Of course. I’m at home with you today and, I don't know, I'm enjoying it, but also looking forward to getting back to the office and seeing people and my colleagues.

Erin: I can imagine. I feel the same way. 

So, one of the great things about diverse and inclusive workplaces is how much we can learn from each other. And how do you facilitate that at EY?

Alex: So, EY understands that a diverse and inclusive workplace is about delivering long term value to our people, our clients and our societies. It's important to acknowledge that it takes time and discipline to achieve diversity and inclusion goals. And EY has come a long way by engaging in actions like setting gender targets for women in leadership, fostering employee networks and establishing our Reconciliation Action Plan and accessibility inclusion plan commitments. This coming year, EY will be focused on shaping conversations around D&I internally and externally on issues that it sees will deliver long term value. EY will also continue to design its workplaces policies and processes to be inherently inclusive, and will have a strong focus on inclusion and belonging every day for its people and teams.

Erin: That's exciting. I've seen a lot of companies coming out with Reconciliation Action Plans, that's a really exciting initiative. 

Do you want to just quickly explain what one of those is, just in case people don't know?

Alex: A Reconciliation Action Plan or a RAP is a commitment to Indigenous Australian inclusion. It’s a strategic document that supports the company's business plan. It also includes practical actions that will drive an organisation's contribution to reconciliation both internally and in the communities in which it operates. There is a saying that is ‘It's not about us without us.’ So, an important feature of a Reconciliation Action Plan is the voice of the Indigenous Australians within your communities and your workplace.

Erin: That's excellent. 

So, creating a culture of support and inclusivity lays the groundwork for diverse and underrepresented voices to be heard, and for their work to be valued. Where companies start and creating an environment where everyone is welcome and feel safe?

Alex: That's a great question, Erin. Creating a diverse and inclusive environment is a journey. And in a practical sense, and as a starting point, I would say that there are three things that organisations can do. First, companies must ensure that their policies and practices are equitable and inclusive, for example, their family leave, their flexible working policies. And as we mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how intertwined our work and home lines have become. So, the goal is to use these policies and processes as a tool to support a diverse workforce to truly thrive in both aspects. 

The next part, I would say is about looking at your employee lifecycle. So, the way you attract, you recruit, you engage, develop, pay, retain your people, and identifying any gaps concerning diversity and inclusion, it will be driven by data, looking at whether an organisation is attracting, say, men and women equally to positions across the organisation or whether the cultural diversity is reflective of the wider external communities. Another important element is seeking out feedback from employee experience surveys. So, for example at EY we have an inclusiveness measure. And as a team, we look at the overall responses as well as differentials between cultural diversity and gender. And the aim is to have a zero gap in that regard. 

Finally, leaders need to be confident to hold conversations about diversity and inclusion and set D&I goals for the company to hold themselves accountable. Once you have the policies that identified gaps and goals, checking in with a data, you can begin your D&I journey.

Erin: That's great advice. I think that's really sage advice that people can take away. 

And how often are you doing those employee engagement surveys?

Alex: We had our surveys three times a year, and once a year we have a diversity and inclusion survey or focus. And what that means is we're able to gauge through a range of questions, what our employees experience at EY.

Erin: That's great. 

Managers and recruiters must ensure they avoid cultural bias and value the skills of religiously and culturally diverse candidates. Can you talk a little bit about how to implement effective recruitment practices to ensure this?

Alex: Sure. So, many of us have heard about blind recruitment studies and are aware of some of the biases that can happen in recruitment processes. I'd read a recent research by Adecco back over in the UK that had suggested 35% of companies are now using blind recruitment methods to address some sort of bias and as an example, EY in the UK had a long history, like many consulting firms, of recruiting specifically from top tier or redbrick universities. But from 2015 EY UK removed academic institutions from the recruitment process for entry level hires to support a greater diversity of applications. 

Here in Australia, we run sessions for recruiters and hiring managers regarding our diversity and inclusion goals and conscious bias and provide education across a range of D&I topics. We have also become more disciplined around asking candidates about their needs and adjustments throughout their application and their onboarding processes so that we can accommodate them accordingly. We also aim for diversity across our pools of hiring managers so that prospective candidates can obtain a sense of some variety of the people that work at EY. 

Our aim is always to provide candidates with a great experience from the moment they begin their application, and for people to feel like EY is a place for them and where they belong.

Erin: That's great. 

And just for those who haven't heard of blind recruitment, can you explain what that is?

Alex: Sure. So, blind recruitment is around removing a feature from a CV or application that may not be completely necessary. For example, we've seen it with names, where people have found names that are difficult to pronounce, westernised as an example. What you're doing in a blind recruitment exercise is remove the name or the surname altogether, and just have the features of the experience and academic history present on the CV.

Tips for guiding your employees to be inclusive of diverse faiths, cultures and spiritualities in the workplace

Erin: So, it's more about letting the skills and experience speak for themselves instead of someone's name that might not look like a Anglo-Saxon name. I think there's been some studies done where--, and I know that there's some stories out there. A friend of mine actually is from Canada, and she has a great Canadian accent, but she is of Sri Lankan and Tamil descent. So, she has a traditional name. And when recruiters see that name, she's finds that if she changes it to something more Anglo-Saxon, her response rates to her resumé skyrocket, which is, I think, the experience of a lot of people who are trying to be recruited for their skills and their merit instead of what name they have. So, I think that's a great way to start. And we did a D&I report this year. We did one of the largest D&I reports ever done in Australia. And what we found is that 23% of workers who identify as being from a cultural or religious minority group, say that they don't think their organisation effectively promotes diversity. 

So, in your opinion, what are some of the best methods to educate all employees about being inclusive of diverse faith, culture and spirituality?

Alex: One of the most successful methods we have at EY is to share the lived experiences of others across the EY community. We have active cultural diversity employee network, they host lots of interesting conversations and events throughout the year, which are very popular. An example that we're having next week is our Festival of The Lights, which is actually combination of six festivals and symbolises the celebration of light and spirit across various cultures and faiths.

Erin: That's great. 

And how many people usually attend that? Is it a companywide thing or an office specific activity?

Alex: So, now that we've gone virtual, we're able to accommodate a lot more people into these discussions. We have around 500 people who came to our last event, and we’re probably expecting the same at this one. Where we get the chance we'll invite clients to some of these discussions. And certainly, when we are catering, we always like to have foods, especially at our cultural diversity, networking events, we would love to have clients and guests at those times.

Erin: So, when you're doing those events, and I know that it's important for companies to encourage work socialisation that involves other activities, than eating and drinking alcohol, because that can be something that some cultures don't partake in, and there can be a feeling of missing out or being on the outside, what other alternatives are there?

Alex: A substitution for an alcohol field event with an alternative is not just for people with various cultural and religious beliefs, it extends to a variety of people's lifestyles or lifestyle goals. And there are plenty of opportunities to bring people together. Year end parties at EY often kickoff in the early afternoon to ensure that most people can attend. We've seen our teams do scavenger hunts, barbecues, cruises on the harbor in cities where there is one, sports competitions. And it's hard to get past their reliance on technology presently, we've seen families and teens get creative with gaming, trivia, cooking shows, who done it crime mysteries. I' d call time on virtual team karaoke, however.

How to ensure your annual leave policy is inclusive of all religious and cultural holidays

Erin: I think that there's a lot of people that would agree with you on that. But that's great. Those are some really great suggestions too. 

And just in terms of the holidays, there's a lot of holidays that pertain to certain religions, certain cultures, some organisations have explored the idea of floating cultural holidays, where an employee can take a culturally significant day off by trading official holidays for a cultural holiday. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Alex: Sure can. I can because EY has had this in place since 2015. And our policy states that people can substitute that public holiday for dates that align with their cultural religious days of significance. This is about being inclusive for people and their families and friends who celebrate at various times outside the holidays of the local business or Christian calendars. Hanukkah, New Year, Lunar New Year celebrations, Ramadan and others are significant events that require preparation and coordination. And people need time to do that. And the public holiday substitution is one way to support them.

Erin: And is there education that you do with all employees around, okay, so you're on a team where someone might be taking off Lunar New Year or Hanukkah, and what that experience might be like for the rest of the team that is not celebrating those holidays, and what that tolerance might need to look like?

Alex: So, we have firm wide communications that go out around most, if not all, days of significance. And in those communications, we'll often either share a story from someone who can explain what the day means to them or we give some facts from around the world or wherever that cultural day of significance is coming from, so that people can learn a bit more about it. And in those notes, we also have some pointers as to what might be happening on those days of cultural significance so that the wider teams can take that, discuss it and adapt what they might need to do for the day.

Erin: Yeah, that's great. That's great to hear. What we found out in our D&I report is that culture and religion are the top two identifiable characteristics that people from culturally or religiously diverse backgrounds feel that they need to hide at work. In fact, 69% of people from a cultural or religious minority group, say that they have hidden part of their identity at work. 

Now, it is not always possible to do this, depending on your religion, or your cultural background. So, can you talk to us about how organisations can accommodate someone's desire to wear religious attire such as the hijab or something else that might be a very identifiable piece of clothing for a religion or culture?

Alex: Many people perceive faith as a foundation of our identity that is invisible while we're at work. And your research supports that. However, those barriers don't really exist. When people feel comfortable to bring their full selves to work, and live out their faith at work, then we can create strong communities that support and nourish a sense of belonging. Attire is a visible feature of that. In a practical sense, we have a dress for your day policy at EY, it means that people can choose what they want to wear to sit the demands of their day; head coverings, beards, jewelry, etcetera. This policy excludes the expression of identity and religious beliefs. So, we're very supportive to create that sense of belonging through attire as well at EY. And given that we’re in professional services, there's a lot of flexibility for people to be able to do that.

Erin: That's fantastic. 

Do you see a lot of people feeling more comfortable to express themselves and to be proud of their background, their religion and their culture because that's in place?

Alex: I think so, and it's been in place for quite a while. So, I can't see a noticeable difference because it has been so long. However, now that we are in virtual environments as well and we're seeing that crossover between people's work and home lives, you are also seeing on the camera different symbols and features of people's homes that might be present and form part of that attire and expression of identity as well. So, we are seeing that.

Erin: That's great. 

When there are people from a religion that might require daily prayers at certain times, how can companies ensure offices are equipped with safe spaces or quiet corners, even prayer rooms to facilitate a religious person's spiritual practice? And what if you are a smaller company without the budget or the space, what can you do in that instance?

Alex: Well, I think in any case, big or small, I would suggest, speaking with your people about their needs, and then trying to find a way to make it work. As an example, even now, EY Sydney building, we had set up designated prayer rooms. However, now we have several private spaces available and people know that they can book and use them specifically for prayer or for meditation or to have some time out just to think away from a desk and people and interruptions. So, we continue to adapt and refine our workplaces to enable a diverse mix of people to thrive and that extends to work, careers and home lives as we continue to see in this new environment.

Erin: Do you have any advice for the smaller companies that might not have as much office space as a larger firm?

Alex: Again, I think it just goes back to speaking to your people and finding out what their needs are and taking a walkthrough with those people, if it is about physical space and finding out more about what's going to be suitable to accommodate that. I find that when people tell you what their needs are, it's a starting point, usually, to move forward.

Erin: Are there any workplace facilities that you feel should be mandatory to ensure an inclusive environment?

Alex: I would say there are six key things. One is, accessible technology and software, the second is gender neutral restrooms, third is quiet spaces that are suitable for prayer and meditation spaces, like we just talked about facilities for breastfeeding or pumping and storage, and appropriate building and floor access for people with wheelchairs and mobility challenges. Then there's the last one, which is options around workplace adjustments and supports. And, again, this may seem easier for large companies and smaller companies with limited real estate, might find some of these challenges. But there are always ways to make your office space more inclusive for your people based on what they need.

Erin: I agree. I think that accessible technology is a really big one. Accessible technology doesn't just help the people that it's designed for, it helps everyone, if you think about some of the ways that we use our technology. And there's certain features that I'm sure were developed for certain people that had a specific need. For me, for example, I use my dictation setting on my phone most of the time when I'm writing emails or text messages, even though I'm perfectly capable of typing it out. That's one example. And I think that's a really good one to point out. 

I think when it comes to other religious or cultural needs of employees, I do just wonder, is there any challenges that employees are still going through? I mean, we know that they are hiding parts of themselves at work, even if there are policies in place, is there anything else you'd like to raise to a larger audience just to be aware of?

Alex: I think, and we mentioned it a bit earlier, creating a diverse and inclusive work environment is a journey. It is a discipline as well, it's more than trying to do the right thing or being a good person and having strong values, it's about understanding being workforce sense, the diversity that is in your workplace, what those needs are, what adoptions you can make to the way that we work, the physical environments that we have, the way we lead our people to ensure that we are creating an environment that is inclusive and where people belong. I think the key there is that discipline, it has to be consistent, it has to be something continue to work on, to learn from and to create change.

What will it ultimately take to ensure a better and more inclusive workplace in the future

Erin: Yeah, I think that's a very valid point. I think there can be challenges around getting enough support from the higher level of leadership sometimes. But I think if you can be disciplined about it, if you can make sure that there's always a push, hopefully, it will work out in the long run. 

And the final question I have for you today, which is how we finish every episode with Hire Potential with Indeed, is what will it ultimately take to ensure a better and more inclusive workplace in the future?

Alex: It will require everyone to do their bit. It will require, as I said, for organisations to ensure that their policies and processes are inclusive, that they're having conversations about diversity and inclusion and shaping those, that we are designing our workplaces to be more inclusive, and that people have a focus on diversity inclusion every day, in their teams, in the way that they run their meetings, in the way that we select people for various positions, in the way that we pay people that has a lens of diversity and inclusion across that.

Erin: That's really great insight into what needs to happen and I full heartedly agree with everything you just said. Alex, thank you so much for being here with us today. Some of the advice you gave was fantastic in terms of just talking to your people and find out what they need. I think that's one of the biggest pieces of advice and probably the easiest takeaway that we had today. It doesn't have to be an overarching, sweeping, huge policy change. It can just start by having conversations and finding out what the actual needs are from the employees and then really just doing your bit to stay disciplined, to make sure that you're moving things forward, and not getting bogged down by some of the politics. I think that's great.

Alex: Thank you so much Erin for having me and for shaping this wonderful conversation on cultural diversity and religious inclusion.

Conclusion 

Erin: Thank you for listening to Hire Potential with Indeed. Before you go and start building a better workplace, don't forget to hit subscribe, and leave a review if you found this podcast helpful. If you'd like to read our full D&I report, click the link in this episode's description to fill out the form. 

Just a quick note, the views and opinions expressed in this episode by the guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Indeed. Additionally, the information in this episode does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Instead, all content we discuss is for general informational purposes only and you should consult with a legal professional for any legal issues you may be experiencing.

The data in this podcast references Indeed’s 2021 D&I report. 

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Sources: Indeed is the world's #1 job site according to Comscore, Total Visits, March 2021.

Sources: Over 250 million unique visitors every month, Google Analytics, Unique Visitors, February 2020.

Sources: The research in the report referenced in this episode was commissioned by ThatComms Co on behalf of Indeed and conducted by YouGov. The study was conducted online between 11 - 17 February 2021, involving 2,060 working age Australians (aged between 18-64) currently in either full or part-time employment, or actively looking for work.