Dear Siddharth Singh,
You have asked for "the potential demerits of the role of leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace". Focusing on the demerits of the role of leadership in promoting diversity is nothing but focusing on the demerits of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) itself.
Why leadership is expected to promote diversity in the workplace? They are expected to promote because diversity begets dynamism. This also brings to the fore differences between homogenous and heterogenous workplaces. Industries of the 21st century are globalised. Because of globalisation, fierce competition is unleashed. Sustaining the competition demands challenging the thoughts and ideas promoted by the leadership. But in the homogenous atmosphere, people concur with the ideas forever. This leads to stagnation or stunts the growth of the organisation. On the contrary, the DEI initiatives demand making conscious efforts to employ people from diverse backgrounds. People from different cultures, geographical locations, languages, religions etc. infuse diverse ideas. Sometimes these ideas are unthinkable in the homogenous atmosphere.
However, the DEI initiatives do have their demerits. To launch these initiatives, the organisation is expected to have a mature culture. The people should embrace the diversity on their own rather than being thrust on them. Promoting workforce diversity goes opposite to the phrase, birds of a feather flock together. Flocking with the birds of different feathers is no easy task. It makes people uneasy because people could be reluctant to learn a new language or get accustomed to a new culture or even religious practices. Acceptance of change requires a well-developed mindset. If the mindset is undeveloped, then diversity could lead to formation of the groups of like-minded persons. If each group clings to their thought process or starts promoting their beliefs, inter-group clashes may happen.
In summary, it can be said that while launching DEI initiatives at the workplace, the leadership should go slow. Fostering diversity in the workplace is an ongoing exercise. Secondly, the employees should be trained on the importance of embracing diversity. This can be done best during induction training itself. Lastly, the leadership should walk the talk. The promotion of DEI initiatives should appear authentic. If the leadership itself surrounds with a coterie, the DEI will become yet another rhetoric!
Anyway, thanks for raising the post. Queries of this kind are rare.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar