What is workplace equity? Equity requires a system of fairness where every employee gets what they need to succeed. It’s slightly different than equality, which focuses on treating all employees the same without discrimination. Both are important, but equity digs deeper into why discrimination exists and what holds certain demographics back from achieving their full potential. Factors like stereotypes about race and gender can disadvantage employees in areas such as hiring, pay, and promotions. If companies only valued equality and ignored equity, it can actually lead to an unfair, unequal work environment. Equality can only become a reality through understanding and implementing equity. To gain the knowledge needed to influence your workplace and boost your career opportunities, consider getting a professional certificate.
Race, Gender and Workplace Equity Professional Certificate
Self-paced / 2 months with 1-2 hours per week
Catalyst developed this 4-series course. It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating progress for women in the workplace. It also focuses on board diversity, inclusive culture, the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, and gender, race, and ethnicity. CatalystX is its online learning initiative. There are four courses in this workplace equity certificate:
Unconscious Bias: From Awareness to Action
Everyone has unconscious biases. It’s important to recognize them. If they aren’t identified, they have a significant impact at work and in your daily life. It affects who gets hired for certain jobs, who gets new opportunities, who gets raises, and more. This course teaches students what unconscious bias is, its impact, and how to develop skills that manage it. Training includes research-based exercises and assessments. This course takes about 3 weeks with 1-2 hours of work per week.
Communication Skills for Dialoging Across Difference
In this short course, you’ll learn practical strategies on fostering dialogue across differences, as well as the distinctions between debate, discussion, and dialogue. Other techniques include how to be an ally and micro-affirmations, which are small but meaningful acts of kindness. The goal is to learn how to encourage an inclusive environment. The course takes just 45 minutes.
Facing Racism and Emotional Tax in the Workplace
This course covers racism, systemic discrimination, and mistreatment against marginalized ethnic and racial groups. These things create an “emotional tax” on those affected. Every area of life – including work – is touched by an emotional tax. This course discusses emotional tax and how to develop inclusive leadership, intersectional policies, and more to address discrimination. Students will start the process of reflecting on their own identity, what anti-racism is, the impact of emotional tax, and how to take action. The course is short and takes just 1-2 hours of work for one week.
Understanding Gender Equity
What is gender equity? In this course, students will learn the difference between gender equity and gender equality, why it matters, and how to identify gender inequity in the workplace. Using Catalyst’s Model of Inclusive Leadership, students will learn about the norms that fuel bias and stereotypes and how to switch to inclusive behavior. You’ll also analyze examples of gender bias and how to develop strategies to combat gender inequity.
The benefits of a workplace equity
By the end of this 2-month paid course, you’ll have a professional certificate that shows you possess vital knowledge on unconscious bias, equity, and strategies on how to develop an inclusive workplace. The course is especially beneficial for leaders setting the tone for their offices and companies. Everyone who takes this course will learn valuable strategies and techniques for analyzing their biases and behavior, as well as action steps to encourage inclusivity and reduce discrimination. There are many reasons why an equitable workplace is worth the effort:
Increased productivity
In a workplace that prioritizes equity, everyone feels valued and respected. This naturally leads to increased productivity because employees are happier. They know they will be rewarded fairly for the work they do.
Better innovation
Equity is a vital part of diversity and inclusion, which are both linked to better innovation. Why? A diverse, inclusive working environment fosters diversity of thought, skills, and lived experiences. This fuels creativity and innovation, pushing an organization forward and making them more competitive.
Better employee retention
Satisfied employees are much more likely to stay with a company for many years. With fair pay and opportunities for promotions, people are loyal. Less employee turnover means less time and resources spent finding and training new employees. Organizations greatly benefit from long-term, happy employees.
A wider talent pool
Companies that prioritize equity are very appealing to prospective employees. They’ll see that everyone is valued and respected, and that discrimination based on gender, race, etc is not acceptable. When companies are willing to reckon with bias and promote equity, they’ll attract a wider, more diverse pool of job seekers.
