How To Celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month At Work
We’re right on the cusp of October, the month of diversity, accessibility, inclusion, and equity. As we welcome the month, we are also welcoming Global Diversity Awareness Month, which is observed every October.
This is the month that your team should look forward to celebrating all the ways the diversity of our backgrounds, experiences, skills, and other qualities make the workplace more vibrant, creative, and effective.
But before we dive into the Global Diversity Awareness Month, we would like to highlight two other important month-long events in October:
1. National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM - US):
Every October, NDEAM serves as a suitable opportunity to raise awareness of issues and support inclusive employee policies and practices. . It’s also a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions made by American workers with disabilities.
2. LGBTQIA History Month
The month of October is LGBTQ+ History Month, a 31-day celebration of the accomplishments and influence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people around the globe. It is also a chance to learn more about the development of LGBTQ+ rights. First observed in the US in 1994, LGBTQ+ History Month is centered on National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Now, let’s dig deeper into the Global Diversity Awareness Month and what it’s all about. We’ll also explore how you can celebrate it as a remote, in-office, or hybrid team, and why you should be part of it.
What is Global Diversity Awareness Month?
October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, a time to recognize the benefits that diverse voices can provide to an organization, a team, or the society. It also provides a chance for us to reflect on the challenges and limitations that today’s workplaces present, as well as the actions we might take to get beyond them.
Diversity on a global scale promotes inclusiveness while welcoming and honoring the rich diversity that exists inside each individual. Every employee also brings a unique set of perspectives, experiences, and societal diversity to the workplace.
Origins of the Global Diversity Awareness Month
The United Nations’ General Assembly ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris after World War II. The proclamation shows that all people, regardless of their identity, have universally recognized rights. Thus, we must accept the fact that everyone is entitled to the same basic freedoms.
According to the proclamation, we must respect every person, regardless of their gender, caste, religion, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, or other characteristics. We must keep in mind that as globalization progresses, indigenous traditions and distinctive identities are being marginalized. The problem of monoculturalism can be eliminated by accepting and celebrating cultural diversity, especially at work.
Therefore, startups, small remote teams, hybrid workforces, and large conglomerates must learn to embrace and value every individual, regardless of their background. Doing this will help everyone to fully realize the potential of global diversity and reap its benefits.
How do we celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month at work?
To celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month, we should make sure that we are actively seeking and promoting diversity in our workplaces. Here are activities and initiatives you can implement at work to commemorate this important month-long event.
1. Host a Lunch and Learn
A ‘Lunch and Learn’ is a great way to introduce new ideas, concepts, or products to your employees. This time, it should be an activity where your team explores diversity at work. It can be a one time Zoom event or a recurring series throughout the Global Diversity Awareness Month.
The agenda of the ‘lunch and learn’ will depend on what you want to get out of it. Do you want to educate people about different cultures? Do you want them to be more aware of diversity issues at work? Or do you just want them to have some fun while appreciating the differences that everyone has? Whatever your agenda, a ‘lunch and learn’ is a significant activity for the month of October.
2. Spread awareness
Beyond organizing many activities to commemorate the month, teams should also try to create awareness about diversity. This could come in different ways, including:
Sharing your activities on social media using hashtags and sharing the work of experts in the space.
Writing a newsletter about the events you are holding and inviting your business partners to join.
Collaborating with your business partners to organize a workshop on diversity.
3. Create a diverse music playlist for the team the entire month
A diverse playlist is a must-have for your team for Global Diversity Awareness Month. It will keep them energized and engaged. It is important to create a diverse playlist that includes different genres, artists, decades, moods, etc. A good rule of thumb is to have at least one song picked by each member of the team. Start by giving everyone the chance to share their favorite songs and then curate a playlist based on that.
Here are some tools that can help you create a perfect playlist:
Spotify - they have an incredible music library and they also allow you to create your own playlists, which is perfect for this project!
Pandora - it has one of the largest music libraries, which includes music from all over the world. You can also create your own radio stations with it.
Apple Music - this service allows you to create your own playlists and add songs from any artist or genre to them.
4. Organize a cultural exhibition
During this month, you can create a space in your office where you exhibit the work of artists and creatives from different cultures. For remote teams, this can be a virtual exhibition event to learn about music and art from different cultures. At the end of it all, an exhibition should help your team to get a better understanding of the culture of other countries. It also helps you to understand the different cultures of your colleagues and how they live.
5. Get an expert to speak on diversity
The workplace is constantly changing, and with this, the way we work is also changing. In order to keep up with these changes, we need to adapt and be flexible - traits which should go beyond your Global Diversity Awareness Month celebration. This means that we all need a company culture that promotes diversity and inclusion. You can get an expert on the subject to speak with them about the importance of diversity. There are many experts out there who can speak about this topic and make it interesting for your team members to listen to.
Why is global diversity important?
We live in a diverse society and it is important to recognize the diversity of people around the world. Here are the benefits of global diversity.
It creates innovative teams
Global diversity is important because it helps to create a well-rounded team. It leads to more creativity and innovation at work.
Improves communication
Global diversity helps us understand the perspectives of people from different cultures. This helps us avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications.
Helps build an inclusive work environment
In the workplace, global diversity increases the likelihood of different perspectives being heard. It also makes the workplace more inclusive and welcoming to different people from different backgrounds.This promotes healthy debate, creates lasting relationships, and allows for a better understanding of different cultures and backgrounds.
Increases opportunities for people from different backgrounds.
A diverse workforce is critical for the success of any organization. It can help an organization better understand its customers and provide more opportunities for people from different backgrounds to succeed. For instance, if you have a team made up of all white men, they cannot relate to women or people of color in the same way that someone with a similar background can.
Competitive edge for companies
Diversity provides a competitive edge in the marketplace. Companies that are committed to diversity see benefits in both their bottom line and their culture.
Helps to propel individual careers
Learning about other cultures will help you understand the values and beliefs of others, as well as their expectations of you. This will allow you to work more harmoniously with people from different backgrounds and build stronger relationships. Ultimately, this pitches you as a great candidate and culturally fit for any company.
Host your own Global Diversity Awareness Month activity
In your quest to encourage employees to be themselves while nurturing a positive work culture, you need a good virtual team building activity - especially in a remote-first work world. A live-hosted trivia game is one of the best ways to have fun and learn something new.