How to Create a Diversity & Inclusion Mission Statement
You’ve probably read the mission statements of successful organizations like Indeed or Uber…
… without actually realizing that you were reading their mission statement.
How is that even possible?
These companies have managed to weave their mission statement into every aspect of their existence. This strategy contributes to a company’s prosperity in various ways.
Let’s discuss how a great mission statement can focus on diversity and inclusion, to drive further impact across your organization!
In this article, we will explore:
What is a Diversity & Inclusion Mission Statement?
Before delving into the benefits of a diversity and inclusion mission statement, it’s important to understand the purpose of any mission statement:
A mission statement explains why a company exists.
It can range from a simple sentence to several paragraphs in length. Often, mission statements are developed in conjunction with an a organization’s leadership, human resources, and marketing departments.
Fast forward to today and mission statements grounded in diversity have become the norm as organizations work toward wholehearted inclusivity to support their diverse employees.
A diversity and inclusion mission statement is a concise declaration that communicates an organization's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. This statement conveys the company's values, goals, and strategies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Therefore, a diversity mission statement adds another layer of depth and clarity to the mission statement itself.
Referred to as diversity mission statements broadly, organizations can add on further layers of equity, justice, belonging, and inclusion to make up the different variations that you might see, including:
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mission statements
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) mission statements
Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) mission statements
Does Your Organization Need a Diversity Mission Statement?
If your company already has a strong mission statement, what purpose does a diversity and inclusion mission statement serve?
For many companies, successful recruitment and retention is a powerful reason to create a diversity statement. Job seekers and employees alike value a diverse workplace.
A survey by Glassdoor found that 67% of those seeking jobs felt that a diverse workforce was essential, and 57% of employees felt that their company was not doing enough to cultivate a diverse workforce.
In other words, YES, your company needs a diversity and inclusion mission statement.
How to Create Your Diversity Mission Statement
As mentioned, D&I mission statements differ from regular mission statements. While both are beneficial to the success of a company, a diversity statement will bring your company to new heights by establishing an embracing atmosphere.
In order to craft an effective diversity statement for your company, several components are required. Follow the checklist below and don’t forget to make yours authentic to your organization!
Compel Your Audience: Begin with a captivating one-liner that compels your audience to continue reading. For example, T-Mobile tells it’s audience “Diversity is in our DNA.”
Be Explicit: Explain your company’s values and goals and how they will be achieved. These can be written as bullet points.
Include Diversity Initiatives: If your company is in the process of creating employee resource groups (ERGs), introducing implicit bias training or revamping outdated hiring policies, mention it! These initiatives demonstrate that your company’s values are supported by its actions.
Represent the Underrepresented: It’s important to acknowledge a variety of marginalized groups in your mission statement. Such groups include religion, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and physical and mental disability.
Utilize Inclusive Language: Inclusive language consists of gender-neutral and non-exclusionary words or phrases. For example, instead of using the pronouns he/she, try using they/them.
Make it Readable: A diversity statement that’s highly readable is accessible to all, including those with different learning abilities. This article recommends writing at an 8th grade level or lower to maintain your audience’s attention and ensure their comprehension.
Examples of Diversity Mission Statements
Diversity and inclusion mission statements aren’t limited to a particular industry. We live in a diverse world, meaning your staff, your customers and your investors are all wonderfully different.
And no matter your company’s product or service, a diversity statement will help cultivate a welcoming environment that can be enjoyed by all and propel your business toward success.
The following are examples of diversity and inclusion mission statements from popular companies in different industries:
Indeed
“Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs. To achieve this, we put jobseekers and companies who use Indeed at the heart of everything we do. We declared the kind of culture we want to have and the values that are important to us.
These values are: put jobseekers first, pay for performance, innovation, data-driven, and inclusion & belonging – which translates to creating an environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and make it easy for others to do the same.
We are committed to advancing, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging because it makes us a stronger, more successful company, and because it directly aligns with our mission to help all people get jobs.”
Proactive Talent
“To build and leverage a diverse and inclusive workforce and workplace by building leadership capability and organizational capacity.
This requires all employees and freelance contractors to do their part.
Leaders must possess diversity and inclusion competencies to lead and manage an engaged workforce.
Others must treat their colleagues with respect by listening to different viewpoints, opinions, thoughts and ideas and embracing a culture of inclusion.”
Uber
“At Uber, our mission is to ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.
We see direct parallels between how we ignite opportunity through our company and how we ignite it within our company.
But we also know that a solely data-driven approach will never be sufficient, because D&I is more than a box to check or a target to hit. The numbers matter, but they’re only a starting point; a commitment to diversity and inclusion has to run much deeper.
That’s why we’ve set an audacious goal: to make Uber the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace on the planet.
And we’re not just setting high expectations for our own good. We’re aiming sky-high because we know from experience that reducing and eliminating inequity is hard to do if all you shoot for is incremental change.”
Get Started on your Diversity & Inclusion Statement today with our Free Template & Guide
How and Where to Share Your Mission Statement
Your diversity and inclusion mission statement should be displayed literally everywhere.
First and foremost, the statement should be easily found on your company website. The best way to ensure this is to create a “D&I Mission Statement” page or to include it on an existing page (e.g., “About Us” or “Company Culture”).
Include your mission statement on all social media platforms. Post it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In addition to posting the full length of your statement, include a link to it in the “About” or “Bio” section of each platform.
When posting on job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor, be sure to include your diversity statement at the bottom of the job description. Or, if your mission statement is of substantial length, include a link to it at the bottom of the job description. This will allow prospective employees to understand your company’s values prior to applying.
Create laminated posters and flyers with your mission statement and display them in common areas (e.g., the break room) if you’re back in the office. This will serve as a reminder to employees and those who frequent your office or establishment that your company is committed to diversity and inclusion.
And, if your D&I statement is fairly short it can be added to the email signature of every employee. If it’s longer then it can be added to the end of the email signature with a headline and a link.
Show the World Where Your Organization Stands
In a world with myriad ethnicities, languages, sexualities, religions and abilities, diversity and inclusion are key. And showing your employees, consumers and investors where you stand is crucial.
A diversity and inclusion mission statement will allow your company to clearly express its values and goals.
It will create a welcoming environment for all individuals, motivate employees and drive interest in your company. Our uniqueness propels innovation. Be the company that nurtures uniqueness.