What is diversity and inclusion training?
Diversity training programs are courses employers provide for employees to help them understand the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace. Many companies have policies in place that aim to encourage diversity and reduce prejudice. By training your employees, you align them with your diversity goals and reduce the likelihood of discriminatory incidents.
While it’s second nature for many people to be inclusive, some might have more traditional or old-fashioned views. While everyone has the right to an opinion, there’s no room in the workplace for hate or exclusion.
What’s more, as all managers know, the most effective teams have a range of skill sets and personalities without too much overlap. If everyone on a team has the same background, experience and strengths, clashes are likely and important tasks might get missed or half-heartedly completed. When you put together a diverse team with differing strengths and perspectives, you’re more likely to cover all bases and strike the perfect balance for teamwork.
Why is it important to train the workforce on diversity?
Diversity and inclusion are about much more than policy and compliance — although these are important factors. According to research from McKinsey & Company, employers with strong principles of equality and inclusion make better decisions and financially outperform the competition.
Companies that demonstrate gender, ethnic and cultural diversity are 25% more likely to have above-average profits. In fact, the greater the level of diversity an organization demonstrates, the more likely they are to outperform financially.
Businesses that had more than 30% of executives who identify as female were more profitable than those with fewer than 30%. Organizations with the most ethnic diversity were 36% more profitable than those with the least. These figures demonstrate the business case for diversity, but the humanitarian and pro-social reasons are just as compelling.
Companies where people judge each other based on merit, kindness and efficiency are more attractive places to work. When employees aren’t bogged down by prejudice, they have more energy to put into their work and perform better in teams. Taking a clear and cohesive stance on equality and getting everyone on board benefits the entire organization.
How we chose the best programs for diversity and inclusion training
To find the best diversity and inclusivity programs, we reviewed a range of courses from colleges, online providers, HR consultants and workforce training platforms. We took into account price, accessibility, ease of use and quality. We also aimed to include programs that provide flexibility when it comes to how and when employees carry out the training.
Diversity training isn’t federally mandated, so not all institutions offer certification for completing a program. Nonetheless, all the programs on the list contribute to helping your business comply with the Civil Rights Act and could potentially protect against future liability in case of discrimination in the workplace.
All courses in our list offer comprehensive training with numerous subtopics. They help you build an environment in your workplace where everyone feels included and championed.
Top Eight Diversity and Inclusion Programs
If you’re an executive or a manager in a company, it’s crucial that you understand the virtues of a diverse workforce and demonstrate inclusivity and help your team do the same.
These popular learning courses cover diversity and inclusion to help you and your workforce get up-to-date.
1. Coursera: Optimizing Diversity in the Workplace
Price
Free
Duration
Self-paced but approximately nine hours
Overview
Coursera is one of the most popular online learning platforms, offering thousands of free courses for anyone to complete. It has a strong focus on business management and leadership programs. Optimizing Diversity in the Workplace is offered by the ESSEC Business School.
The syllabus is as follows:
- Hi Diversity!
- Categorization and Diversity Perceptions
- Disrupting With Diversity
- Diversity and Inclusion Around the World
2. Udemy: Respect Gender & Sexual Differences & Assert Yourself
Price
$14.99 per person (Cheaper with a Udemy Business subscription)
Duration
Approximately six hours
Overview
Udemy is a massive online learning platform with thousands of programs on a broad range of topics, including business management. In addition to the above course, there are programs covering gender bias, transgender awareness, inclusive leadership, gender equality and more.
Respect Gender & Sexual Differences & Assert Yourself includes the following course content:
- Respect Gender & Sexual Differences
- Use Respectful Language
- Acknowledge Limits & Seek Answers
- Honor Boundaries & Legalities
- Stand Up for What’s Right
- Put It to Work
- Assert Yourself
- Know Yourself
- Communicate Effectively
- Practice Self-Awareness
- Be Deliberate in Delivery
- Put It to Work
3. SkillPath: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Price
Free, needs assessment/custom pricing
Duration
Dependent on individual requirements
Overview
SkillPath is a dedicated training course provider with a variety of programs tailored to suit the needs and size of individual organizations. The Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace course is exclusively for enterprises and can be completed in a range of formats. From live instruction to livestream and e-learning, you choose how your employees complete the course.
Below is the course outline:
- Fundamentals of Diversity and Inclusion in Today’s Workplace
- How We see Ourselves—and Our World
- How We See Others
- How We Work Together
4. Catalyst: Leading for Equity and Inclusion Workshops
Price
Custom
Duration
Two-hour workshop hosting up to 50 participants
Overview
Catalyst is an organization that champions women in the workplace and provides courses, webinars and workshops on important topics. This course helps decision-makers cultivate inclusive, diverse workplaces where employees feel safe, trusted and valued.
Let’s take a look at the core learning goals:
- Unconscious Bias to Inclusive Leadership
- Becoming an Inclusive Leader
- Inclusive Communication
- Understanding Gender Equity
- Emotional Tax in the Workplace
- Managing Diverse Teams Inclusively
- Understanding Gender Identity
5. HR University: Diversity and Inclusion Certification
Price
$238.80
Duration
One week
Overview
HR University provides certification to HR professionals and managers. In this course, decision-makers learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion and get advice on how to host a workshop on the subject for employees. The program aims to teach the following:
- Categories of Diversity
- How to Create a Sense of Belonging
- Organize a Company’s D&I Vision
- How Social Identities Form
- Unconscious Bias
- Types of Bias
- Bias Consequences
- Micro Behaviors
- Dealing with Micro Aggression
- Counteracting Unconscious Bias
- Active Listening
- Asking Proper Questions to Handle Difficult Diversity Discussions
- Non-Verbal Communication
- Workplace Bullying
- Harassment
6. American Management Association: Leading in a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Price
$2,345
Duration
Online: Eight weeksIn-person: Six weeks
Overview
AMA offers management training for professionals in fields such as communication, diplomacy, project management and finance. This program is aimed at individuals in HR and management who are looking to improve the company’s approach to bias and diversity.
The course includes the following subjects:
- Introduction to Diversity and Inclusion
- Bridging Communication Differences
- Understanding Micro-Inequalities, Unconscious Bias and Micro-Advantages
- Dialogue: Having Difficult Conversations
7. eCornell: Diversity and Inclusion
Price
$950 per month or $2,520
Duration
Two months (three to five hours per week recommended)
Overview
eCornell is Cornell University’s online division, offering online certification in subjects such as digital marketing, computer science and leadership. The aim of the course is to help managers, HR professionals and employees foster an inclusive company culture. The diversity and inclusion course is split into four subtopics, which are as follows:
- Improving Engagement
- Counteracting Unconscious Bias
- Diversity and Inclusion at Work
- Fostering an Inclusion Culture
8. HRDQ: Diversity Works
Price
$999 (Under $40 per employee for a class of 25)
Duration
Interactive game plus three-hour workshop
Overview
HRDQ provides an interactive and fun way to teach employees the importance of an inclusive workplace. It allows employers to create a hands-on workshop that engages participants using a mixture of science, experimentation and emotion. There are three main learning objectives:
- Understand what makes you a unique and valued individual
- Recognize what makes others unique and valued individuals
- Consider how communication around differences can impact the workplace
Inclusion and diversity training FAQs
Is inclusivity training required by law?
There is no federal law stating that employers must provide training on diversity, equity and inclusion. However, The Whitehouse has recently updated its approach to the subject in view of encouraging American businesses to do the same.
Furthermore, training your team on diversity could help with compliance to the Equal Employment Opportunity sections of the Civil Rights Act. It doesn’t indemnify you as an employer, but it could help protect your organization against legal action for discrimination or harassment in the workplace.
What do diversity training programs entail?
Diversity and inclusivity courses tend to start off by defining what equality and inclusion mean. They help participants see the subject from different perspectives and explain the evolution of diversity and inclusivity in culture. In addition to informing people about federal and state law, courses use real-life examples to demonstrate how important inclusion is for groups and individuals.
Many programs ask learners to define what makes them unique individuals and ask how proud they feel of these traits. This can have a major impact on people presented with the question of how they view other people’s differences and how they would like to be perceived if they were a member of an underrepresented group.
Is diversity and inclusivity training effective?
Diversity and inclusivity training can be highly effective when managers are enthusiastic about course content and employees are engaged. Everyone in the world has unconscious bias in some form, much of which stems from what we hear as children. Discrimination is rarely a strongly held belief and often comes down to a lack of understanding. Learning about the importance of equality is welcomed and celebrated by most people who complete courses on the subject.
What’s the best diversity certification?
The best diversity certification for your business depends on factors such as your company’s structure, size and culture. For large organizations, it might be more appropriate to train managers on diversity and have them teach employees. This helps cement course content in decision-makers’ minds and engage employees as they learn from familiar authority figures.
How much does diversity training cost?
The majority of diversity training courses cost between $20 and $50 per person. Some are paid for by a flat fee, particularly workshop and prepackaged classes or static training methods. In some instances, you can expect discounted rates for larger class sizes.
