Addressing diversity and inclusion in project management

Developed by Naïl Mulatier- s222590

Abstract

The principles of diversity and inclusion (D&I), although often neglected in project management, are crucial to the success of the project. Taking these principles into account offers many advantages, from better performance and innovation to a more pleasant working environment.

Although the themes of D&I re covered in other articles, they are regularly studied from a team perspective (Diversity_in_teams). However, to my knowledge, no comprehensive guide for a project manager to address these issues in a project. This guide will try to give all the resources for a project manager who has to lead a project with a new team and with limited time. For the coherence of the article, a time limit of six months will be set.

While inclusion and diversity policies are substantive and therefore long-term policies, the following article aims to propose effective short-term solutions, which are best suited for project management. Indeed, project management presents unique diversity and inclusion challenges due to the typically tight schedule and temporary nature of the teams.

The article begins by explaining the importance and benefits of diversity and inclusion, while providing a theoretical framework. It will provide a practical guidance on how to take diversity and inclusion into account in project management, and how to monitor and evaluate its implementation. Finally, the article will discuss the limitations of the approach.

Theory

What is Diversity and Inclusion ?

Diversity refers to the presence of difference backgrounds, experiences, and perspective in a team. The most well known examples of diversity are gender diversity, age diversity, ethnic diversity, physical ability and neurodiversity, etc. An even broader definition can be adopted, according to Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler “We tend to think about that in terms of things like racial diversity and gender diversity and ethnic diversity. Those things are all important. But it’s also important to have diversity in how people think.”

Inclusion refers to the active involvement and equal treatment of all team members. According to McKinsey & Company , an inclusive workspace is one that takes into account all employees individually while allowing them to have a significant impact.

Furthermore, the aspects of diversity and inclusion are fundamentally linked; it makes no sense to have a diverse workspace if minorities do not feel included.

Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion is not only an issue of social justice or ethics, but also a competitive advantage for project management, as it enhances performance, innovation and the well-being of team members

Improves performance

Diversity within the team allows for a variety of ideas, skills and fresh ideas, and even, as we have defined it, a variety of ways of thinking. Diversity brings multiple perspectives when dealing with a problem; if it is difficult for one team member to solve a problem, another member, who will think differently, will certainly find an innovative solution not yet considered. According to a study of over 1,000 large companies , there is a correlation between company performance and diversity.

Also, as the article seems to point out, inclusion is the cornerstone of diversity. Inclusion allows all team members to be equally involved in the decision-making process. This leads to more balanced decisions, avoiding bias and potential errors. It has also been shown, through studies , that a sense of inclusion increases individual and collective performance within a project.

Fosters innovation

Diversity brings new ideas and encourages creativity. The interaction between project members stimulates questioning of guidelines and critical thinking, which encourages innovation. According to the material provided for the second week's course (People-slides-Jan-2023), through diversity “different perspectives can create innovative ideas and consider a wider range of possibilities”. Inclusion encourages the exchange of these different views, stimulates creative thinking and promotes innovation.

Well-being of project members

Ongoing studies show that inclusion is linked to both employee satisfaction and turnover intentions; employees who feel included tend to stay longer with the company. With regard to diversity, it has been shown that in Latin America, companies that are more open to diversity are 75% more likely to adopt a pro-teamwork culture. These results are highly questionable and require further study. For the time being, we can only observe a trend without any real indisputable scientific proof.

Theoretical Frameworks

These theoretical frameworks are tools to be mastered in order to fully understand the resources that the article provides. Knowing these theories is a plus when it comes to diversity and inclusion in project management:

Social identity theory : . Individuals tend to have multiple social identities in order to distinguish themselves from or relate to social groups. Social identity complexity shows how individuals combine multiple social identities; for example, being a member of one group on the basis of social identity (gender) while being a member of another group on another social characteristic (belonging to an ethnic group). Empirical work shows that a complexity of social identity is positively related to tolerance of outgroups. It is important to minimize the exclusionary tendencies of the group in the project, and mastering this theory can be an interesting help for the project manager in this case

Inclusion framework : Thanks to the state of the art , we can present this inclusion framework which is a 2 × 2 inclusion framework in which it is proposed that uniqueness and belongingness work together to create feelings of inclusion.

	Low Belongingness	High Belongingneess
Low Value in Uniqueness	Exclusion Individual is not treated as an inner team member with a unique value in the work group, but there are other employees or groups who are insiders.	Assimilation Individual is treated as an insider in the team when they conform to organizational/dominant culture norms and downplay uniqueness
High Value in Uniqueness	Differentiation Individual is not treated as an inner team member in the work group but their unique characteristics are seen as valuable and required for group/ organization success	Inclusion Individual is treated as an insider and also allowed/encouraged to retain uniqueness within the work group.

D&I in project management

D&I in project management Now that the concepts of diversity and inclusion and the associated opportunities and challenges have been defined, it is interesting to look at these concepts across the spectrum of project management. In a project as we have defined it, resources (time, money and logistics) are limited. It is not possible to recommend a substantive policy for the implementation of diversity and inclusion in the workspace, since the reader expects solutions that can be applied as a project manager.

Application

Although all projects are different, due to the difference in size and complexity between organizations, it is possible to outline a typical project life cycle : the project initialization phase, the preparation phase, the work execution phase and finally the project closure phase.

Since the costs of change are lowest in the project preparation phase, it is necessary to do as much as possible for inclusion and diversity in this first phase. However, some recommendations are only applicable when the project is in execution phase. For this reason, the article will give a practical guide separated in two parts. One concerning the recommendations for the project manager during the organization and preparation phase of the project, the other concerning the tools to be used during the implementation phase.

Preparation phase

Recruitment of diverse candidates

As shown in the theory section, to create an inclusive project team it is important to recruit candidates from different cultures, genders, ages, etc .

If you want to recruit new members to the project, the most common way is to advertise job positions. When advertising job positions, use inclusive language and emphasize the organization's commitment to diversity, and inclusion (D&I) to attract diverse candidates.

Finally, partnering with professional recruitment organizations or academic institutions is also an interesting idea to expand the talent pool.

Structured interviews

Once candidates have been attracted, it is important to minimize unconscious bias in the recruitment process in order to get the best possible team. A common unconscious bias in the recruitment process would be to consider a woman less for a management position. This can be done using the technique of structured interviews.

Structured interviews consist of a set of questions prepared in advance for the interview of a candidate. It should be ensured that these questions, which should be job-related, are asked in the same way for all candidates. Finally, a pre-determined scoring system may be used in order to evaluate the results objectively

To further reduce recruitment bias, it is useful to build diversity into the interviewer team itself. For example, the team evaluating the interview can be composed of a person identifying as a woman with a person identifying as a man (or have a diversity of ethnic, religious, social, etc. backgrounds).

This approach allows for a fair and equitable recruitment process, where team members are chosen on the basis of their skills, resulting in a project team that tends to be more diverse and inclusive.

Execution phase

The basis for a practical guide on taking diversity and inclusion into account in the planning phase of a project has been laid. The article will now address these issues in the implementation phase.

Managing communication

The successful completion of a project requires good communication between team members. It is important to encourage open and transparent communication in order to build team trust and facilitate information sharing.

Having regular team meetings and creating a safe environment where team members can share their doubts and thoughts are ways to ensure that communication flows smoothly. The practice of active listening and respect for other opinions by team members should also be encouraged The use of inclusive language and the attention to details that may lead to misunderstandings helps to avoid the creation of internal conflicts and promotes collaboration between members.

Implementing flexing schedules

Among the techniques to increase inclusion in a project, offering flexible working hours is a very effective solution . Indeed, making schedules fit the person and not the other way around creates a real sense of inclusion and wellbeing. This flexibility, for example, could allow women with painful periods to plan ahead.

One should not be limited to give flexible working hours, but one could also include remote working, job sharing, etc. This flexibility improves the work-life balance and can be tailored to the different needs of the team members, resulting in increased satisfaction and productivity . Combined with parental pension policies, these methods are a tool to reduce gender inequality .

Providing feedback

Providing constructive and regular feedback is an essential part of managing a project team. Feedback should be individual and accurate for each member.

As suggested, it is important in these feedback sessions to encourage dialogue and to invite team members to continually share their thoughts or fears about the progress of the project. This approach enables continuous improvement and spreads the culture of team development among the members.

Measuring performance

In order to measure the performance of a team, clear performance targets need to be set. These objectives should be aligned with the project objectives and should take into account the contribution of each member .

These objectives should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they do not stray too far from the project content. To address diversity and inclusion within the project, it is necessary to impose objectives that focus on these D&I issues, such as assessing team members' contributions to fostering an inclusive work environment. : “Many large employers, including Starbucks and McDonald’s, are already working on defining key performance indicators for D&I” .

Diversity and inclusion training

This next solution is applicable when the project members have some free time. The article suggests the reader to apply this tool during the initialization phase of the project or after the conclusion phase.

Diversity training is the creation of training sessions that focus on raising awareness of unconscious prejudices and stereotypes. This diversity training helps to improve the team's understanding of D&I and promotes collaboration within the team. The project manager should ensure that the training is tailored to the specific needs of the team and that it is regularly updated to reflect changes in project requirements.

Limitations

Limited time frame: Projects have tight deadlines, which may not allow for long-term diversity and inclusion management initiatives. These limited timeframes can make these issues take a back seat.

Tokenism: In wanting to be involved in diversity, some project managers may have a tendency to be tokenistic. Tokenism is hiring or selecting individuals solely on the basis of their social identity or membership of under-represented groups, not on the basis of their abilities. This can cause resentment and overshadows the real purpose of diversity and inclusion.

Resistance to change: Some team members may show reluctance when asserting diversity and inclusion because of fear of change or discomfort with new ideas. These resistances to change are a real hindrance to project management because they are problems