What are the best free online courses about diversity?
Why is diversity important?
Diversity is important because human rights apply equally to everyone regardless of their sex, gender, race, culture, religion, age and bodily abilities. While we all know this in theory, we also all know that it is not always the case in practice. People hold stereotypes of each other that lead to prejudice, oppression, conflict, aggression, harassment and more. Workers may be judged differently for the same outcome based on whether their boss belongs to the same group as them or not. Diversity has been shown to benefit workplaces because having different points of view can strengthen a service or product offering. For example, it may not occur to people of one race that those of another might be offended by an advertising campaign and not buy the product, leading to losses. Or a team member might suggest an innovation that would sell well in their culture that others outside the culture haven’t thought of.
Diversity also helps break down prejudice. If a team begins to understand the biases they hold - like ‘All X people are lazy’ or ‘All Y people hate the colour orange’ - they can see ways of overcoming them. Teams who realise they have much in common, even if it is expressed in different ways, are much stronger and are better at collaboration, innovation and problem solving, and generally have far less absenteeism and staff turnover. Ten people of the same backgrounds will probably come up with 10 very similar solutions or plans; 10 people of different backgrounds will come up with 10 different solutions or plans, meaning much more scope for business growth (especially if the single plan from the more homogeneous group doesn’t work!). Today, remote working means you could be collaborating with people across the world from totally different cultures, religions and creeds to you. If you expect them to understand you, you should do the same. This leads to more opportunities, talent development and meeting people who could open totally new career pathways.
Do you have diversity courses for specific careers or inclusivity challenges?
Yes, of course we do! And we are always adding new courses that you can complete for free so be sure to check back every so often to keep advancing your knowledge of good diversity practices. Why not start with the following:
- Becoming a Social Inclusion Officer
SIOs play an important role in bringing excluded people or groups ‘in’ by finding solutions for their exclusion (like transport for mobility challenged people or language barriers for immigrants). This is a great career if you enjoy helping others.
- Deaf Awareness - Tips and Concepts
Hearing loss shouldn’t eliminate opportunities for work or social connection but often does. While the course focuses on British Sign Language, it also has useful advice for anyone working with deaf colleagues, clients or customers.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) in Adult Care
Because the world’s population is generally ageing and people are living longer than ever before, caring for adults is an exploding career option. But what if you need to look after an old person from a totally different race, religion, culture and socio-economic background to you?
