Diversity and inclusion has always been important but personally for me I think its vital as we work more remotely and online. We have all the tools available to ensure we are as inclusive as possible.
In the Diversity and Inclusion forum we created a checklist to use when communicating and collaborating. This checklist helps us ensure our communication and collaboration with others is as inclusive as it can be using the tools available to us. If you are using Microsoft tools daily there are several features that can help you become more inclusive. These include transcription/live captions, accessibility checkers and immersive reader. These simple changes could make a massive difference to others. It is also important to raise awareness and knowledge of the tools available.
Checklist
Below is a snippet of the checklist our Diversity and Inclusion forum created to help our colleagues become more inclusive in meetings. We have worked with our support team to ensure some settings in M365 are on by default.
This is just an element of what we do as part of the Diversity and Inclusion forum at risual. We have a 2021 strategy and many activities we want to achieve by the end of the year. Our forum is a voluntary group of individuals who see the importance of being inclusive and educating others around us.
Things to consider
Here are a couple of things to think about when looking to become more inclusive at work:
- Use inclusive language in communications and documentation.
- Ask attendees before meetings of their requirements for that meeting.
- Consider turning features on by default e.g. live caption/transcription.
- Create a Diversity and Inclusion forum.
- Educate yourself.
Writing this blog I have had to consider the language I am using. Shortened sentences, removed more complex words and considered the active and passive words. Luckily WordPress provides a readability and SEO score.
In summary it is everyone’s responsibility in life to be inclusive and actively think about actions we can take to achieve this. Think about your actions at work and how you can make your engagement as inclusive as possible. Research some of the great features available in tools like Word and MS Teams and encourage others to think about inclusion.
