What Can I Do in Teh Workplace

“What can I do—in the workplace and in society—to promote the creation of inclusive work environments in which full advantage is taken of the potential contributions of all members, regardless of job-irrelevant personal characteristics?”

Answer this question as concretely and specifically as possible: What can you do; What will you do? What will you do differently? How have your perceptions changed? What one belief or perception did you have in January that you have come to question in May?

Realizing diversity requires the creation of an inclusive work environment that respects and values the differences each member and employee brings to the organization. We must create a workplace that offers every individual the opportunity to attain their personal goals, grow within the service, and fully contribute to the accomplishment of our missions. A diverse workforce will enable our people to thrive; will result in operational excellence, efficiency, and positive morale; and will allow the organization to recruit and retain employees of all backgrounds.

To ensure that we sustain excellence while preparing for the future, it is imperative that we continue to progress toward the strategic goal of attracting and retaining a workforce that is reflective of our organization’s diverse composition. People are our greatest strength and we must capitalize on that fact by establishing an inclusive environment that respects and values the perspectives of diverse individuals, enculturating those influences, and combining them with our proven core values to build our future workforce. In this way, we can achieve our goal of organizational excellence and continue to be the nation’s lead maritime first response agency.

Research has shown that diverse teams of people imagine and consider a wider range of solutions to problems than homogenous groups, and more often come up with better, more evident solutiuons.

Most people believe in the golden rule:...