How can Bangladeshi workspaces achieve DEI?

Illustration: TBS

Recently, I read a thought-provoking article in the Harvard Business Review discussing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices in countries beyond the United States. The article advocates for the adoption of policies to foster a diverse and culturally sensitive workplace globally.

While absorbing the insights, my curiosity led me to consider the state of such initiatives in Bangladesh, only to discover that, regrettably, it appears to be a concept that has not gained significant traction. This prompts the question: Why has the implementation of DEI practices been slow to take hold in Bangladesh?

For those unfamiliar, DEI is a set of efforts to produce fairness to protected classes (for instance, the UK's Equality Act 2010 protects employees by law from discrimination based on race, age, disability, etc) in workspaces.

It can come in the form of training for employees on how to interact sensitively with one another, identifying barriers in hiring practices, facilitating events that emphasize the multiculturalism of staff and finding other methods to address disparities for organisations to achieve societal goals. Generally associated with a private corporate setting, DEI also applies to universities and government offices.

As the opening suggests, it is largely a Western invention. It may seem that a relatively homogeneous nation like Bangladesh, where 90% of the population is of the same ethnicity and religion, cannot possibly need such a policy that is more applicable to a multicultural society like the United States. But we often overlook the other 10% who may have been historically and systematically deprived of access to good employment opportunities, social mobility, fair wages and a safe workplace.

Ideations of DEI abroad are generally narrowed down to 'diversity training' and quotas. But there is a lot more depth to it as it can bring forth a workforce that truly reflects Bangladesh.

DEI is the process that organisations adopt to fight biases we in the dominant and privileged groups may not always recognise we have and address inequities of certain social groups. DEI is not limited to race, religion or ethnicity. It also encompasses gender, class, age and disability status. There is no shortage of evidence on the bullying and mistreatment of minorities and women in the Bangladeshi workplace and the absence of official efforts to curtail it.

According to a study by BRAC University, minority, women and transgender individuals face a disproportionate amount of harassment and workplace bullying, as well as lower retention rates. This is where studying and introducing elements of DEI practices from the US can be a standard to look towards.

It is more than a matter of shaping individuals. It addresses critical issues such as family leave, religious holidays, sexual harassment, recruitment, equal pay and more that affect our lives as professional workers. Bangladeshi employers in all sectors will benefit from these initiatives but certain institutional obstacles will make their prevalence an uphill endeavor.

One of the barriers to DEI in Bangladesh is a lack of legal and regulatory infrastructure that will allow it credibility. It cannot be up to employers alone to merely create a safe environment for vulnerable employees. In the US, legislation such as the Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act and institutions such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission not only establish the category of protected groups but also focus meticulously on their rights in the workplace.

However, the concept of 'protected classes' is not present in Bangladesh labour law. While Bangladesh's constitution enshrines basic equal rights, its labour implications are just as ambiguous and scant. What the government must mandate or encourage is the integration of these rights into the employer's organisational and management system itself.

In the US, many employers have their own DEI office with staff specialised in fostering its goals. They may also have an office to enforce equal employment opportunity (EEO), which is responsible for any cases of discrimination and hostility and ensures that hiring practices are compliant with the law. Oftentimes, many of these roles and responsibilities are in human resources departments. University campuses in the US also must follow an amendment called Title IX, which pertains to sex-based discrimination, and every university campus must have an office to oversee its compliance.

All these phrases are incredibly familiar to the average American because of the way they have been institutionalised, thus allowing a framework for DEI to be accepted. In Bangladesh, however, civil rights, social justice and employment services are seemingly divorced.

What is an appeal to reason that could close this gap? I once attended a panel of a large fashion brand that hosted their DEI and Human Resources personnel. The panellists represented many walks of life, and their presence provided comfort for certain employees who may not have colleagues from their communities working alongside them. They described how they help oversee hiring decisions to contextualise the shortfalls that candidates of minority backgrounds may have and give them a chance.

One of these tasks entails reviewing CVs and making sure factors such as name and clothing do not affect a candidate's chances. We see that DEI-led measures are not simply handing out jobs and privileges to marginalised individuals; it's about making sure qualified ones are not left out. If you allow stereotypes and preconceived notions of certain groups to cloud your judgment, you are perpetuating the historical barriers to access for those groups. Employers are then also denying themselves new skills, capital and their moral responsibility to create an equitable economy.

This approach taken by DEI officers also teaches the art of empathy. Imagine being a new hire at a large agency who comes from a tribal background, but where most of the staff is mostly ethnic Bengalis who are men. Add that to being a woman, and think about how alienating and difficult it must be to adjust to such an environment. After a lifetime of struggling to attain your position, you may think your colleagues see you as their equal but only in theory. Their lived experiences, mannerisms and limited cultural knowledge are still making your experience alienation and unbearable.

Coworkers may sympathise, but they do not have the power to resolve mistreatment. This is where DEI and equal opportunity teams and efforts can help create a safe space, raise awareness of, and not only address these issues but prevent such demographic imbalances in the first place.

DEI is undoubtedly a polarizing topic, and its implementation will look different in different places. It has been a subject of debate in the US for decades and is connected with larger racial tensions in the nation, and it will undoubtedly be touchy anywhere else. However, the professional world in Bangladesh is in dire need of innovation and should look towards new trends from the globe that will allow it to give what it owes to its colleagues who are women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, disabled, sick, old and young.