See the Benefits of Diversity Training Programs in These 4 Videos

Diversity in the workplace is a long-standing issue for many companies. Diversity and inclusion training programs aim to help improve interactions between employees with different backgrounds; however, getting the lessons to stick can be tough, especially if the training itself isn’t very interesting.

Short videos help improve the impact of diversity training by giving employees small, bite-sized lessons and insights from those who have lived and learned from personal experience with diverse personalities, religions, and backgrounds in their own workplaces.
Here are a few short diversity training program videos that can help inspire change at your organization:

1) Diversity Does Not Mean Having to Choose Between Identity and Inclusion, with Kenji Yoshino

In this video, Kenji Yoshino, an academic and author of papers such as “Uncovering Talent: A New Model of Inclusion,” discusses how, in many workplace cultures, diversity and inclusion programs are really diversity OR inclusion programs, which require “the surrender of various forms of diversity that people bring to the table.” Yoshino also elaborates on how this can detract from an employee’s sense of self.
A key takeaway from this video is that many employees feel the need to “cover” or hide some aspect of their own personality or history from others to fit into the larger culture. As Yoshino notes, “60 to 73 percent of individuals, depending on the particular axis of covering, that we looked at said that this was somewhat to extremely detrimental to their sense of self.”
This video can help inspire change by confronting the tendency for people to hide things about themselves, and promote openness and honesty in the workplace to reinforce each worker’s sense of self.

2) Creating Diversity in the Workplace Means Hiring for a Diversity of Ages, with Elissa Perry

Diversity means more than having different races and religions represented in your work force. Workplaces often consist of several different age groups. In this video, psychologist Elissa L. Perry discusses the impacts of a diverse workforce, the differences between older and younger workers, and the synergies that can be realized when companies have both old and young people working together.
This video is geared toward HR managers, or whoever handles employee acquisition and retention in your organization, so it’s definitely one to watch!

3) Diversity Training, Part 1: Overview for Leadership and Management, with Jennifer Brown

This expert class video by leadership consultant Jennifer Brown offers functional strategies and insights about turning diverse talent networks into business innovation pipelines. You can catch a two-minute excerpt of the video here (the full video is available to Big Think+ members).
The excerpt highlights the importance of transparency with “minority networks,” how minority networks are a growing customer/employee base, and how these networks are galvanizing communities within and without company infrastructures.

4) The NBA’s Legacy of Diversity, with David Stern

David Stern, a NBA veteran who served as the association’s Commissioner for three decades, shares a personal viewpoint on the value of diversity in sports—from a time when he was told by others that “you guys [the NBA] are just not going to make it. This is a white country and you have a black sport.”
For Stern, the sport was a meritocracy, “if you were on the court, your talent counted regardless of your race. You got game, you play. If you don’t have game, you don’t.”
This video demonstrates a case study and argument for having a more inclusive workforce—that it is ability and drive that matter, and not someone’s background, religion, or skin tone.
These are just a few videos that can help inspire change as part of a diversity training program. Have a favorite video that inspires diversity at the workplace? Share it with us!