Chapter 4: Promoting Inclusive Culture

4.1. Definition inclusive culture

Inclusion is a sense of belonging, connection and community at work. Culture refers to

“shared ideas, customs and social behavior of a particular people or society.”
 An organization’s culture is the culmination of the priorities, values and
behaviors, which support their employees in how they work singularly, in teams
and with clients.
 An inclusive culture involves the full and successful integration of diverse
people into a workplace or industry.
Inclusive culture involves several core values:
 Representation: The presence of people with disabilities across a range of
employee roles and leadership positions
 Receptivity: Respect for differences in working styles and flexibility in tailoring
positions to the strengths and abilities of employees and
 Fairness: Equitable access to all resources, opportunities, networks and
decision making processes.

4.2. Dimensions of Inclusive culture

There are three dimensions/ elements of an inclusive culture:
1. Universal Design
2. Recruitment, Training and Advancement Opportunities
3. Workplace Accommodations & Accessibility: Policy & Practice
1. Universal Design: refers to the construction of structures, spaces, services,
communications and resources that are organically accessible to a range of
people with and without disabilities.
2. Recruitment, Training & Advancement Opportunities

A. Recruitment:
 Effective recruitment of people with disabilities involves two components:
 Accessible outreach and hiring practices and
 Targeted recruitment of workers with disabilities

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 B. Training: Training plays a dual role in the creation of inclusive workplace
culture.
C. Advancement: In order to have equitable opportunities for promotion and
professional development, workers with disabilities typically require
access to mentoring.
3. Workplace Accommodations & Accessibility: Policy & Practice –

In addition to recruitment, training and advancement, workplace policies need to

carefully plan for the provision of reasonable accommodations.

4.3. Building Inclusive Community

An inclusive community:
 Respects all its citizens, gives them full access to resources and promotes
equal treatment and opportunity.
 Responds quickly to racist & other discriminating incidents
 Works to eliminate all forms of discrimination.
 Engages all its citizens in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
 Values diversity

An inclusive society aims at empowering and promoting the social, economic, and
political inclusion of all irrespective of sex, disability, etc.

Characteristics of an Inclusive Community

Inclusive communities do have the following set of characteristics:
 Integrative and cooperative: inclusive communities(IC) bring people together
and are places where people and organizations work together.
 Interactive: IC have accessible community spaces and open public places as
well as groups and organizations that support social interaction
 Invested: IC are places where both the public and private sectors commit
resources for the social and economic health and well-being of the whole
community.
 Diverse: IC welcome and incorporate diverse people and cultures into the
structures, processes and functions of daily community life.

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  Equitable: IC make sure that everyone has the means to live in decent
conditions and the opportunity to develop one’s capacities and to participate
actively in community life.
 Accessible and Sensitive: IC have an array of readily available and accessible
supports and services and provide such supports in culturally sensitive and
appropriate ways
 Participatory: IC encourage and support the involvement of all their members in
the planning and decision-making that affects community conditions and
development
 Safe: IC ensure both individual and community safety and security so that no
one feels at risk in their homes or moving around the neighborhood and city.

4.4. Means of establishing inclusive Culture

In order to establish inclusive culture the role of leadership is critical.
 There are four key inclusive leadership behaviors:
 Empowerment  Courage
 Accountability  Humility
 There are five stages in establishing inclusive culture:
1. Consider what you want to achieve and what the benefits will be.
2. Undertake an inclusion review of your work place
3. Decide where work is needed and create an action plan.
4. Communicate the plan with staff and put the plan into action.
5. Review, monitor and evaluate the plan’s impact and use what you find to
plan future action

Characteristics of an Inclusive Organization

1. It accepts diversity and inclusion as a way of life.
2. It evaluates individual and group performance on the basis of observable and
measurable behaviors and competencies.
3. It operates under transparent policies and procedures.
4. It is consistent in its interactions with everyone
5. It creates and maintains a learning culture.
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 6. It has a comprehensive and easily accessible system of conflict resolution at all
levels.
7. It recognizes that it is part of the community that it serves.
8. It lives its mission and core values.
9. It values earned privilege over unearned privilege.
10. It accepts and embraces change.

4.5. Inclusive values –

The Seven Pillars of Inclusion:
1. Access 5. Communication
2. Attitude 6. Policy
3. Choice 7. Opportunity
4. Partnership
Some examples of inclusive values that are fundamental for successful inclusive
education include:
 appreciating diversity,  participation,
 equality and equity,  community, and
 cooperativeness,  sustainability.

4.6- Indigenous Inclusive Values and Practices

Indigenous: refers to a better understanding of, and respect for, indigenous cultures
develops an enriched appreciation of the existing cultural heritage.

Indigenous inclusion: is an organizational state that is embraced as a cultural norm,

with enterprise-wide workplace strategies as well as a culture which invites the
full participation of indigenous people into all aspects of business operations.

Features of an indigenous inclusion:

 Inclusion has been embraced as a core competency and embedded into the
organizational culture;

 Human rights and responsibilities are promoted and respected;

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  Indigenous people are employed and retained in all areas of the organization
including the senior leadership positions;

 Comprehensive indigenous procurement, recruitment and corporate social

responsibility strategies have been developed …

4.7. Inclusive practice & Strategies

Inclusive practice is an approach to teaching that recognizes the diversity of students,

enabling all students to access course content, fully participate in learning activities

Inclusive practices in education are based on the following principles:

 Diversity enriches and strengthens all communities

 All learners’ have different learning styles and achievements are equally valued,
respected and celebrated by society

 All learners are enabled to fulfill their potential by taking into account individual
needs

 Support is guaranteed and fully resourced across the whole learning experience

 All learners need friendship and support from people of their own age.

 Inclusive teaching strategies refer to any number of teaching approaches that

address the needs of students with a variety of backgrounds, learning modalities
& abilities

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