Reviewed by Laurie Spicer · Last reviewed: October 20, 2026
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or HR advice. Consult a qualified professional for your situation.
Is your US Workforce a GRAND Rainbow?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are good for business, good for people, and good for communities.
If you are not considering the impact of DEI on the success of your organisation, you are missing an important business strategy. The results of DEI awareness on business are well documented. The world-renowned consulting firm, McKinsey, has reported a strengthening relationship between diversity on executive teams and financial performance.
Aside from the dollars and cents, in the 21st century, you must continually raise your awareness of those who are different from you to be a socially responsible person.
The US workforce is also changing. Younger generations are more diverse than older ones, and many job seekers look closely at an employer’s culture and inclusion when weighing an offer.
Before we get into the details of the value of a DEI workforce, let’s address three common objections of why DEI initiatives are not adopted in a workplace and what the solutions might be.
It won’t work for us because…
Concern #1: Our industry is not very diverse, so diversity in the workplace is not possible.
We are all aware that there are male- and female-dominated industries, engineering and HR, to name two. However, just because they have been historically imbalanced doesn’t mean they are today. It certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t many candidates of the industry’s non-dominate gender who can contribute and excel in your company. For a host of reasons, you may find a glut of people of the same age, gender, race, or religion in your pool of candidates. The key is to dig beyond the surface. Building a diverse workforce has to be intentional.
Widen your sourcing so qualified candidates from every background reach your shortlist, then assess everyone against the same criteria. You may be surprised by the quality of candidates you had not reached before.
Concern #2: We want the best person for the job.
So, who is the best person to be the President of the United States? Who is the best Supreme Court Judge? Finding those answers is like asking ‘Who is my soulmate?’ The reality is, there isn’t just one person who can be wildly successful in the position.
Before interviewing or promoting, define the skills and experience that are critical for success. Then widen your search beyond familiar networks, schools and referrals, and assess every candidate against the same criteria. Hiring people who all share one background can narrow your team’s thinking. In the US, though, hiring and promotion decisions must never be based on race, sex or another protected characteristic, as the EEOC’s 2025 guidance on DEI-related discrimination makes clear.
Concern #3: We’re a small company and too many different types of people won’t build a strong team.
People from differing backgrounds, religions, native languages, cultures, backgrounds bring varied experiences, mores, and viewpoints. Learning how to have an inclusive and equitable workforce takes intention and it isn’t easy.
Providing implicit bias training is critical to the success of a melting pot of employees. At Foothold America, we’ve had trainings and discussions about implicit bias. Every employee who participated reported being enriched by the experience. We are a better, more dynamic team as a result. And because our clients are from around the world, we are better positioned to serve those from various countries and cultures.
What is a GRAND rainbow company and why is it important?
According to experts, there are many ways we are unconsciously biased. All of us. In one way or another. Rachel Wilson of the EW Group says, “unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, is what happens when we act on subconscious, deeply-ingrained biases, stereotypes, and attitudes formed from our inherent human cognition, experiences, upbringing, and environment.”
Lack of awareness about inherent bias can leave you with a company plagued by groupthink and low innovation. Let’s look at the most common forms of unconscious bias in the rainbow below and see how they can impact the workplace experience.
Gender: women working full time, year round earned 80.9% of men’s median earnings in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. The gap narrows when role and experience are taken into account, but it does not disappear.
Race: pay and representation gaps persist across US businesses and widen further up the ranks, with Black, Hispanic and Asian professionals under-represented in the C-suite.
Age: Living longer and reduced social safety nets mean Americans are working later in life, delaying retirement. There could be a 50-year age difference between employees. Because older employees may lack technology skills and earn more money than younger workers, they can be pressured to retire or susceptible to unlawful termination. This is just one outcome of ageism in the workplace.
Name: How many times have you felt like you’ve had a mouthful of marbles when trying to pronounce the name of a person whose ethnicity is different from yours? A simple matter of pronunciation can create discomfort or conflict in the workplace. It can even prevent someone from being considered for an interview.
Here are a few to try.
Name | Ethnicity | Pronunciation |
| Cholmondeley | English | Chum-ley |
| Nguyen | Vietnamese | Win |
| Ramamoorthi | Indian | RA-ma-moor-tee |
| Fawehemi | Nigerian | FAH-weh-mee |
| Moloughney | Irish | Mo-LOCK-ney |
Disability: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed in 1990 by President George H W Bush, requires employers to make reasonable accommodations, creating fairer workplaces for millions of Americans. Even so, people with dyslexia, autism, bipolar disorder, depression, vision impairment, physical disabilities and many other conditions still meet ability bias at work, and unemployment is higher among disabled people. Our guide to neurodiversity in the workplace explains how to build a more inclusive culture.
What can we do to have a more Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive workplace?
Step by step, you can make a difference in yourself, your team, and your company. This in turn makes a difference in your community, country, and world.
Step 1: Start from the inside out. Make a conscious decision to improve DEI in your personal and professional life. Become a learning machine and integrate this information into your mindset and actions. Give this short entertaining video a look.
Step 2: Ingrain DEI in the DNA of your company. Make sure your marketing materials, webinar guests and website images reflect diversity. Train your employees to understand and recognise implicit bias and work to overcome it.
Step 3: Seek diverse suppliers. While you are researching potential suppliers, be sure to check the staff, management, or board on their website or LinkedIn. If diversity is lacking there, you may not have found the most creative or socially responsible option. Keep looking.
Step 4: Don’t stop. You will make progress and impact the world with your open-mindedness. Keep moving forward even when it’s uncomfortable and teach others along the way.
Foothold America is committed to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce and we hope you’ll consider making DEI part of your company strategy. Best wishes for your company to become a GRAND rainbow.
Contact us at HR@footholdamerica.com if you’d like more ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Is DEI legal for US employers?
Inclusive practices such as fair recruiting, bias training and accommodations are legal. Decisions based on race, sex or other protected characteristics are not, whatever the intention. The EEOC’s 2025 guidance explains where the lines are.
What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious bias is the set of assumptions and stereotypes we act on without realising it, shaped by upbringing, experience and environment. It can affect hiring, promotion and everyday decisions, which is why structured processes and training help.
How can a small company improve inclusion?
Start with fair, consistent hiring, clear policies on discrimination and harassment, and training on bias. Ask employees how included they feel, act on what you hear and make reasonable accommodations easy to request.
What does the ADA require from employers?
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to avoid disability discrimination and provide reasonable accommodations unless they cause undue hardship. Many states extend similar protections to smaller employers.
How can remote teams celebrate diversity?
Share cultural traditions, mark holidays that matter to your team, run a book club or create a shared recipe collection. Our DEI activities for remote teams has five ideas to try.
