DEI in the physical workplace

Over the past several years, the movement to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and society as a whole has gained significant traction and mainstream acceptance. And the credit union movement has played a significant role in this, with roots in Ed Filene’s important work in social and economic progress.

Today the Filene Research Institute has released a new report, authored by Bukky Akinsanmi Oyedeji, PhD at the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin and sponsored by Momentum, exploring the impacts and opportunities that physical working environments have in regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The report, titled “Bridging the Spatial Divide: A Guide to Achieving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Physical Work Environments,” dives deep into the existing body of research around the impact that physical workplaces have people and proposes a set of guidelines that credit union leaders can follow to help promote diversity and create a sense of belonging in their organizations.

This research has roots in the disability rights movement, where advocates promote an understanding of how design choices impact their ability to interact with and exist within spaces enjoyed comfortably by physically able-bodied people. They changed the way we design buildings with the Americans With Disability Act, but the movement didn’t end there. Through universal design principles, designers bring diverse voices into the process to help create spaces that are truly inclusive for as many people as possible.

 

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