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Organic Diversity and Inclusion: Not a Problem to Solve, a Goal to Achieve
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BY DORAN J. BARNES
Chair, APTA Diversity and Inclusion Council
Immediate Past Chair, APTA
Executive Director, Foothill Transit, West Covina, CA
 If you’re not stitching diversity and inclusion (D&I) into the fabric of your mission and values, you’re missing a competitive edge. This isn’t an opinion, it’s statistically validated.
“Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business statistically outperform their peers,” says Josh Bersin, founder of Bersin by Deloitte, one of the nation’s leading human resources research and analysis companies.
| The conversation in corporate and nonprofit circles has moved from increasing diversity to creating an authentic culture of inclusion where people both feel a sense of belonging and are valued for their uniqueness. To walk the talk, inclusive practices need to be embedded into an organization’s culture and organizational “habits,” and everyone needs to share the same understanding of what “inclusiveness” means, why it’s important and how it is relevant. This means establishing tools, practices, policies and competencies that help deliver an experience of inclusiveness and that have staying power.
Let’s assume, for a moment, that your awareness of diversity and inclusion is just now beginning to rise.
Defining what the two words mean separately and together is important. But we can sum it up with the following metaphor: diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.
Take a look around your team. Where are people being allowed to fully contribute to your goals—and where aren’t they? And what does this mean for public transportation as an industry?
In the mobility world, new technology is everywhere: high-speed trains are coming, microtransit is here, mobility management is all the rage. All these areas help make for great and exciting times in our industry. However, we cannot deliver on the promise of a bright public transit future without an inclusive workforce that celebrates diversity at every opportunity.
The fabric of our industry is strong, with some bonds forged over decades. It is extremely important that we continue to work together as a family to ensure the promise of D&I is not just something we decided while sitting around a table at a conference, but something that we live and breathe every day and work to weave into that fabric of our industry. We have a great chance to seize an opportunity to make our industry an example for others and a career of choice.
Here at Foothill Transit, we codify diversity and inclusion in our official organization values: we create an environment rich with talented people and differing viewpoints, valuing the unique perspectives that everyone brings. When our agency is a reflection of our communities—which includes some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country—it augments the myriad ways we connect to those communities and helps us foster new ideas inside a work culture that says: “You belong here.”
When we began the effort of reassessing APTA’s role and plan on diversity and inclusion two years ago, we realized making D&I part of an organizational culture goes beyond reaching numerical targets and is far more about demonstrating tangible efforts at each level of the organization (the leadership, staff and members).
With an APTA Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan adopted in October 2017, our charge is clear: make public transit a welcoming, inclusive, diverse, nurturing and exciting place to forge a career.
APTA’s policy states that, as an association, we promote “an inclusive culture that supports and celebrates the unique attributes and perspectives of its individual members, allowing each and every person to make their fullest contribution to the industry. APTA defines diversity as the inclusion of differences and similarities from all categories of members and covers such areas as disability, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, race and geographic origin, size of transit property or business member organization, all of which contribute to the fulfillment of APTA’s mission.”
The restructured APTA Diversity and Inclusion Council, which is open to all APTA members, is here to help proactively maintain and create a diverse and inclusive environment at APTA and across the industry. With your help, we can continue to build upon our past successes.
As part of the APTA Diversity and Inclusion Council, we ask for your help in building a repository of best practices, D&I plans, presentations, marketing materials and anything else that you think might help another APTA member build and grow their own D&I practice. For more information, contact Petra Mollet, APTA vice president–strategic & international programs, or Darnell Grisby, director–policy development & research.
"Commentary" features authoritative points of view from various sources on timely and pressing issues affecting public transportation. APTA would like to hear from you. If you are interested in submitting a original, thought-leader Commentary for consideration, please contact Senior Managing Editor David A. Riddy.
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