March 1, 2021

Why Mindfulness Should Be the Foundation for Your DEI Program

With all of the recent conversations around systemic racism, more and more companies are realizing the importance of having a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program at their organization. DEI programs enable leaders to take action and encourage workforces to change the way they think and talk about diversity in the workplace. 

Creating the framework for your DEI program can be daunting, but incorporating mindfulness into your DEI strategy can provide resources and skills to enhance awareness, curiosity and openness to different perspectives and foster a culture where your workforce is both respectful and appreciative of the many voices contributing to the organizations’ success.

Creating a Culture of Mindfulness

Creating a culture of mindfulness can make a big difference in how your workforce communicates and performs. By learning mindfulness skills that can be applied to everyday interactions, a mindfulness-based DEI program can set the stage for long-term, sustainable practices.

Mindfulness-based DEI promotes:

  • Awareness of individual beliefs, thoughts, and feelings
  • Acceptance of the beliefs and perspectives of others
  • Compassion toward others and yourself
  • Confidence that diversity, equity, and inclusion not only matter within the workforce, but that actions are being taken to increase awareness and develop skills to support the desired change

Like any workplace change, mindfulness takes time and practice to strengthen into an everyday mindset. The mindfulness resources at eMindful can provide ongoing support for you and your team.

DEI Mindfulness Resources to Help Your Workforce

The benefits of participating in live or on-demand mindfulness programs can set your office up for long-term success, and there are multiple programs to target what matters most to each individual journey:

Mindfulness at Work. Feeling high stress levels at work can cause us to be impatient and lash out at others. When we learn to change our relationship to stress through mindfulness, we can apply more patience and compassion to everyday interactions.

Cultivating Compassion. We all strive to be more compassionate, but how can we actually manifest compassion for ourselves and others? Mindfulness strengthens the ability to give and receive compassion when it’s needed the most.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collection. Working amongst different backgrounds and beliefs can make it easy to forget our common humanity. Enhancing self-awareness, being open to feedback, and learning other mindfulness skills can improve your DEI program.
7 Days of Embracing Diversity. The beauty of taking a breath and bringing more awareness to our own reactions can change the way we see and treat others at work.