Inclusiveness in the workplace: inspiring inclusion quotes

Inclusiveness in the workplace is essential for any business today. For your organization to succeed and thrive, you must focus on improving not only work diversity but also inclusivity and a sense of belonging among your employees. 

In this article, we’ll go over some of the most profound inclusion quotes. But first, let’s discuss why it’s important to prioritize inclusivity in the modern workplace.

How we’re dealing with inclusion and diversity at TestGorilla

Our CEO Wouter Durville says the following about bias: “Most people aren’t actually biased or racist in a conscious, explicit way. They’re unconsciously biased.” This presents one of the main challenges to improving inclusivity and diversity. It’s not that people are explicitly biased; rather, they’re affected by unconscious biases. 

That’s why businesses need to implement practices and protocols that take unconscious bias into account to promote inclusivity and diversity in the workplace.

At TestGorilla, we use our own skills-testing service to find the right people for the role. We don’t do CV screening because of its vulnerability to various unconscious biases.

It doesn’t matter if the applicant’s name is hidden or whether their CV includes a picture of them – bias can still find a way to sneak into this outdated hiring method.

The results of using our pre-employment tests to screen job candidates are… well, diversity and inclusion. In our company, 60% of our leadership positions are held by women. This is significantly higher than the average percentage in the tech industry, which is 24%. On top of that, we have more than 100 employees from more than 30 countries and six continents.

Skills testing isn’t just the service we offer to other businesses – it’s also greatly benefited our own company.

Why is inclusiveness in the workplace important?

The data clearly shows that organizations that invest in diversity and inclusion are performing better than those that don’t.

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity in their executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profits than those in the fourth quartile.

The same report states that companies in the top quartile for investing in ethnic and cultural diversity are 36% more profitable than organizations in the fourth quartile.

When it comes to business success, it pays to invest in diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

30 most inspiring inclusion quotes

Here’s a list of the 30 most inspiring diversity and inclusion quotes that you can use to promote inclusiveness in your workplace: 

1. “We all have different skills and talents. The same boiling water that softens a potato hardens an egg.” – Unknown author

2. “We’re at a moment in time when companies aren’t going to tolerate not having a diverse slate; it truly puts them at risk” – Ayana Parsons, board leader of Korn Ferry

3. “Diversity and Inclusion is a competitive advantage that a smart leader would not overlook.” – Brian Ka Chan, human rights activist

4. “If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don’t particularly like.” – Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda

5. “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” – Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

6. “A garden’s beauty never lies in one flower.” – Matshona Dhliwayo, author and philosopher

7. “We’re supposed to be bringing out-of-the-box thinking and innovation, and you cannot do that unless you’ve got diversity… It’s everything from gender to ethnicity to geographic diversity.” – Julie Sweet, chief executive officer of Accenture

8. “Inclusion and fairness in the workplace… is not simply the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do.” – Alexis Herman, former United States secretary of labor

9. “I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot. Together, we can do great things.” – Mother Teresa

10. “We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter their color.” – Maya Angelou, author and activist

11. “Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style.” – Tyler Cowen, economist

12. “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” – Mahatma Gandhi

13. “At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

14. “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.” – Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google

15. “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde, poet

16. “Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.” – Rick Riordan, author

17. “Inclusivity means not just ‘we’re allowed to be there,’ but we are valued. I’ve always said smart teams will do amazing things, but truly diverse teams will do impossible things.” – Claudia Brind-Woody, executive at IBM

18. “Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.” – D.H. Lawrence, writer

19. “Diverse groups are more creative. They feel uncomfortable, and that discomfort motivates them to do extra preparation and share new information.” – Adam Grant, author

20. “People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to his own devices.” – Alfie Kohn, author and speaker

21. “Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle.” – George R.R. Martin, author

22. “True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world. Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” – Brené Brown, author

23. “Society is unity in diversity.” – George Herbert Mead, philosopher

24. “Behind every successful organization that innovates is a diverse global workforce.” – AIESEC, the world’s largest youth organization

25. “Before God, we are all equally wise – and equally foolish.” – Albert Einstein

26. “You don’t have true freedom until you allow a diversity of opinion and a diversity of voices.” – Don Lemon, television journalist

27. “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

28. “The greater the diversity, the greater the perfection.” – Thomas Berry, catholic priest and cultural historian

29. “Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, not absorbed.” – Mary Parker Follett, social worker

30. “I’ve traveled around the world, and what’s so revealing is that, despite the differences in culture, politics, language, how people dress, there is a universal feeling that we all want the same thing. We deeply want to be respected and appreciated for our differences.” – Howard Schultz, former chief executive officer of Starbucks

Every company should invest in diversity and inclusion

Embracing diversity and inclusion in the workplace will help your employees and your organization as a whole. To ensure you hire a diverse workforce, you should replace bias-prone CV screening with skills-based hiring in your recruitment process. 

Take a look through our test library, where you can find more than 260 scientifically created pre-employment tests, such as our Culture Add test.

Don’t leave diversity and inclusion to chance – sign up for your TestGorilla free plan today to use pre-employment tests and make sure that you hire the best people.