Inclusion (value and practice)

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For the use of the term "inclusion" used by disability rights activists and their supporters, see Inclusion (disability rights).

The term inclusion began as a policy to ensure that all children regardless of ability are mainstreamed into classrooms and become part of their school community. Inclusion today is more widely thought of as a practice of ensuring that people in organizations feel they belong, are engaged, and connected through their work to the goals and objectives of the organization.

Miller and Katz (2002) presents a common definition: “Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work.” Inclusion is a shift in organization culture. The process of inclusion engages each individual and makes people feeling valued essential to the success of the organization. Individuals function at full capacity, feel more valued, and included in the organization’s mission. This culture shift creates higher performing organizations where motivation and morale soar.

Roberson (2006) notes that the term inclusion is often coupled with the term diversity and these terms are often used interchangeably, however they are distinctly different. Gasorek (1998) notes her success of instituting diversity and inclusion initiatives at Dun & Bradstreet, a credit-reporting firm. Hyter and Turnock (2006) offer several case studies of engaging inclusion with corporate organizations such as BellSouth, Frito Lay, Home Depot, and Procter & Gamble.

The Institute for Inclusion, a nonprofit organization, has collectively attempted to define inclusion apart from diversity. It has developed a set of core values and general principles and conceives of inclusion as requiring a paradigm shift in human consciousness, awareness, and interaction.

References

Gasorek, Dory. 1998. “Inclusion at Dun & Bradstreet: Building a High-Performing Company.” The Diversity Factor 8/4 (Summer) 2529.

Hyter, Michael C. and Turnock, Judith L. 2006. The Power of Inclusion: Unlock the Potential And Productivity of Your Workforce. John Wiley & Sons.

Miller, Frederick A. and Katz, Judith H. 2002. The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.