In human resource management, the importance of diversity in the workplace is increasingly recognized. However, a diverse space also poses challenges for both team leaders and HR managers.
In Brazil, the human resources technology company Gupy recently expressed its commitment to diversity, offering us a route to follow to guarantee equal opportunities.
Why is diversity at work important?
According to Ability Options, a diverse workspace increases productivity by offering more space for new ideas and processes. A diverse space also allows companies to have a greater range of skills among employees.
In addition, creativity increases in diverse workspaces. With people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, there is at the same time the opportunity to gain more perspectives and solutions to the problems facing a company.
Diversity also broadens cultural awareness. For example, it is an asset for a company to have bilingual and trilingual employees at the moment it begins its internationalization process.
Companies with diverse workspaces maintain a positive reputation and are viewed by potential employees as better employers. Employees expect to work in a company that is respectful of their cultural contexts and treats everyone fairly.
Lastly, diverse companies have more marketing opportunities. When potential employees and customers observe a diverse company in the workspace, they can feel more related to the company.
Gupy: HR technology to promote diversity
In July 2021, Gupy announced in Brazilian media its commitment to diversity and set a goal to impact other companies to achieve the same. Gupy is a startup that combines human resources with technology to transform the way selection processes are carried out in Brazil.
In addition to setting goals for hiring diverse people, the startup offers free training and materials for companies to promote inclusion. Among the proposed objectives are:
- Gender equality: Reach 50% of women in leadership and at all levels of the company, 30% of them from other socially minor groups (race/color, sexual orientation, gender identity, and people with disabilities).
- Racial Non-Discrimination: Gupy also proposed that 30% of hiring be from African-Americans by 2024.
Quality in inclusion
More than meeting quantitative objectives, Gupy wants quality inclusion and is committed to offering English or Spanish courses to all people who belong to the Diversity Groups.
According to Gupy CEO and co-founder Mariana Dias, Gupy was the first company to develop artificial intelligence for recruitment and selection in Brazil. Since then, it has worked since its inception to help reduce biases, conscious and unconscious, in the recruitment process.
According to the executive, the group of founders of Gupy is made up of two women and two men, one of them from the LGBTQIA + community. Marian affirms that the company believes in diversity as one of the aspects in which it must work to improve employability in Brazil,
we want to be people who make a difference, reiterating our commitment to a fairer labor market
Marian Dias – CEO and co-founder of Gupy
In 2020, a critical year for the job market due to the pandemic, Gupy hired more than 100 employees, and the goal is to continue scaling the company with the same intensity for the next two years. Following the same speed, the forecast is that the company will reach 600 employees by the end of 2022.
Diversity management
For this initiative, a diversity committee was created, made up of company employees, who led the definition of goals and the creation of the Gupy Diverse and Inclusive Hiring Manifesto.
In addition, the organization partnered with the consulting firms Impulso Beta and Pluraliza, which helped carry out the census with the employees, the creation of the company manifesto, and the training of the entire team, especially for leadership.
Mariana pointed out that one of Gupy’s first actions is two collective mentoring programs. One program will be focused on the development of the people hired, with Gupy leaders as mentors, and the other will be the exchange of knowledge and experiences of diverse groups with Gupy leadership.
Commitment to the market
In addition to the internal diversity agreements, the Manifesto includes commitments to the ecosystem of companies and professionals from underrepresented populations in the labor market.
The company will make available to people who work in the human resources area free materials on equity, diversity, and inclusion in hiring and promotions will offer free training on diversity and inclusion aimed at the human resources audience of Gupy Academy.
The company’s platform will be available pro bono for non-profit institutions that aim to support diversity groups (the equivalent of one per month during the term of this commitment), according to the procedure that will be available on the Gupy website.
Finally, workshops (virtual / face-to-face) will be held with applicants from diverse groups to provide expert support in the application process, as well as advice on curriculum preparation and how to prepare for the selection steps.
Diversity as an asset
In recent years, companies around the world are realized the importance of diversity in the workplace. Diversity brings clear benefits to the companies, increasing productivity, creativity, and a positive reputation.
For achieving a diverse workplace, companies need to set clear policies. Brazilian human resources company Gupy shows a road map for reaching a healthy and diverse workplace and offers a free course for training HR managers. By doing that, the company improves its reputation and helps to build a fairer society.