How to promote inclusion and racial understanding in the workplace

For all our remarkable progress as a species, humans are still vexed by race-related acrimony, mistrust and misunderstanding.

It’s no different in the workplace. Discrimination, exclusion and lack of diversity exist—and persist—despite rafts of research that tout the bottom-line benefits of having more diverse staff and leaders.

It’s more than just a money issue, of course. Discrimination, in all its many forms, is illegal. Even if your workplace isn’t beset by outright bigotry, your morale, productivity and retention could be silently suffering due to rampant implicit biases. These are serious issues that require a serious, thoughtful response—regardless of your industry or company size.

You might not be able to earmark $300 million to promote diversity initiatives, as Intel did, but every business and employee can do something. Here are crucial ideas to consider: