About this course: Diversity is a fact. It is also paradoxical. We need to be capable of seeing and hearing differences in order to reap the benefits of diversity. But seeing and hearing differences hone our discriminating reflexes and can also lead to discrimination. If you take this MOOC, you will: 1. understand this paradox, 2. understand its dynamics, and 3. identify ways to manage it, so that you can better channel the diversity potential in the workplace for greater performance and innovation.
Who is this class for: This introductory course to diversity and inclusion is first and foremost for young professionals starting out their careers in any domain, but can be followed by anyone wishing to increase their awareness of diversity issues around the world and to develop inclusive attitudes and behaviors.
Created by: ESSEC Business School
Taught by: Junko Takagi, Teaching Professor
Management Department, Chair of Leadership & Diversity
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 2 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Hi Diversity!
Welcome to the start of your learning journey! In this module, you will start to familiarize yourself with diversity concepts and their relevance in the workplace. First, you will learn about why diversity and inclusion are important for firms, and about the historical development of diversity and inclusion in firms. Next, you will be introduced to key diversity-related concepts and issues. Then, you will discover facts and figures for five diversity categories and the challenges that firms are facing to promote the inclusion of these diversity elements. By the end of this module, you will have a clear understanding of diversity concepts and their application to different diversity categories.
11 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: This is diversity!
- Practice Quiz: The importance of diversity and inclusion for firms
- Video: The importance of Diversity and Inclusion for firms
- Reading: Course outline
- Video: A brief history of diversity in the workplace
- Video: Key diversity concepts
- Video: The long and winding road to inclusion
- Video: Understanding diversity categories
- Video: Gender diversity
- Video: People with disabilities
- Video: Cultural and social diversity
- Video: LGBT issues around the world and in the workplace
- Video: Intergenerational diversity
- Reading: Crossword exercise
Graded: Evaluation quiz
WEEK 2
Categorization and Diversity Perceptions
Now that you have a solid understanding of diversity and inclusion concepts, this second leg of the learning journey is all about you within an increasingly diversified social context. This module introduces you to how cognitive processes such as social categorization impact what we see and how we react to our social environment. It will help you understand your own and others' perceptions and reactions to difference. By the end of this module, you will have acquired conceptual tools and experiential data, in order to analyse your reactions in social interactions in the workplace.
4 videos, 2 readings
- Discussion Prompt: Why can't the surgeon operate?
- Video: Introduction to Categorization and Diversity Perceptions
- Reading: Related readings
- Video: Social cognition and categorization processes
- Reading: How Racist Are You? - Jane Elliott's Exercise
- Video: The impact of social categorization on how we see others and ourselves
- Discussion Prompt: The Harvard Implicit Association Test
- Video: Social categorization and social identity
- Slideshow: Social Categorization & Gender – Impact on Attitudes and Behaviors
Graded: Categorization and diversity perceptions
WEEK 3
Disrupting with Diversity
In the previous module, you honed in on your diversity reflexes by first understanding categorization processes, then applying them to your own experiences. In this module, you will go from the individual to the firm setting, and explore the diversity processes that we encounter in organizations. You will be introduced to a method for mobilizing the disruptive force of diversity by building on the self-knowledge that you have acquired in the previous session. You will see how diversity can be leveraged to make us think about how we think, and how it can help us to expand our perceptions and understanding. By the end of this module, you will grasp the challenges of implementing inclusion in the workplace and be able to apply the cognitive method to a diversity case.
5 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: Understanding the disrupting force of diversity
- Video: The organizational paradox
- Video: The diversity and inclusion paradox
- Discussion Prompt: Constructive disruption at IBM
- Video: The tipping point
- Reading: Related materials: “Run like a girl” campaign
- Video: Mobilizing disruption: applying a cognitive method
- Reading: How (not) to react to diversity disruptions: The case of Nitila
- Practice Quiz: How (not) to react to diversity disruptions
WEEK 4
Diversity and Inclusion around the World
Well done! You are almost there! In this final leg of your learning journey, you will travel to different countries around the world to find out what diversity and inclusion initiatives are being implemented, and to think about their impact. You will also have the opportunity to describe a diversity and inclusion best practice, and thereby develop your skills to look for diversity information in the workplace, to identify diversity and inclusion best practices, and to become more aware of the different inclusion initiatives that are in your professional environment.
5 videos, 4 readings
- Video: Diversity and Inclusion around the World
- Video: Japan. Women in the workplace
- Reading: India. LGBT Case.
- Video: China. Disabilities in the workplace
- Reading: France. Women in automobile salesrooms at Renault
- Reading: Brazil. A question of color
- Reading: Australia. Majority women in the Management Committee
- Video: US. The aging workforce
- Video: Conclusion on Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion
Graded: Write your own diversity case
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
ESSEC Business School
For over a century, ESSEC has been developing a state-of-the-art educational program that gives the individual pride of place in its learning model, promoting the values of freedom, openness, innovation and responsibility. Preparing future managers to reconcile personal interests with collective responsibility, giving consideration to the common good in their decision-making, and weighing economic challenges against the social costs are some of the objectives ESSEC has set for itself. Its ultimate goal? To create a global world that has meaning for us all.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Well, just got the certificate today. THANKS FOR THIS BRILLIANT MOOC, as I didn't have any clue on what diversity and inclusion was all about. It was my first mooc in the management field but it definitely won't be my last.
Great introduction and not only for new professionals. Very interesting videos and articles.
If you want to read all the provided documents, you need to allow more time to this course than indicated. You don't need to read everything to pass the course but it's really rewarding.
It will be great to name the participants (subtitle) who participate to the video.
Excellent course! Thank you
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This course was very insightful. Instead of just understanding and using terms diversity and inclusion as some abstract concepts, the course helped me understand the related social and psychological aspects.