This document discusses strategies for changing mentalities and reducing discrimination. It aims to demonstrate that soft skills are key for companies' futures and that talent should be judged based on social and behavioral skills in addition to technical skills. The document outlines objectives of demystifying beliefs and stereotypes associated with minority groups. It defines stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination and discusses steps to change mentalities and break discrimination. Expected learning outcomes include distinguishing different types of stereotypes and discrimination and understanding how to take steps to change mentalities.

1. STRATEGIES TO CHANGE
MENTALITIES
Module 2

2. STRATEGIES TO CHANGE
MENTALITIES
Module 2
- To demonstrate that soft skills are the key to the future of companies.
- To demonstrate the need to recruit people based on social and behavioural skills, in addition
To technical skills
- To show that companies should be receptive to creativity and autonomy, to detect talent
- To show that a diversified and multicultural company is the engine for innovation.
OBJECTIVE

3. - Demystification of beliefs and stereotypes associated with minority groups;
- Understand what stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are and what the underlying
relation between them is;
- Distinguish diverse types of stereotypes;
- Distinguish diverse types of discrimination;
- Understand steps to change mentalities and break any kind of discrimination
- Be able to take the steps to change mentalities
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
STRATEGIES TO CHANGE
MENTALITIES
Module 2

4. Prejudice
01 Stereotypes
CONTENT
04
Stereotypes vs. Prejudice
vs. Discrimination
05
Steps towards an
inclusive workplace
CONTENT
02
03 Discrimination

5. 01STEREOTYPES

6. INTRODUCTION
Stereotypes are overly simplified
conceptions, images, or beliefs about
individuals and specific social groups.
Popular stereotypes relay on assumptions, are often
mistaken for reality, and usually have negative
connotations. The term stereotype was first coined in 1798
in the field of typography. It originally meant “duplicate
impression” and described the process of casting a print
mold. In 1922, American journalist Walter Lippmann
redefined the term as a perpetual “picture in our heads.”
The power of the image in our heads is its ability to
perpetuate without change. Unfortunately, that image, the
stereotype, is usually negative and constricts individual
identities to preconceived group characteristics.
DEFINITION OF STEREOTYPES

7. A stereotypes tend to cluster around two broad themes. One theme concerns
competence: Are members of the group smart and successful? The second theme
concerns cordiality: Are members of the group affable, friendly, and unthreatening
not considered as a menace?
A stereotypes have the function, organizing and structuring one’s understanding of
the social environment. The social cognition perspective emphasizes that
stereotypes stand up from the normal, everyday operation of basic mental
processes such as attention, memory, and suggestion. In everyday life, a person is
potentially exposed to information about the members of various social groups in
diverse ways. One may see them on TV, hear friends talk about them, or actually
encounter them in person. The social cognition perspective declares that the
stereotypes a person forms will be determined by which aspects of this parade of
information he or she pays attention to and remembers. Essentially, there is a basic
process of learning involved in the formation of stereotypes, but this process may
not necessarily be objective and impartial.
ORIGIN OF STEREOTYPES

8. MAIN TYPES OF STEREOTYPES
Types
Stereotypes
Religious
Stereotypes
Racial
StereotypesClass
Stereotypes
Country
stereotypes
Gender
Stereotypes
Sex
Stereotypes
Physical
Stereotypes
Political
stereotypes

9. Stereotypes do not only affect the productivity and profits in an organization but it
also hurts the self-esteem of the employees.
Stereotyping can cause people in a workplace to treat individuals or groups a
certain way based on preconceived notions about that person or group. Promoting
a nondiscriminatory workplace with openness and acceptance of individual
differences helps in preventing common negative effects.
IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY AND DISCRIMINATION

10.  Acknowledge that you may have a preconception.
 Accept that each employee is an individual.
 Treat each person according to their individual ability and contribution.
 Do not allow gender stereotyping in the workplace.
 Afford equal opportunity to both males and females in the company.
 Do not overlook other stereotypes such as sexual orientation or ethnicity
comments by colleagues or other employees.
 Build a culture of tolerance and acceptance in the workplace.
 Build positive dialogue around social understanding.
 Keep yourself and staff accountable.
 Perhaps, most importantly, be open-minded!
HOW TO OVERCOME STEREOTYPING IN THE WORKPLACE

11. HOW TO OVERCOME STEREOTYPING IN
THE WORKPLACE
 Acknowledge that you may have a preconception.
 Accept that each employee is an individual.
 Treat each person according to their individual ability and
contribution.
 Do not allow gender stereotyping in the workplace.
 Afford equal opportunity to both males and females in the
company.
 Do not overlook other stereotypes such as sexual orientation or
ethnicity comments by colleagues or other employees.
 Build a culture of tolerance and acceptance in the workplace.
 Build positive dialogue around social understanding.
 Keep yourself and staff accountable.
 Perhaps, most importantly, be open-minded!

12. 02PREJUDICE

13. INTRODUCTION
Prejudice is a baseless and usually
negative attitude toward members of a
group. Common features of prejudice
include negative feelings, stereotypes
beliefs and a tendency to discriminate
against members of the group
While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often
differ, most agree that it involves prejudgments that are usually negative
about members of a group.
When people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others, they tend to view
everyone who fits into a certain group as being "all the same." They paint
every individual who holds particular characteristics or beliefs with a very
broad brush and fail to really look at each person as a unique individual.
Prejudice can take the form of disliking, anger, fear, disgust, discomfort,
and even hatred—the kind of affective states that can lead to behavior
such as the gay bashing. Our stereotypes and our prejudices are
problematic because they may create discrimination—unjustified negative
behaviors toward members of outgroups based on their group
membership.
WHAT IS PREJUDICE?

14. MAIN TYPES OF PREJUDICE
Prejudice
Gender
Racial/Ethnic Minority
Sexual Orientation
Immigrants, Refugees
and Gypsy Populations
Disability
Age
Class

15. Research on preconception conducted by UK-based business psychologists Tinu
Cornish and Dr. Pete Jones (2011) showed that nearly 40% of people have
unconscious preconceptions against particular genders and ethnicities. This shows
that we need to make a conscious effort to mitigate unconscious preconception to
ensure equal opportunity in our organizations and society.
What distinguishes people is not color, race, gender, etc... But their capacities.
Sees their abilities and not their disabilities.
We all have important soft skills, they are innate. To get a successful organization
you need to unite all of them.
BIAS AND UNCONSCIOUS BIAS: THE IMPACT ON
RACE AND GENDER

16. 03DISCRIMINATION

17. INTRODUCTION
Discrimination is a differential
treatment with harmful actions against
minorities based on a ton of different
factors including race, age, religion and so
on. Discrimination can occur at individual
level, but also at organizational or
institutional level.
While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often
differ, most agree that it involves prejudgments that are usually negative
about members of a group.
When people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others, they tend to view
everyone who fits into a certain group as being "all the same." They paint
every individual who holds particular characteristics or beliefs with a very
broad brush and fail to really look at each person as a unique individual.
Prejudice can take the form of disliking, anger, fear, disgust, discomfort,
and even hatred—the kind of affective states that can lead to behavior
such as the gay bashing. Our stereotypes and our prejudices are
problematic because they may create discrimination—unjustified negative
behaviors toward members of outgroups based on their group
membership.
WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION?

18. MAIN TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination
Racism
Sexism
Classicism
Homophobia
Nationalism
Xenophobia
Ageism
Religious

19. THE TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION RESULTING IN PREJUDICE
Racism Sexism Homophobia
Racism is the belief that a particular race is
superior or inferior to another, that a
person’s social and moral traits are
predetermined by his or her inborn
biological characteristics. Racial separatism
is the belief, most of the time based on
racism, that different races should remain
segregated and apart from one another.
Gender discrimination comes about due to,
and reinforces, certain behavior patterns
and attitudes on the basis of traditionally
stereotypical roles that people adopt in
society. Sexism is a mindset that has the
potential of affecting practically every
aspect of a person's life on whom it is
meted out, preventing them from
accomplishing their full potential.
Homophobia is the irrational fear or hatred
of homosexuality, non-heterosexual people,
or anything or anybody that deviates from a
strictly normative heterosexual approach to
sexuality and sexual identity.

20. THE TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION RESULTING IN PREJUDICE
Classicism Nationalism Ageism
Class discrimination, also known as classism,
is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of
social class which still occurs in societies
around the world today. It includes
individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of
policies, and practices that are set up to
benefit the upper class at the expense of
the lower class or vice versa.
Nationalism, ideology based on the premise
that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to
the nation-state surpass other individual or
group interests.
Age discrimination involves treating an
applicant or employee less favourably
because of his or her age.

21. THE TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION RESULTING IN PREJUDICE
Religious Xenophobia
Religious discrimination involves treating a
person (an applicant or employee)
unfavorably because of his or her religious
beliefs.
Religious discrimination can also involve
treating someone differently because that
person is married to (or associated with) an
individual of a particular religion.
Xenophobia is the fear or dislike of people who are different from oneself, particularly
foreigners. The term xenophobia originates from the Greek words xénos (stranger) and
phóbos (fear), so it essentially means the fear of strangers; however, it is more often used
to describe hatred or hostility.
Xenophobia comprises multiple aspects of prejudice and may be based on any racist,
religious, ethnic, cultural or national discrimination. Xenophobic attitudes and behaviors
are often triggered by a fear that outsiders or foreigners are a threat to one’s community or
national identity. People with xenophobic attitudes often want to secure the perceived
purity of their own culture or nation.

22. 04PREJUDICE VS
STEREOTYPES VS
DISCRIMINATION

23. INTRODUCTION
DIFFERENCES

24. INTRODUCTION
The social groups that are part of a given nation or
society become essential parts of the culture itself.
We easily develop beliefs about the characteristics of
the groups and the members of those groups
(stereotypes) as well as prejudice (an unjustifiable
negative attitude toward an outgroup). Our
stereotypes and our prejudices are problematic
because they may create discrimination—unjustified
negative behaviors toward members of outgroups
based on their group membership. Discrimination is
a societal and health problem because it is so
pervasive, takes so many forms, and has such
negative effects on so many people.
RELATIONSHIPS AMONG
SOCIAL GROUPS

25. INTRODUCTION
- To achieve the full potential of victims
- To achieve the fullest contribution of victims
- To benefit from the victim’s contribution
- To strengthen the community as a whole
- To avoid the likelihood of retaliation
- To follow democratic ideals
- To avoid illegal business
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REDUCE
PREJUDICE, STEREOTYPES AND
DISCRIMINATION?

26. 05STEPS TOWARDS AN
INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

27. INTRODUCTION
“Mentorship is simply
learning from the
mistakes and mastery
of a successful person
in his/her field.”
Bernard Kelvin Clive
CHANGE MINDSET OF EMPLOYEES
Who to conscientize? And why?
Management
• They decide the
politics and
organization of the
company.
• They make the
main decisions.
• They will
reevaluate and
adapt labor policy
and organization.
Department
heads
• They are
responsible for the
daily work of
employees.
• They will receive
and integrate the
new employees.
Other
employees
• They will work
directly with the
new employees.
• They have a vast
knowledge of the
jobs and the
functions inherent
to each of them.

28. Creating a culture where people are respected and appreciated requires
a level of effort that may not be getting the investment it needs. Think of
diversity as being similar to selecting people for a chorus who have
different musical backgrounds, vocal ranges and abilities. The inclusion
piece of Diversity and Inclusion means making sure that those different
voices are heard and valued and that they contribute to the performance.
When employees who are different from their colleagues are allowed to
flourish, the company benefits from their ideas, skills and engagement.
The retention rate of those workers also rises.
In the next slides we will show five practical strategies for creating an
inclusive environment.1
NB: let’s emphasise that there is no golden rule for creating an inclusive
culture in your organisation. Here we just show some strategies which
could contribute to your organisational culture.
ROADMAP
“The challenge is in having a culture
where all employees feel included. It’s a
major investment to bring talent into
your organization, so why bring them in if
they’re not happy when they get here?
You’ve got to get the inclusion part right.”
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of Society for
Human Resource Management
1 - SHRM

29. INTRODUCTION
EDUCATE YOUR LEADERS
At the end of the day, it’s the leader who’s on the front line with the employees. It’s the
experience that the leader is creating that is going to make or break your inclusion initiatives.
STRATEGY
1

30. Think of:
• Training for people at managerial level, where they discuss what
inclusion is, why it’s important, but also how they can foster it in the
company.
•Training on unconscious bias, which occurs when individuals
make judgments about people based on gender, race or other
factors without realizing they’re doing it. Such training makes
people aware of this form of bias and drives home the importance
of modeling inclusive behavior – such as engaging in active
listening and encouraging different points of view – in meetings,
performance reviews and other interactions.
• Periodical review of professional development offerings to ensure
that managers have opportunities to learn how to better manage
diverse workgroups.
STEP 1 – EDUCATE YOUR LEADERS
Employees need to see that inclusive
behaviour is a core competency
Erin L. Thomas, diversity research and partner at
Paradigm

31. INTRODUCTION
FORM AN INCLUSION COUNCIL
Consider forming a council comprising a dedicated group of influential leaders, who are close
to the employees.
STRATEGY
2

32. Ideally, councils should be involved in goal-setting around hiring,
retaining and advancing a diverse workforce and in addressing any
employee engagement problems among underrepresented
employee groups. Most councils meet quarterly to review
organisational feedback, troubleshoot challenges, and, most
importantly, carry messages about their work to their senior peers
and the executive department.
The councils should be as diverse as possible, with members
representing not only different ethnicities and genders but also
different business functions and (if applicable) different
geographical locations.
The responsibility for inclusiveness, however, should not fall on the
underrepresented members of your workforce, whether they are
women, people of colour or members of other minority groups.
Those individuals often don’t have the power or influence to bring
about change. That’s where inclusion councils can take up the
cause.
STEP 2 – FORM AN INCLUSION COUNCIL

33. INTRODUCTION
CELEBRATE EMPLOYEE DIFFERENCES
One of the most important ways to show employees that you respect their backgrounds and
traditions is to invite them to share those in the workplace.
STRATEGY
3

34. Think of:
• A mediation or prayer room. At BAK USA they created
a reflection space, where e.g. Muslim employees can pray
whenever they want to. In their experience, it wasn’t an
inconvenience and it meant a lot to the Muslim employees.
• An enhanced HR presence for more-isolate
employees. Bak USA created a small HR office to serve
production team employees who work e.g. different hours
from the rest of the organisation. It’s also a place where
those workers can have private conversations with their
managers.
• Recognize new holidays.
• Celebrate diversity days. The point of diversity days is
to have days when the different cultures in your workplace
are celebrated through different events and efforts to
actually learn about each other’s cultures.
STEP 3 – CELEBRATE EMPLOYEE DIFFERENCES
“That inclusion part where people felt
they could bring their ‘full selves’ to
work”
Eva Bak, vice president of HR department of Bak USA

35. INTRODUCTION
LISTEN TO EMPLOYEES
To better understand your workers’ experience, employee surveys and focus groups could be
used. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of your organisation’s demographics and people
processes to develop strategies to promote inclusiveness.
STRATEGY
4

36. Think about the culture you want and how you can create one that
is authentic to your brand while meeting the needs of your
employees.
• One way to gather feedback from your employees is to hold
periodically a ‘town hall style’ meeting where employees can voice
their opinions and questions.
• Another option is to send out (anonymous) surveys
• Be creative!
STEP 4 – LISTEN TO EMPLOYEES

37. INTRODUCTION
COMMUNICATE GOALS AND MEASURE PROGRESS
Establish and clearly communicate specific, measurable and time-bound goals as you would
with any other strategic aim.
STRATEGY
5

38. 1. Conduct a full audit of your people processes—from recruiting
and hiring to developing and retaining employees. Couple the data
with engagement and other workforce survey data to gain a full
measure of your climate.
​2. Identify any shortcomings and measurable discrepancies around
inclusiveness in your organization.
3. Instill rigor into inclusion strategies with data-driven plans, and
measure the results.
4. Establish a clear business case for how the company will benefit
by having a more inclusive culture by asking:
What are our inclusion goals?
What are the reasons for those goals?
How do we quantify inclusion?
How will inclusion impact our mission, brand or bottom
line?
STEP 5 – COMMUNICATE GOALS AND
MEASURE PROGRESS
“Every company should first benchmark
their culture before they begin investing
in it”
Erin L. Thomas, diversity research and partner at
Paradigm

39. Congratulations, you have
now completed module 2!
You can now do the exercises, complete the quiz and/or check out the
additional learning materials
http://recruitpotential.eu/