March 8th was International Women’s Day, and with it came a global spotlight on gender equality in the workplace. This year’s theme was #EmbraceEquity—a call to action for companies to embrace equity and develop inclusive environments.

However, creating a genuinely inclusive workplace goes beyond just embracing equity. It requires taking intentional, systematic steps to ensure everyone’s identity and voice are heard and respected. And right now, that is not the case inside many companies.

Women of underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds are enduring frequent discrimination, according to a study published by the global not-for-profit Catalyst. The research concludes that microaggressions, stereotypes, and biases continue to exist, even though many organizations profess to value inclusion.

This is problematic, as it means that many qualified women are being denied positions of leadership and advancement. Consequently, pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in organizations is more imperative than ever, suggested Haffsa Rizwani, a doctoral researcher at Henley Business School. Rizwani, who studies gender (in)equality in Swedish organizations, said in an interview, “Research shows that while women have historically been disadvantaged in the workplace, adding to the present gender disparity, women of color face harsher challenges, both at the workplace and in their career advancement.”

DEI strategies must, therefore, consider intersectionality—the interconnectedness of social categories such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Doing so will allow for more equitable solutions to be adopted because, according to Pam Maynard, CEO at Avanade—the company created in 2000 by Accenture and Microsoft—to create a genuinely inclusive workplace, the focus needs to shift from providing equal opportunities to ensuring comparable outcomes.

“Too often we look at equality in the workplace in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ way, but that is counterproductive; every employee is different and needs different things to succeed,” said Maynard in an interview. Equality can, therefore, not be confused with equity.

This sentiment is shared by Melissa Porterfield, a contributing author to The Everyday Woman’s Guide to Success in Your Business. In an interview. Porterfield, founder of Silk Mountain—a company-culture-based strategic HR advisory firm—said, “I am seeing more companies succeed by turning their focus to the employee experience.” This, she continued, requires taking a holistic approach to DEI that goes beyond offering equal opportunity because “to create an environment where everyone can thrive and grow, you have to recognize that not all employees experience the same workplace challenges.”

Organizations must look beyond the traditional equal-opportunity strategies to achieve such an environment and take proactive steps toward creating a genuinely inclusive workplace. This means, for instance, implementing strategies to increase diversity at all levels and advocating for fair compensation packages and promotions. In addition, according to Porterfield, recruiting qualified individuals from underrepresented communities and providing mentorships and education programs can also help. After all, research suggests that social and leadership capital can help advance careers through networking and leadership training.

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