.png)
The Future of DEI:
Inclusive Organizational Psychology (IOP)
Our clients have consistently recognized that our approach—a blend of organizational nuance, inclusion-forward engagement, and data-informed strategies—stands out from "traditional DEI."
At Diaz Inclusion, we're a minority-run, female-owned team of consultants with roots in the performing and educational arts. Our unique background allows us to deeply understand the complex issues facing today's cultural and civic institutions.
We've built a reputation for fostering consensus and driving progress. Our clients have consistently recognized that our approach—a blend of organizational nuance, inclusion-forward engagement, and data-informed strategies—stands out from "traditional DEI."
Inspired by our clients' feedback, we've designed and formalized our methodology, which we call Inclusive Organizational Psychology (IOP). Through IOP, we proudly champion a new conversation for skeptics and allies alike, empowering the arts and culture sector to lead the way in inclusive practices.
Inclusive Organizational Psychology
Inclusive Organizational Psychology (IOP) is a shame-free approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that focuses on designing strategies and building professional capacities. IOP empowers nonprofit arts and culture leaders and organizations to become community "anchors" as the U.S. becomes a "minority-majority" nation around the year 2045. The core question we aim to answer is: What is the end goal for inclusion and diversity efforts for arts and culture leaders and organizations?
IOP uses 7 core practices to answer this question for each client. Below are our practice definitions and sample questions we've helped clients address.
Shame-Free Engagement: Cultivating environments where individuals feel safe and invested to express themselves authentically and learn from mistakes.
Sample Question: How can our leaders and people managers create environments that enable collaboration, despite differences in ideology, generation, culture, work background, or other factors?
Care-Centric Approach: Demonstrating value in the well-being of team members and the community through policies, practices, and culture.
Sample Question: What strategies can we implement to demonstrate our genuine concern for the well-being of our team and community, and how can we integrate these strategies into our policies, practices, and culture to drive meaningful change?
Shared Values: Aligning organizational values and practices with the values held by internal and external stakeholders.
Sample Question: Through external and internal strategic planning work we've identified our core values but have a hard time creating buy-in. How can we identify and align the elements of our work with the values we hold in common with our team and community?
Mutual Learning: Encouraging two-way learning between parties (e.g., board, leaders, and teams) to ensure all voices are heard, valued, and incorporated into decision-making.
Sample Question: What structures and processes can we put in place to encourage two-way learning between the board and our greater staff to ensure the internal team feels buy-in from leadership?
Cultivating Curiosity: Promoting curiosity and actively recruiting differing perspectives to drive innovation and growth.
Sample Question: Our organization is well-aligned and we want to encourage external voices to help us think differently. How can we design and implement initiatives to promote curiosity from our external community?
Values-Driven Decisions: Using quantitative and qualitative data to make strategic decisions that align with organizational core values.
Sample Question: We want to ensure our longstanding core values remain relevant to our communities current needs. What methodology should we use to gather insights from our community?
Mission-Orientation: Ensuring internal and external initiatives create measurable, positive impacts for communities the organization seeks to serve.
Sample Question: We are interested in expanding our scope of services. How can we be sure our new initiatives for community engagement will have the intended impact while keeping true to our core mission?
Through our commitment to Inclusive Organization Psychology (IOP), we're not just equipping leaders, teams, and organizations—we're working to transform the perceived value arts and cultural organizations bring to communities. By resourcing the sector with the tools, frameworks, and mindsets needed to embrace true inclusion, our clients create a ripple effect that extends far beyond their initial engagement.
As these leaders and organizations become true community anchors with the power to uplift individuals across ideological and cultural divides, we help you foster a sense of belonging and the skills to drive systemic change. And as we move towards the 2045 diversity moment and beyond, this work becomes increasingly urgent and impactful.
By working together to build a more inclusive and collaborative future, we will create a world where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, and where our shared humanity is celebrated in all its beautiful diversity.
"Anchor institutions"
are large - usually nonprofit - organizations tethered to their communities (e.g., universities, medical centers, local government entities, etc.).
References: 1. Aguinis, H. (2011). Organizational responsibility: Doing good and doing well. 2. Blustein, D. L. (2008). The role of work in psychological health and well-being: a conceptual, historical, and public policy perspective. American psychologist, 63(4), 228. 3. Blustein, D. L. (2013). The psychology of working: A new perspective for a new era. The Oxford handbook of the psychology of working, 3–18. 4. Casad, B. J. (2016). Addressing stereotype threat is critical to diversity and inclusion in organizational psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. 5. Church, A. H. (2013). Inclusive organization development. Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion, 260–295. 6. Coetzee, M. &. (2022). The digital-era industrial/organisational psychologist: Employers' view of key service roles, skills and attributes. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 48, 1991. 7. Deloitte Insights. (2022). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 4.0. 8. Díaz, L. (2022). Inclusion Delusion: 9 Realities Stalling Meaningful Change. SHRM. 9. Ferdman, B. M. (2012). Diversity in organizations and cross‐cultural work psychology: What if they were more connected?. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(3), 323–345. 10. Giberson, T. R. (2015). Industrial–organizational psychology and the practice of performance improvement. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 28(2), 7–26. 11. Grantmakers in the Arts. (2021). Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy. 12. Hunt, V., Layton, D., & Prince, S. (2015). Why diversity matters. McKinsey & Company. 13. Lord, C. (2022). A Journey Toward Equity: The Oakland Museum of California's DEIA Transformation. American Alliance of Museums. 14. Lorenzo, R., Voigt, N., et al. (2018). How Diverse Leadership Teams Boost Innovation. BCG. 15. McKinsey & Company. (2020). Diversity Wins: How inclusion matters. 16. Philip, J. &. (2019). Workplace diversity and inclusion: policies and best practices for organisations employing transgender people in India. International Journal of Public Policy, 15(3–4), 299–314. 17. Quantum Workplace. (2022). The State of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace. 18. Sherbin, L., & Rashid, R. (2017). Diversity Doesn't Stick Without Inclusion. Harvard Business Review. 19. The Boston Consulting Group. (2020). The Non-Inclusive Behaviors that May Be Limiting Your Organization's Success. 20. Vespa, J., Medina, L. & Armstrong, D. M. (2020). Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060. U.S. Census Bureau. 21. Wallace, N. (2021). The Denver Art Museum's Equity Plan Centers Artists and Community. The Wallace Foundation.