What is the Difference Between Diversity Training & Diversity Education? It is necessary to think beyond diversity practices as an inclusion strategy to appreciate the difference.
Diversity training is a diversity best practice. Similar to Employee Resource Groups, training is considered an important solution for any serious diversity and inclusion program effort. The problem is that diversity training is treated as a strategy instead of a solution that is strategy driven. In fact, research on diversity training effectiveness in improving inclusion erroneously assumed that it alone could change an organization. No reasonable person would expect an equal employment opportunity training to fully protect an organization from legal claims. That is the reason the Diversity Executive Leadership Academy (DELA) uses the term diversity education.
Diversity education refers to ‘a set of practices designed to increase individual and organizational inclusion. While diversity best practices are often used in diversity education delivery, each practice is included by design rather than part of a checklist. In this way, it is much broader than diversity training, which is often included – but not necessarily.†In fact, it is possible to design a diversity education program that does not include diversity training – although it is included in most cases. The important point is that any solution included in diversity education is data driven.