The Right Way To Celebrate Cultural Diversity In Your Business

Businesses reflect the wider world in that they’re full of different people from multiple backgrounds. Your company will represent countless cultures - and this is reflected in both your employees and your customers. With that in mind, it’s important to celebrate this cultural diversity as best as you can while running your business. 

You should do things that highlight various cultures and make your employees/customers feel more welcome and seen. It’s always amazing when a business shines a light on a particular group of people because certain cultures aren’t used to companies giving a crap about them. 

All of this sounds like a positive idea - though there are right and wrong ways to celebrate cultural diversity in a business. Today, you’ll see the correct way to approach this whole topic, as well as some examples of the completely wrong things to do. 

Acknowledge Important Cultural Holidays

Some days mean a lot more to people of different cultures than they do to you. What may seem like a normal Monday or week could be a time of great significance to others. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge these important cultural holidays to give others an opportunity to celebrate at work - or, take time off. 

Whether you’re celebrating NAIDOC Week for Australian aboriginal culture, Black History Month, Ramadan, Hanukah, Pride Month or any other key cultural holiday/celebration, you should make everyone who celebrates these moments feel welcome in your business. This may involve organising parties or events that shine a light on the specific celebrations and give other cultures more information on them. You’re helping everyone learn more about different cultures and understand the significance of key dates/holidays. 

It’s important to acknowledge these events both internally and externally. Internal acknowledgements can include office parties or celebrations, while external ones involve posting about these events/holidays on social media. This is an excellent way of broadcasting a message to your customers and showing them that you a) know this particular cultural holiday exists and b) you want to tell other people about it. Again, it makes these individuals feel seen and represented, which they’ll appreciate more than you know. 

At the same time, you should do more than simply make a post saying “Happy Diwali” or something like that. These are mere token gestures - go out of your way to do something that genuinely matters. For example, donate to charities related to a particular cultural event/holiday or provide details of local celebrations for customers to attend. 

Consult With People From Different Cultures

While you’re acknowledging these cultural events/celebrations, you should always keep one key thing in mind: will people from this particular culture appreciate what you’re doing? It’s hard to know when you cross the line and accidentally do more harm than good with your celebrations. Perhaps you’ll be overly stereotypical by mistake - or maybe you don’t fully understand the concept of what a particular cultural or religious holiday means to that group of people. 

On that note, it’s always best to consult with people from different cultures before doing anything. If you have individuals in your office from a particular culture, then it’s good to contact them and tell them you want to shine a light on a specific holiday. Ask if they have any advice on the best ways to do this or if they know of anyone who can provide more insight. 

Ideally, you should have a collection of people from a specific culture to consult with whenever you acknowledge these holidays. They’ll help you understand the premise behind cultural holidays/events/celebrations, what they mean to the people of that culture and how best to acknowledge them. This shows a massive amount of cultural sensitivity that ensures your business doesn’t do the wrong things and offend people. 

Make This A Permanent Gesture

The problem many businesses face is that they use different cultures as a simple marketing ploy. We’ll talk about this towards the end of the post, but too many companies see this as a chance to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. Oh look, yours is the only business celebrating a specific cultural holiday - that’s a chance to draw in more customers from this culture. 

You can’t approach things with this mindset, and the best way to avoid looking like you’re only in it for commercial benefits is by making permanent gestures. Don’t just celebrate cultures at specific points in the year during special holidays; commit to helping and supporting other cultures throughout the year. Perhaps you make regular donations to various causes related to certain cultures, especially if these cultures mean a great deal to your business. 

Alternatively, you can provide educational resources throughout the year to help others learn about and understand different cultures in society. This can easily be done through various content pieces - be it a blog or a video - and you can bring in people from these different cultures to talk more about their lives and celebrations. It shows you’re not just trying to piggyback off the notoriety of a big cultural celebration; you genuinely care and want to increase awareness and understanding. 

The Wrong Ways To Approach Cultural Diversity

You’ve seen some of the right things to do, but what about the wrong ways? You need to know about this because it helps you spot what to avoid so you don’t end up making employees and customers uncomfortable - or offending anyone. 

Primarily, the wrong ways to approach cultural diversity celebrations usually involve: 

• Cultural Appropriation - Avoid taking elements of different cultures and using them for celebrations without understanding their significance. The best example is dressing up in attire from a different culture or using specific cultural symbols to decorate the office. 

• Stereotyping - Similarly, don’t fall back on stereotypes or cliches when celebrating different cultures. A good example of this is to have a Chinese New Year celebration with loads of stereotypical decorations or music. You’re just copying what you see in the media, but it might not be what all Chinese New Year celebrations look like. That’s why you should always consult with people from different cultures before celebrating them. 

• Too Much Commercialism - Businesses are way too guilty of this. You take a cultural celebration and transform it into a commercial opportunity. For instance, you “celebrate” LGBTQ+ culture by placing a rainbow logo on your products and selling them for more than usual. Stuff like this sucks, and you’re almost guaranteeing a negative public reaction. 

• Token Gestures - This goes hand-in-hand with the commercialism point, but it has more to do with merely making social media posts with no substance. You acknowledge NAIDOC celebrations on your social platforms, and that’s it. There’s nothing else to go alongside your post, so it feels empty. It’s like you’ve done it because you’re expected to do it rather than because you actually care. 

Hopefully, this post has given you all the information you need to celebrate cultural diversity in your business the right way. Don’t fall into the common trap of committing token gestures or using different cultures to try and make a profit. Consult with people from different backgrounds to truly understand how you can represent them and celebrate their culture. This helps you avoid cultural appropriation or stereotyping. At the end of the day, your business is very diverse - whether this means having a diverse workforce or a diverse customer base, you need everyone to feel included and seen. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to start planning some cultural diversity celebrations that genuinely mean something.