12 Best Diversity and Inclusion Certifications for 2024
Are you looking for the leading diversity and inclusion certification for 2024? Read on to discover the best certificate for you.
Age, appearance, race, ethnicity, religion, education, sexual orientation, gender identity, and political beliefs make us all different. For this reason, employees and employers need to learn how to embrace these differences. Diversity and inclusion certifications online can help.
By welcoming diversity, organizations can make their work open and inclusive for more productivity. Diversity and inclusion competencies are becoming more important for businesses and organizations that want to improve their work environments. Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace can ensure the success and productivity of your organization in the long run.
This article will look at various diversity and inclusion training certifications to help employees and employers build an inclusive work culture.
What are the Best Diversity and Inclusion Certifications?
Here’s our list of the top diversity and certifications you can take:
1. HR University – Diversity and Inclusion Certification
Duration: 20 Hours
Price: $299
This online diversity and inclusion certification program gears toward HR and management professionals looking to create a more diverse and inclusive culture for their organizations and teams. The course includes instructor feedback to ensure you can take what you learn and put it into practice. The course curriculum includes the following material”
- Categories of Diversity
- How to Create a Sense of Belonging
- Organize a Company’s D&I Vision
- How Social Identities Form
- Unconscious Bias
- Types of Bias
- Bias Consequences
- Micro Behaviors
- Dealing with Micro Aggression
- Counteracting Unconscious Bias
- Active Listening
- Asking Proper Questions to Handle Difficult Diversity Discussions
- Non-Verbal Communication
- Workplace Bullying
- Harassment
This diversity and inclusion certification course is one of the few that also teaches you how to host your diversity and inclusion workshop for your company. It has seven modules, each split into a different day. It’s a self-paced course with a full refund guarantee within 30 days. Moreover, it includes over fifteen quizzes, 15 case studies, workshop material, and a certification test.
You can check out the course here.
2. ESSEC Business School – Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Duration: 4 Weeks, 2 Hours a Week
Price: Varies Based on Subscription Plan
This free online diversity and inclusion certification program helps students foster inclusivity in the work environment. While best for young professionals just starting their careers, those who want to boost their awareness of diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace can also greatly benefit from it.
This leadership and management course provides students with knowledge of power dynamics in the workplace and the best practices for supporting fellow employees. It covers the paradox and dynamics of discrimination in the workplace and how to manage it for better performance and innovation.
The course has four modules that help students overcome their biases. The four modules include; Hi diversity! ( 2 hours), Disrupting and Diversity (1 hour), Diversity and Inclusion (2 hours), and Categorization and Diversity Perceptions(2 hours). With each module, students go through video lectures and readings. There are also quizzes after each module, and students that do well can buy a certificate of completion.
A good thing about this certification program is that students can complete the modules at their own pace. Plus, the course is free to audit.
You can check out the course here.
3. Purdue University – Understanding Diversity & Inclusion
Duration: 3 Weeks
Price: The course is currently under an update
This diversity certification by Purdue University gives students the knowledge and understanding of diversity and inclusivity. It is a free business management course that takes three weeks. It is for anyone looking to boost their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward working with others.
This course teaches you how to identify and address your negative attitudes and unconscious bias. It will develop your knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards cultural diversity to enable you to create inclusive environments.
The course covers topics such as unconscious biases, skills, knowledge, attitudes supporting diversity, elements of diversity and inclusion, etc.
Charles A. Calahan, a well-experienced at teaching the course at Purdue University, USA, leads the course. By the end of the class, Charles helps students describe the various stages of diversity dexterity, how to engage inclusion elements, identify unconscious bias, and explore the right skills and attitudes that support workplace diversity.
You can check out the certification course here.
4. University of Cape Town – Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion
Duration: 6 Weeks, 3 Hours/Week
Price: $39/month
This online education inclusion training course is best suited for exploring ways to make education more inclusive. This is especially helpful if you want to make education inclusive for children with disabilities and areas with limited resources. It is best for parents, teachers, and other professionals interested in creating and implementing inclusive education.
Provided by the University of Cape Town in South Africa, this course teaches students the different approaches to ensuring access to education, the barriers to education inclusiveness, and how to overcome them.
Some topics covered include why inclusion, the social context of disability, community support for inclusive support, inclusion initiatives for creating an inclusive school environment, and more.
Judith Mckenzie and Chioma Ohajunwa teach the course. These two experienced lecturers will take you through video, audio, and practical lectures that take six weeks for three hours weekly.
Students can learn at their pace and track their completion and assessment scores using the Progress page feature. After completing 90% of the steps and assessments, you will earn your certificate.
You can check out the course here.
5. Cornell University – Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program
Duration: 2 Months, 3-5 Weekly Hours
Price: $950/month
This program by Cornel University is best suited for managers, supervisors, and individuals that ensure strategic culture efforts. Nonetheless, anyone that wants to know how to improve employee engagement other than human resources professionals can still enroll.
Led by instructor Lisa Nishi, this course helps students counteract unconscious bias, enhance employee engagement, and promote a diverse and inclusive work environment. Other key takeaways include understanding the aspects of diversity that matter, identifying prejudices that may affect workgroup behaviors, and how to enhance organizational culture.
The course takes two months, and 3 to 5 hours of weekly study time is required to complete it. Each session accommodates 35 students.
You can check out the certification here.
6. Catalyst – Inclusive Leadership Professional Certificate
Duration: 3 Weeks, 1-2 Hours Weekly
Price: $147
Are you a leader in an organization and want to know how to create an inclusive workplace culture? If so, the Inclusive Leadership Professional Certificate by Catalyst is worth considering. This course focuses on helping leaders develop inclusive leadership skills to make them successful in the current global economy.
It is best suited for students who want to hone their skills and become inclusive leaders and those who are currently managers or want to take on managerial roles. The program teaches how to use inclusive communication in leadership and the importance of inclusive leadership skills for work-life effectiveness.
This online certification program has three courses; Becoming a Successful Leader, Leading Effective Communication, and Get-Beyond Work-Life Balance. The program is self-paced. Students learn through video lectures, group discussions, case studies, assessments, and flexible deadlines. It also features conversations with other learners globally.
Students can study at their own pace, making it ideal for those working or with other study schedules. The program runs for three months and can take one to two hours weekly.
You can check out the certification here.
7. Case Western Reserve University – Women in Leadership: Inspiring Positive Change
Duration: 5 Hours in Total
Price: Varies Based on Subscription Plan
The Women in Leadership: Inspiring Positive Change is an online course from Case Western Reserve University in the USA. This course seeks to empower both men and women for professional development. It also helps them take on leadership that fosters diversity in the workplace and the community.
The course has five modules that provide a more complex understanding of issues that professional women go through. It identifies the challenges, opportunities, trade-offs, and dynamics women in work organizations encounter.
After completing the course, you will also gain a deeper understanding of the interpersonal, societal, and organizational structures that impact women in organizations. You will also be able to define your vision for life-work balance and career success, develop a plan for accomplishing your goals, and learn how to explore the necessary networks and resources.
The course is by Diana Bilimoria, PH.D., who has extensive experience as a KeyBank Professor at the University. Diana will take you through the five supplemental readings, videos, and quiz sequences. The course is self-paced and takes 5 hours in total to complete.
You can check out the certification course here.
8. Institute of Diversity Certification- Certified Diversity Executive Credentials
The Institute of Diversity Certification (IDC) is an auxiliary of the Society for Diversity, an organization with high-qualification diversity standards for managers. They include CDP, CDE, and D&I credentials.
Furthermore, students of the Society for Diversity can get a 20% discount when they enroll in the IDC’s programs. Individuals that enroll as a group can also get deals if they register before enrolling.
IDC’s diversity and inclusion certification teaches students how to apply equity and promote inclusivity in the workplace. The certificate also helps students to manage inclusion initiatives on a larger scale.
You can check out the certification here.
9. University of Pennsylvania – Optimizing Diversity on Teams
Duration: 4 Weeks/3 Hours per Week
Price: $49 per Month
The Optimizing Diversity on Teams course is ideal for those looking to maximize team creativity, performance, and innovation. Here, you will learn the basics of diversity, manage diverse teams, handle conflict and create standard ground rules.
The class features four modules: Promoting diversity in the Workplace, Managing Conflict, Team Diversity Basics, and Diversity Case Studies through employee engagement. It explores the barriers to diversity when promoting an inclusive team and how to handle such issues.
Two instructors teach it; Dr. Aviva Legatt, an affiliated faculty, and Derek Newberry, PH.D., a lecturer. The instructors teach ways of optimizing diversity in the workplace through several videos, supplemental readings, and quizzes.
Students also go through real-life cases of organizations that manage diversity in teams to ensure more inclusivity. The course is self-paced, and each module takes three hours to complete. As for the pricing, this course costs $49.
You can check out the certification course here.
10. American Management Association
AMA is renowned for training professionals in various fields like project management and business enhancements. Their Diversity & Inclusion Certificate program is for organizational leaders and HR professionals who want to avoid biases and improve diversity and inclusion in their workplace.
The course will help you develop an awareness of cultural differences to manage your workforce with trust, respect, and civility. You can finish it in a classroom or online with the help of a facilitator. Besides, students are allowed to choose dates that work best for them.
You can review the certification program here.
11. Deakin University – Leading Culturally Diverse Teams in the Workplace
Duration: 4 Weeks, 3 Hours Weekly
Price: $79
This is an online business and management course that focuses on the management of multicultural teams to ensure their performance. This Leading Culturally Diverse Teams in the Workplace course by the Deakin University in Australia gives insight into the impact of cultural diversity on teams.
It is ideal for employees or individuals that work in a culturally diverse organization like offshore and outsourced teams and global organization leaders. Upon completion, you will know how to lead, work, and communicate effectively with a diverse workforce in the workplace.
You will also better understand what cultural diversity is, why it is vital to teams, and how to get the benefits of multicultural teams. You can start learning the 4-weeks training program for free online and later upgrade to get CPD certification once you have completed the course and assessments.
It requires 3 hours of weekly study. The instructors are Lee Martin and Harsh Suri.
You can check out the certification program here.
12. University of Michigan – Leading for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education
Duration: 5 Weeks
Duration: Varies on the Subscription Level
The University of Michigan provides this online, intermediate-level DEI certificate. It is ideal for professionals that want to learn more about higher education leadership and the importance of inclusion in post-secondary institutions.
The class also focuses on how leadership helps promote inclusivity. It describes how leadership must focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in a contested working environment.
It is a five-week class with 5-course outlines that starts with Leadership Challenges of the 21 Century and ends with Rethinking Leaders, Leadership, and Leadership Development. The course is instructor-led by John Burkhardt through videos and readings. At the end of each week, students must complete a graded assignment.
You can review the course here.
Conclusion
Whether you want to become a certified diversity professional or create a diverse working environment, we hope you find this article useful. These courses will garner the right information on initiating a diverse and inclusive working environment.
This is especially useful if you didn’t take the diversity and inclusion certificate as an elective. Plus, most of these include shareable training certificates on platforms like LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Diversity and Inclusion Training?
Diversity and inclusion training involves training employees to work with others of different races, nationalities, gender, abilities, and more. Its primary focus is to enhance employee engagement and reduce unconscious bias to ensure all employees’ inclusiveness. This helps create a better working environment and maintain healthy workplace relationships even during conflicts.
Does Diversity Training Work?
Diversity training is an effective solution for eliminating bias at work and creating a diverse workplace. However, some believe that the diversity training program may be unsuccessful for various reasons.
For instance, a mandatory program can lead to resentment and animosity. Also, implementing the training does not mean that diverse-related issues like biases will stop.
What Should I Look for in the Best Diversity and Inclusion Training Program?
The best diversity program should emphasize the importance of diversity in the workplace and manage a diverse team. As for inclusion, training should cover topics such as; unintentional biases, conflict management, cultural identities, discrimination, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Overall, a good DEI program should equip employees and employers with the skills to grow professionally and interact with a broad spectrum of people regardless of their differences.
How Do I Get Certified in Diversity and Inclusion?
If you want to get certified in diversity and inclusion, the first step is to decide which diversity and inclusion certification to get. There are hundreds of different programs, so it can be challenging to choose just one. Luckily, the ones above are perfect for anyone looking to expand their knowledge.
What is the Best Diversity and Inclusion Certification?
The best diversity and inclusion certifications for your organization depend on your company’s needs and how well recognized they are. But, you should start by reviewing whether or not a specific group in your workplace feels mistreated. If so, consider the diversity and inclusion certifications listed above to help improve that situation.
You should also ask yourself these three questions:
- What size business am I representing?
- What level of expertise does my workforce have on diversity topics already?
- How much time or resources can we dedicate to this endeavor right now?
How Do I Become a Certified Diversity Trainer?
The first step to becoming a certified diversity trainer is to complete an approved diversity training certification. This includes any of the certifications listed above. In addition to completing a diversity training course for certification as a diversity trainer, you must apply with organizations that recognize this type of credential and seek someone qualified and experienced. You can find these types of companies through either Google searches or looking at local job boards.
