AI for Diversity and Inclusion

raising awareness in the workplace

“AI for Diversity and Inclusion: raising awareness in the workplace” (AI4DI) is a co-financed project by Erasmus+ programme in the field of vocational education and training (VET). We want to create a new training approach for managers and HR staff about the importance of diversity and inclusion within companies, by using AI for sentiment analysis.

Diversity (D) is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people; it’s about empowering everyone by respecting and appreciating what makes each of us different: age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin.
For this reason, it is very important to implement actions aimed at a more effective inclusive practice in the workplace. In these years we have reached a crucial point: diversity is already a fact in most companies and so, it is time to act, by implementing an Inclusion (I) process.
Managers must acquire the awareness and the ability to manage diversity, their decisions will impact on the quality of the working environment. This takes place through specific and adequate training, where the opinion and the point of view of the employees must be the basis for a clear analysis of the workplace.
Managers should be able to assess how the employees feel about inclusion within companies in order to be effective in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) implementation.

The key to an inclusive workplace is to make sure that employees feel that they are a vital part of their environment, through the development of a company culture that feels inclusive. Inclusion creates employee engagement and a sense of belonging.
Diversity, equality, and inclusion are drivers for a strong sense of belonging and increase the attractiveness of a company.
With AI4DI project, we would like to address the following EU priorities: a) Contributing to innovation in vocational education and training; b) inclusion and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth and sport; c) Addressing digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity.

AI4DI Brochure ITA

AI4DI Brochure ENG

Project Activities

The steps of the project

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Creation of survey

A psychologist will build a survey of about twenty open questions concerning on inclusion, exploring perceptions and feelings of each worker about: gender inclusion, cultural/ethnic inclusion.

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A new tool for sentiment analysis

We will create a new tool taking advantage of Natural Language Processing (NLP), a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI), to understand the sentiment of workers. After all the processes, we will develop a multiplatform application (App).

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Test our tool

The test will be carried out by beta testers of a selected company, in order to verify the effectiveness of our tool. The employees will download the app, answer the open-ended questions and, at the end, Managers will receive a detailed report.

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Manual and guide

We will develop a user manual for the App and a guide entitled “Compass for Diversity and Inclusion” which will be a tool designed for managers, coordinators and HR offices of SMEs, to help them understand the outcomes of the survey.

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Training course and video

We will develop a training course for HRs of SMEs or training agencies in order to implement the culture of D&I. The course will be divided in three parts: a theoretical approach on diversity and inclusion, a practical phase and a follow up.

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Management and communication

“Project management” and “Dissemination and Communication” are two horizontal activities that assure the smooth development of the project. Through a widespread dissemination of the project and its outcomes, many companies will have a chance to assess D&I in the workplace.