In this post, you’ll find the best virtual DEI activities to help remote teams learn and grow together. With nearly three dozen ideas, you can spark meaningful dialogue and connection on your team all year round while accomplishing your diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
Creating an environment of inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do. It can also help boost your company’s earnings and performance. For example, Boston Consulting Group reports that companies with diverse leadership tend to see an increase in revenue. McKinsey also found that companies with higher diversity are 35% more likely to have higher financial returns!
Additionally, employees may be more likely to stay in a job where they can bring their whole selves to work. In the era of “the Great Recession,” employee morale and culture feel more important than ever.
These actionable ideas can help your team create a more welcoming and inclusive community for your employees, clients, and stakeholders.
Overview of Our Virtual Diversity and Inclusion Activities
A few of our favorite virtual DEI activities:
Read on for more details on these diversity, equity, and inclusion activities and more ideas.
- Start a DEI book club
- Explore global cultures through food
- Learn about the Indigenous land you’re on
- Host a diversity themed lunch & learn, or hire a guest speaker
- Create DEI vision boards with your team
- Virtually visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture
- Gift employees a fun gift box from BIPOC-owned companies
- Plan a multicultural movie night with your team
- Examine internal practices like pay parity and website accessibility
- Post on job boards geared toward diverse applicants
- Shift company language toward more inclusive phrasing
- Celebrate Pride month in a meaningful way at work
TLDR: in this list, you’ll find:
- Fun virtual diversity & inclusion activities for remote teams
- Ideas to strengthen your company’s efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion
- DEI activities on the topics of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and accessibility
- Educational and fun DEI experiences
- DEI activities for Black History Month, Juneteenth, Pride, and other holidays
- Free and low-cost ways to create an inclusive corporate culture
- DEI remote activities to create a more welcoming workplace
- Diversity activities that create belonging
1. Create a Culture of Inclusivity
Before you consider hosting fun, team-based virtual DEI activities, make sure your company’s policies create a top-down culture of inclusivity. This is because it will be challenging for employees to take DEI efforts seriously if, for example, your company’s dress code bans dreadlocks, or if employees do not respect other people’s pronouns.
Creating a culture of inclusivity can go a long way toward helping your team feel appreciated and supported. Additionally, Forbes reports that diverse companies produce 19% more revenue. Once your basic DEI policies are in place, it’s time to start planning some fun team building activities.
Example: The Coca-Cola Company issued an open letter about its diversity practices. Specifically, it requires that all outside counsel have 30% of billed hours from diverse attorneys.
2. Play Kazoos and Learn Black Music History: One of Our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
DEI events often turn into boring diversity training. But, if you choose happy hours that are fun and educational, your employees feel included and engaged.
For example, check out this Music Evolution virtual team building experience. In this event, your group will learn about the history of music with vibrant and knowledgeable guides. In addition, your team will compete in mini kazoo challenges. Plus, an on-site Nashville virtual tour guide will give your team a live look at Music City, USA! Check out a brief promotional video below for more details.
Diversity and inclusivity teams frequently choose this event because it ties Black Music History lessons seamlessly into this session. Discover how learning about complex history and having a positive team experience can go hand in hand.
Your team will also enjoy treat boxes (pictured above). Little-known fact: the kazoo’s origins stem from vibrating, voice altering ceremonial instruments used by African tribes for centuries. The modern kazoo was invented in 1840 by Alabama Vest, a Black man from Macon, GA and his collaborator Thaddeus Von Clegg, a German clockmaker.
Learn more and book your music evolution experience.
3. Honor Important Heritage Months: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Together with your team, honor heritage months like Black History Month or AAPI Heritage Month (Asian American & Pacific Islander).
For Black History Month, consider an experience that shares the roots of Black History Month itself. This experience from includes live-streaming guides in two important historic Black neighborhoods. And, this virtual session highlights the story of the important Black historian Carter Woodson, often called the “father of Black history.” Check out the 1-minute preview video below for more details!
Or, if you want to honor and understand Juneteenth, this highly rated Juneteenth experience (preview video below) will “wow” your team. With live-streaming guides in Austin, TX and Hampton, VA, this powerful event shares the roots and story of Juneteenth and Emancipation. Employee engagement is at a high with this fast-paced, educational event!
4. Start a DEI Book Club
Reading and discussing a book with your coworkers is a meaningful way to bond and learn together. For this activity, pick a thought-provoking book that explores diversity and inclusion themes. After everyone reads the book, host a video call for your team to share their thoughts and insights. Or, organize a series of monthly book club sessions for deeper, ongoing discussion. Another option is to create Slack channels for these DEI book clubs and groups.
You can choose a nonfiction book to explore real-world events and history. Or, opt for a work of historical fiction or a novel whose protagonist is a member of a marginalized group.
Get started with this list of recommended books to start a DEI book club at your workplace. Another great reading list: Bookriot’s 100 Must-Read Classics by Authors of Color.
5. Go “Back to School” Together
When it comes to DEI efforts, we are all lifelong students. Are you looking to learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion with your team? If so, sign up for a free workshop or course together.
Learn together for an afternoon, or over the course of several weeks. Rather than making this activity a mandatory training, the idea is to spark curiosity and share knowledge for those who want to learn.
You can find free online trainings on topics like diversity and inclusion in the workplace, managing diverse teams, inclusive leadership training, and much more. The courses below are a few of our favorites:
- Justice (Intro to Moral and Political Philosophy), Harvard
- Writing for Social Justice, UC Berkeley
Browse a list of free learning opportunities in this guide from The Muse: 9 (Free!) Online Classes for Managers Who Care About Diversity and Inclusion. Additionally, you can explore a wide variety of other free university courses at edx.org.
6. Research the Indigenous Land You’re On
Did you know you can search your address at native-land.ca to see which Indigenous lands you’re on? For example, Unexpected Virtual Tours is located on traditional territory of the Muscogee/Creek Nation.
With your team, research the history of the land on which your company is located. For teams that are scattered in different areas, each team member can research the land they are on. Then, share your findings and reflections during a conversation based video call. This is a culturally sensitive way to talk about important history that is rarely discussed.
7. For Marketing and Web Design Teams: Host a DEI Redesign Session
If your team manages your company’s marketing or web design efforts, host an intensive DEI redesign session. This can be structured similarly to a hack-a-thon event.
Set a goal – for example, auditing all of your company’s web pages in one 3-hour session to provide a more inclusive user experience. Give employees a stipend to order some food, then get to work! Some ideas for your redesign session:
- Brainstorm ways in which your company’s current materials could be more inclusive
- Replace your website’s stock images with photos that reflect your community
- Install an accessibility widget like UserWay on your company’s website
- Review your company materials and remove gendered language. For example, you can replace “chairman” with “chair” or “ladies and gentlemen” with “distinguished guests.”
8. Explore Global Cultures through Food: One of Our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Learning about cultures and traditions around the globe can be both enlightening and delicious. Learn how to make Mexican street tacos, Korean kimchi, soulful biscuits, and much more. Plus, it will make your remote work more delicious!
Airbnb’s online experiences offer cooking demonstrations and lessons from knowledgeable chefs around the world. Many classes include lessons on the history and culture behind the food. Dive deeper with your team and challenge everyone to research and share one unexpected fact about the dish you’ll be preparing or the country where it originated.
Check out all of Airbnb’s global cooking class experiences.
9. Share the Story Behind Your Name
It’s a common saying among salespeople that everyone’s favorite sound in the world is their own name. Addressing someone by their name can help build connection and rapport. In fact, many of us have so intertwined our personal identities with our names that the two concepts are almost identical in our minds.
As a result, one popular virtual DEI activity is to host a “name story” session. Each team member gets a turn to share their full name and the story behind it. For example, you could share whether you were named after someone – a relative, a song, etc. Or, share if your name has a special meaning in your culture. You can also share a childhood nickname or what you love about your name.
While this activity can be fun, it can also bring up difficult emotions or painful memories. As a result, it’s best to make this event an optional, casual session. Also, be sure to explain the activity to everyone beforehand. Finally, respect everyone’s name as they share it. Many people choose to not go by their birth names, for a wide variety of personal reasons.
View a step-by-step guide to hosting a name story virtual DEI activity.
10. Explore Privilege Together
Privilege refers to the ways in which society accepts certain traits as the “default” and tends to give people with those traits the benefit of the doubt. For example, many people think of “able-bodied” as the default in our society. As a result, they may not consider people who use wheelchairs when designing a retail store’s layout. Or, a graphic designer may create print materials with small text that is unreadable to people who are visually impaired.
This 4-minute-long YouTube video explores the complex ideas behind the concept of privilege. Watch it together with your team, then discuss your reactions afterward. This can result in an emotionally raw conversation. Again, be sure employees are prepared for this topic and emphasize that the activity is optional. It can be helpful to have a trained facilitator or HR representative lead the conversation.
If the idea of hosting a conversation about privilege sounds intimidating, this blog post from HR Zone will walk you through how to have this discussion in a corporate setting with inclusive language.
11. Virtually Visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture
The NMAAHC is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. Located in Washington DC, the museum offers virtual curator chats, video archives, and resources on talking about race. Here are a few of our favorite offerings for virtual DEI activities:
-
Curator Chat Series: A Deeper Look at Cultural Expressions with Dr. Joanne Hyppolite, Supervisory Curator of the African Diaspora at the museum. Get an up-close look at the museum’s Cultural Expressions exhibit.
-
Collection Story: Seeing Black Women in Power – a collection of photos, text, and videos. This resource explores the art, activism, and voices of Black women in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Search the museum’s collection digitally. View photographs, garments, and other objects in the NMAAHC’s collection. Zoom in to get an up-close look. You can also read about each object’s history and details.
12. Take One of Harvard’s Free Implicit Association Tests (IAT): One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
These online tests measure our underlying socially ingrained attitudes, beliefs, and biases. For many people, an Implicit Association Test can uncover biases that the test-taker was unaware of within themselves.
For example, IAT points out that even if you believe that women and men should be equally associated with science, you may subconsciously associate men with science more so than women.
Choose from a variety of Implicit Association Tests to examine the way in which you perceive people of different races, gender identities, weights, and more. Then, host a discussion session for everyone to explore their thoughts and reflections. The tests take around 10 minutes each, with photos and words coming in rapid-fire succession.
Learn more and take the test here.
13. Discover Shared Life Experiences
Try a virtual twist on a popular DEI activity. During this game, everyone starts with their cameras off. Then, a facilitator reads a prompt. For example, “Turn your camera on if you studied your ancestors’ history in grade school.” While these questions may be difficult, they help us identify common experiences. As a result, team members can feel less isolated in their struggles.
At the same time, this virtual diversity and inclusion game can help expose inequalities in our world that some participants may not have previously recognized. Be sure to share expectations ahead of time, so participants know they will be discussing sensitive topics and lived experiences.
More prompt ideas: turn your camera on if…
- You grew up expecting to go to college
- You’ve never felt embarrassed or judged for your sexual orientation
- When you look at how your local government is comprised, you feel represented
- You have never wondered where your next meal would come from
- You’ve never struggled to find a makeup or beauty product that was made for your skin tone
- You’re able to observe religious holidays without obligations or meeting requests from work or school
14. Create an Internal DEI Newsletter
Does your company have an internal newsletter? If so, consider regularly adding a section with DEI initiatives and resources.
Ideas of what to include in your company’s DEI Newsletter:
- Upcoming DEI-focused company events and initiatives
- Multicultural holidays and other times of observance. For example, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Juneteenth, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.
- Diversity-focused scholarship opportunities in the community for continued learning
15. Host a Diversity Themed Virtual Lunch & Learn: One of Our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Ask everyone to participate in a virtual “potluck” style lunch and learn! Encourage your team to show up with a dish that’s culturally significant to them. This might be a recipe passed down for generations. Or, team members can research their lineage and choose a new dish that’s reflective of their culture.
If employees feel they don’t have a recipe that fits the bill, then encourage them to choose a dish from someplace they’ve selected and researched instead. In this way, everyone can learn more about global cultures and traditions. Additionally, your team members will learn new things about each other and bond together.
16. Create Diversity Vision Boards Together
Ask your team members to gather up old magazines, newspapers, ads, and junk mail. Then, get to work with scissors and glue, creating diversity themed vision boards together on a video call. You can snip images of people, empowering words and phrases, or quotes that inspire you.
In the process of creating your vision boards, you may notice that the materials you’re snipping from aren’t actually that diverse. For example, you might struggle to find a magazine ad featuring a wheelchair user. On the other hand, you might be pleasantly surprised to see that your favorite newspaper does feature diverse community stories and experiences.
Either way, this activity is sure to prompt discussion with your team. And, at the end of the event, you’ll each have a tactile, visual reminder of the importance of diversity.
17. Explore Fatphobia in Society and Corporate Health Norms
Did you know that weight discrimination in the workplace is legal in 49 states? A study from Vanderbilt found that fat women also tend to receive lower incomes than thin counterparts.
Our societal norms enforce the idea that a thin body is a healthy one, despite overwhelming evidence that indicates other ideas. In an attempt to inspire workers to be healthy, many companies cross the line into fatphobia and fat-shaming. For example, some companies might try to inspire employees to be “healthier” by sharing lower-calorie recipes or hosting HR weight loss challenges.
Take time to examine your company’s potential biases toward slimmer workers, and consider the ways in which some communications may be perceived as shaming or judgmental to people in larger bodies.
Learn more by reading this Nylon article: How Fatphobia has Cemented Itself in the American Workplace.
18. Delve Into Diversity through Street Art: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Learning about history and culture through the lens of art is a fun way to bring a learning session to life. During the Unexpected Virtual Tours Street Art team building event, your team will have a blast learning about the history and culture of graffiti.
This DEI-focused activity is perfect for creative and inclusive teams – combining trivia, hands-on painting activities, and lots of team-building challenges. Each activity is interwoven with themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The session is guided by a live expert, who will share fascinating stories about the street art movement and answer questions.
Take a virtual tour to see the “Homage to [Dr. Martin Luther] King” public art mural in Atlanta, as well as Black History Matters murals around the city. You’ll learn about the history and culture of street art and the movements that shaped it.
Additionally, you can reserve virtual paint night kits for your team! Everyone will get to unwrap a box with a custom corporate card, decorate-a-cookie kit, snacks, water brush crayons and street art coloring pages from local artists. Kits are delivered to your employees’ homes and can be customized with cookies with your company’s logo, making this a fun combination of a gift and a team building experience.
Learn more about the Unexpected Virtual Tours Street Art virtual team building experience and book your session!
19. Provide a Digital Place for Self-Identification
Pronouns can be an important part of people’s identity. These days, digital communication tools make it easier than ever to learn and respect each other’s pronouns.
Companies can encourage employees to add their pronouns to email signatures, Slack profiles, and LinkedIn pages. This can help create a culture of inclusion for nonbinary and trans coworkers. It also supports psychological safety for everyone.
Useful Article: Here’s a great article from Medium on how to input pronouns on many different technology tools.
20. Treat Employees to a Gift or Meal from BIPOC/Local Businesses: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Looking for a way to reward your team for their hard work? Maybe your department hit a sales goal, or someone is celebrating a work anniverary. If so, consider purchasing from a BIPOC-owned (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), woman-owned, and/or local business.
That’s because your dollars can have a tangible impact in these communities. After all, your corporate purchase will make a much larger impact on a small business than it will on a big box store. Furthermore, supporting minority owned businesses is a way to show your employees that your company’s actions align with its stated values on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Our favorite gift idea and a great option for Women’s History Month in March: Unexpected Virtual Tours’ Empower Gift Boxes. Support BIPOC-owned businesses while enjoying the convenience of Amazon Prime shipping.
21. Host a Multicultural Movie Night
Part of the fun of creating a diverse workplace is exploring other cultures through movies, music, food, and entertainment. By opening our minds and palates to other cultures, we broaden our worldview and mindset. This can also lead to increased empathy and connection with others.
Looking for diversity and inclusion activities for virtual teams? Host a multicultural movie night! Take turns picking a safe-for-work film from another culture. This is a great way to relax and bond together.
Before you watch, the person who picked the movie can share a little bit of context about the film and its creators.
Use a service like Tubi to stream movies online for free together while you’re on a video call! Or, choose a streaming service everyone on your team already subscribes to.
22. Play an “I am…” Exercise Together
During this icebreaker activity, each person starts with the phrase “I am…” at the top of a sheet of paper. Then, ask each participant to fill in ten things about themselves. You might wish to give your team some examples to get started.
For instance, your “I am…” list might include statements like:
- “I am the child of an immigrant.”
- “I am a vegetarian.”
- “I’m bisexual.”
- “I am a dog mom.”
- “I am a runner.”
- “I’m a business owner.”
- “I am left-handed.”
Take turns reading your lists aloud, for those who are comfortable. Because this is such a personal activity, make sure everyone understands that this exercise is optional. As you participate in this activity, you’re sure to learn more about your coworkers. You’ll also discover which parts of their identity they may feel most proud of and most willing to share with their team.
This activity can also help spark friendships and shared interests on your team. For example, if someone shares “I am in a ska band…” it paves the way for coworkers to ask how their music is going during future team meetings!
23. Create Slack Channels for Affinity Groups
These days, many remote teams are using Slack more than ever to communicate. Consider creating Slack channels for your company’s affinity groups. For example, you could create Slack channels for parents, women, LGBTQ+ employees, Latinx employees, etc.
These designated spaces can serve as a safe and welcoming environment for dialogue. Furthermore, the channels can serve as a dedicated forum to share relevant opportunities and resources.
Helpful resource: learn how Slack’s corporate office creates employee resource groups to foster connection and belonging for their workers.
24. Make Your Website Accessible to All
While the internet has made information readily available to the masses, many websites remain inaccessible for people with disabilities. As a result, you may want to take a look at whether your company’s website is user-friendly for all. For example, consider people who may be blind or visually impaired, dyslexic, hard of hearing, prone to seizures with bright flashing visuals, cognitively impaired, etc.
Fortunately, many easy to install widgets can help ensure ADA compliance with a simple line of code.
Ensure accessibility in just a few clicks. UserWay is a user-friendly paid widget trusted by the likes of Disney, GE, FedEx, Coca-Cola, and many others.
25. Avoid and Call Out Problematic Language
We all know that some words are unacceptable to use, and most of us are familiar with the obvious slurs. However, there are some words that many folks still use without knowing their problematic history and implications.
It may not be possible for us to always be aware of every problematic word as language evolves. That said, you can create a corporate culture in which employees feel comfortable calling out unacceptable words and learning from each other. It’s important for company executives to set the example and use these moments as an opportunity to demonstrate the organization’s commitment to inclusivity.
Discover how to speak more inclusively with Buffer’s guide to inclusive language. These tips are geared toward startups and tech companies but are helpful to people in all industries.
26. Create Inclusive Restrooms & Nursing Areas: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
If you have a physical office or a hybrid team, it’s important to consider how the physical layout of an office can lead to greater inclusivity. For example, single-stall, gender-neutral restrooms can provide privacy and comfort to people of all genders.
It’s also extremely important to offer employees a dedicated nursing space that’s not a bathroom or conference room. Additionally, make sure your company is actively supporting employees by giving them ample time to pump. A nursing area should have a locking door, a comfortable chair, and a small table or shelf. It’s wise to also include a refrigerator to store pumped milk as well as a sink.
Pro tip: if your budget won’t allow for renovations, consider a Mamava nursing space. This woman-owned small business sells and rents lactation pod spaces.
27. Share an Inclusive Meal – All Dietary Restrictions Welcome!
Even with a remote team, there may be times when you decide to treat everyone to lunch or a delivered meal. During these instances, it’s important to be mindful of everyone’s dietary restrictions and needs. Ask your employees about their dietary restrictions before placing an order.
Equally as important – when eating in a group, encourage team members to not take food meant for a specific diet if they can enjoy other options. Otherwise, you might end up with a vegetarian who has only meat sandwiches to pick from because their carnivorous coworkers decided to try the roasted veggie wrap.
Helpful article: to learn more about how to accommodate your team’s dietary needs, read this guide on meal inclusivity from the Society for Human Resources Management.
28. Post on Job Boards Geared toward BIPOC Groups
To build a more diverse team, consider branching out from your usual job posting sites when listing your company’s opportunities. By posting on job boards geared toward diverse candidates, you can broaden your pool of applicants while also promoting DEI values.
To find diverse job candidates, try posting on these hiring boards:
- NAACP Job Finder: geared toward Black and African American professionals
- Diversity Working: serving diverse groups including ethnic diversity, age diversity, gender diversity, ability diversity, and lifestyle diversity.
- Hire Autism: a site focusing on individuals on the spectrum
- Center for Employment Opportunities: connecting employers with formerly incarcerated people
29. Celebrate Pride Month in a Meaningful Way: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
Nowadays, many companies commemorate Pride Month in June. This is a time of celebration and joy. But, many people lament that Pride has also become a commercialized occasion.
Nowadays, many large retailers sell Pride-themed products. It’s a wonderful and supportive gesture. But, advocates for the LGBTQ+ community have voiced discontent at “Pridewashing” – profiting off events like Pride while failing to meaningfully support LGBTQ+ causes. Or, in some cases, working against these causes over the long term.
For this reason, if you sell a Pride product, it’s important to donate a significant portion of your proceeds to LGBTQ+ related nonprofits or causes. For instance, consider supporting The Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, or a local cause.
Similarly, if you purchase items for your employees to celebrate this diversity events for your remote teams, consider shopping local and buying directly from LGBTQ+ owned brands. Or, opt for a LGBTQ+ diversity event for your remote team, such as supporting one of the many amazing virtual drag experiences.
To learn more about the intersection of Pride Month and corporate culture, read the Washington Post’s opinion article, Pride for Sale.
30. Use Gender Inclusive Language
Using gender inclusive language means removing gender from our vocabulary. For example, if you’re giving a Zoom presentation, rather than saying, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen” – you could greet the group by saying, “Good morning, everybody” instead.
Using gender-neutral greetings helps to create an environment of inclusivity for people of all genders and helps avoid dated stereotypes. As a Southern-based company, our Unexpected Virtual Tours employees are big fans of the word “y’all!”
Here are some other gender-neutral & gender inclusive phrases:
- Ladies and gentlemen → Distinguished guests
- Chairman/woman → Chair or Chairperson
- Guys (as in, Hi, guys!) → Everyone, folks, team, colleagues
- Cameraman/woman → Camera operator
- Mankind → Humankind
- Husband/wife → Spouse or partner
- Congressman/woman → Congressional Representative or legislator
- Mailman/woman → Mail Carrier
- Fireman/woman → Firefighter
For more examples, explore the United Nations’ guidlines for gender-inclusive language.
31. Offer Flexible Holiday Leave for Different Religious Observances
Holidays and religious observances can be deeply personal, even sacred, times to practice important rituals, spend time with family, and reflect on our lives. Rather than offering specific days off, such as Christmas, consider giving employees a set number of holiday days per year to use as they wish.
This system helps ensure that employees of all backgrounds and religious beliefs can celebrate their special occasions without worry. Flexible holiday leave can also create a sense of belonging for workers of all faiths.
Case study: read what happened 7 months after Spotify implemented their Floating Holiday policy for their employees of 90+ nationalities around the world.
32. Honor Diversity in Your Photography, Quotes, and Other Materials
Take a look at the photography your company uses on social media, on your website, in your product catalog – anywhere photography is used. Similarly, take a look at the inspirational quotes that you might share in an e-newsletter or on your office walls. Wherever you are using images and words of other people, examine if these materials accurately reflect our society.
Many retail brands have experienced consumer backlash for primarily using photos of young, slender, white, heterosexual, cisgender individuals. In addition to racial and gender diversity, consider diversity in ability, age, sexual orientation, and gender expression.
This roundup of 11 diverse stock photo resources is a great starting point to expand your diversity and inclusion in digital and print materials.
33. Conduct a Survey to Ask Employees What They Want For Diversity Events For Remote Teams
Not sure what your employees are missing or craving when creating diversity events for remote teams? Ask them!
For example, creating an anonymous survey using a tool like SurveyMonkey is one of the best ways to hear feedback directly from your team. Carefully evaluate the responses you receive, and remember that some employees may feel uncomfortable or even fearful in sharing their feedback.
Does your team want a book club, for example? Or would they rather do a volunteer project together?
It’s important to reassure everyone that their input will remain anonymous and will be taken seriously. You can follow through by sharing the survey results and taking action on suggestions. As you incorporate new initiatives and as employees come and go, consider repeating the survey on an annual basis.
Examples and best practices: start with Quantum Workplace’s list of Diversity & Inclusion survey questions and tips.
34. Honor Important Multicultural Holidays and Occasions: One of our Favorite Virtual DEI Activities
It’s important to remember that not everyone celebrates the same holidays. At the same time, there are ways to honor special occasions together respectfully.
A few holidays and occasions you might want to celebrate with your team include:
- Black History Month (February)
- Women’s History Month (March)
- Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May)
- LGBTQIA+ Pride Month (June)
- Juneteenth (June 19)
- Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
- Indigenous People’s Day (second Monday in October)
To find ideas for honoring all of the occasions mentioned above with your team, explore our Unexpected Virtual Tours blogs on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Frequently Asked Questions about Virtual DEI Activities
What does DEI stand for?
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Let’s explore what each of these words means, as defined by Merriam Webster:
Diversity:
The state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization. Note: “diversity” can also refer to race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, and differing life experiences.
Equity:
Fairness or justice in the way people are treated.
Inclusion:
The act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability)
Why does diversity, equity, and inclusion matter?
Many companies are focusing on DEI activities as a way to create a welcoming, inclusive work environment. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do. Everyone deserves to show up to work as their authentic self and be included, respected, valued, and even celebrated.
Additionally, creating a culture of inclusivity is a financially savvy move. Many studies show that companies comprised of a more diverse staff and board of directors tend to perform better financially.
What types of DEI events work best?
According to Harvard Business Review, DEI efforts work best when managers and leaders are involved from the start. But – how can you begin the conversation? Planning a virtual DEI team building activity is a great way to begin a dialogue and spark conversations.
For the best results, aim for an activity that combines learning with interactive fun. For example, plan a virtual quiz or a challenge where everyone can participate. You’ll avoid “Zoom fatigue” AND create a more engaging session for your team.
Remember, some DEI topics can be incredibly somber or sensitive. Be sure to allow space for thoughtful reflection and even mourning when appropriate.
How can I start planning virtual DEI activities for my team?
Planning a DEI event is easier than you might think! Of course, you can find plenty of DIY activities and suggestions in this blog post.
If you’d rather leave the planning to someone else, then consider hiring Unexpected Virtual Tours to handle the details!
Our virtual experiences are loved by the world’s most successful companies! Our satisfied clients include Google, The Home Depot, UPS, Salesforce, Coca-Cola, and more.
For a virtual DEI experience, pick from topics like Black History Month, Juneteenth, Street Art, and Evolution of Music. Our expert guides will lead your team through interactive fun activities that get everyone learning, building team morale, and reflecting together.
By planning engaging, hands-on virtual DEI activities, you can create a workplace where everyone on your team feels welcome and supported. For engaging events with minimal planning, browse virtual DEI team building activities from Unexpected Virtual Tours!
Located in Atlanta? Check out Unexpected Atlanta Tours & Gifts