Types of Diversity Training in the Workplace

Workplace diversity training is no longer optional — it’s essential for building inclusive, high-performing teams. At its core, diversity training equips employees with the language, awareness, and practical tools to work across differences and foster a sense of belonging for all.

But not all diversity programs are created equal. Some organizations need to focus on baseline awareness, while others are ready for advanced strategies like belonging training and anti-racism workshops. The most effective approach layers several types of training to address compliance, skill-building, leadership development, and long-term culture change.

In this article, we’ll explore the major types of workplace diversity training — from foundational programs to specialized leadership development and ongoing strategies. We’ll also provide guidance on choosing the right approach for your team.

Table of Contents

• Foundational Types of Diversity Training

• Skill-Based Diversity Training

• Why Offer Multiple Types of Diversity Training?

• Leadership & Specialized Diversity Training

• Advanced or Ongoing Approaches

• Choosing the Right Types of Training for Your Team

• How Refram52 Supports Diversity Training

Foundational Types of Diversity Training

Foundational training helps employees build a shared understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These programs set the tone for a respectful workplace culture.

Workplace Diversity Training

This training introduces core DEI concepts, providing a shared vocabulary around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity Resources notes that starting with baseline education helps prevent misunderstandings and establishes common ground for future initiatives.

Unconscious Bias Training

Unconscious bias training helps employees recognize hidden mental shortcuts that affect hiring, promotions, and daily interactions. As Culture Amp highlights, effective programs teach strategies to slow down decision-making and minimize bias in real time.

Microaggressions Training

Microaggressions — those subtle, often unintentional slights — can create a hostile environment over time. Training helps employees identify these behaviors and practice responding appropriately, often through role-play scenarios that encourage real-time skill-building.

Cultural Competency Training

In a global workforce, misunderstandings can arise from differences in communication style or cultural values. Cultural competency training builds awareness and respect, reducing conflict and improving collaboration across teams.

Religious Sensitivity Training

Religious sensitivity training helps organizations navigate faith-related considerations such as scheduling, attire, and dietary restrictions. By offering thoughtful accommodations, it ensures employees can observe their beliefs while business operations remain inclusive and effective.

Skill-Based Diversity Training

While foundational programs build awareness, skill-based training equips employees with actionable tools. As InStride points out, skill-based training is hands-on and scenario-driven, helping employees put concepts into practice immediately.

Training Type	Purpose	Audience	Expected Outcome
Inclusive Communication	Build awareness of unconscious bias in language, foster empathy, and teach employees how to adapt communication styles across cultures, identities, and abilities. Includes active listening, pronoun use, and inclusive meeting practices.	All employees (staff, faculty, managers, executives)	Clearer, more respectful communication that minimizes misunderstandings, encourages collaboration, and builds stronger cross-functional teamwork.
Bystander Intervention	Provide employees with concrete tools and scripts for recognizing microaggressions, bias incidents, or harassment, and intervening safely (direct, distract, delegate, delay methods).	All employees	A safer, more accountable workplace culture where employees feel empowered to speak up, reducing incidents of bias and increasing psychological safety.
Accommodating Diversity	Review and update policies, facilities, and work arrangements to meet diverse needs (e.g., ADA accessibility, religious accommodations, flexible schedules). Includes training managers on compliance requirements and equitable decision-making.	HR professionals, managers, team leads	Improved accessibility, higher employee satisfaction, and a demonstrated commitment to equity—leading to stronger retention and reduced risk of compliance violations.

Why Offer Multiple Types of Diversity Training?

Offering just one training program can leave major gaps. A multi-layered approach helps you:

• Compliance and Legal Protection Meet anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training requirements, reducing liability risks.

• Culture Change and Inclusion Go beyond compliance to build a workplace where inclusion is part of daily operations.

• Employee Retention and Engagement Employees who feel respected are more engaged and less likely to leave.

• Building Trust with Diverse Clients/Customers Teams that understand diverse perspectives are better equipped to serve diverse markets.

Leadership & Specialized Diversity Training

Once employees have a solid foundation, leaders need targeted development to model inclusion from the top. Leadership-focused training helps managers move beyond awareness to actively shape equitable policies and decision-making processes. This approach ensures inclusion becomes embedded in the organization’s culture, not just an individual effort.

Inclusive Leadership Training

Research from BMC Psychology shows that inclusive leadership improves employee well-being and engagement. This type of training teaches leaders how to distribute opportunities fairly, remove barriers, and recognize the value of diverse perspectives. As a result, teams experience higher trust, better collaboration, and greater innovation.

LGBTQ+ Allyship Training

LGBTQ+ allyship training gives employees and managers the language, awareness, and confidence to support LGBTQ+ colleagues. Participants learn about inclusive terminology, common workplace challenges, and strategies to create safe, affirming spaces. This training helps reduce discrimination while building a culture of respect and acceptance.

Neurodiversity Training

Neurodiversity training raises awareness of conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia and reframes them as strengths rather than deficits. Participants learn how to adapt communication styles, workflows, and hiring practices to support neurodiverse employees. This creates a more accessible workplace and helps organizations benefit from diverse ways of thinking.

Anti-Harassment & Anti-Discrimination Training

Anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training keeps organizations compliant with local, state, and federal regulations. It also sets clear behavioral expectations, explains reporting processes, and reinforces accountability. When done well, it helps create a safer and more respectful workplace for everyone.

Anti-Racism Training

Anti-racism training goes beyond addressing individual bias by examining systemic inequities and institutional practices. Employees are equipped with tools to recognize, discuss, and dismantle barriers that impact marginalized groups. This training fosters a culture of advocacy and continuous improvement in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Advanced or Ongoing Approaches

Advanced strategies help move inclusion from a program to a permanent part of company culture. These initiatives keep DEI top-of-mind and support long-term behavior change.

Belonging Training

Belonging training helps create a supportive and inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas and being their authentic selves. Research by Patil et al. (2023) found that teams with high psychological safety reported greater team learning, collaboration, and efficacy — all critical drivers of workplace belonging and trust.Microaggressions Training (Advanced)Advanced microaggressions training explores nuanced and intersectional scenarios that can undermine inclusion. Programs like those highlighted in a systematic review of microaggression-focused interventions show that participants gain both awareness and practical strategies for addressing these situations constructively. This type of training helps employees respond in real time, fostering a safer and more respectful workplace culture.

Ongoing Training & Development 

Ongoing training uses microlearning, gamification, and mobile-friendly modules to keep concepts fresh year-round. According to Training Industry, breaking DEI training into small, actionable microlessons significantly improves engagement and retention. This consistent reinforcement turns DEI principles into everyday habits and makes inclusion part of the organization’s DNA.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are peer-led networks that create meaningful opportunities for connection, advocacy, and policy influence. When structured effectively, ERGs strengthen workplace belonging and drive employee engagement by giving individuals a safe space to share experiences and collaborate on solutions. According to Chronus, ERGs help build inclusive cultures by increasing trust, improving retention, and ensuring diverse voices are represented in company decision-making.

Choosing the Right Types of Training for Your Team

Choosing the right diversity training isn’t about fulfilling a requirement — it’s about aligning programs with your team’s unique needs and long-term goals. Here’s a step-by-step process to guide your decision:

1. Assess Culture and Gaps: Start with employee surveys, focus groups, and diversity audits to understand current strengths and pain points. Look for patterns in engagement data, turnover rates, and employee feedback.

1. Identify Compliance vs. Culture-Building Needs: Determine whether your primary focus is meeting legal obligations (e.g., anti-harassment training) or driving cultural transformation — or ideally, both. This ensures your efforts create lasting impact rather than serving as a one-time initiative.

2. Match Training Types to Goals: Pair training content with your objectives. For example, if your goal is better team collaboration, focus on inclusive communication and cultural competency training; if you’re addressing equity in promotions, prioritize unconscious bias and anti-racism training.

3. Choose Delivery Formats: Select delivery methods that fit your workforce — in-person workshops for interactive discussions, digital modules for flexible learning, and microlearning for continuous reinforcement. Mixing formats ensures higher participation and knowledge retention.

How Refram52 Supports Diversity Training

At Refram52, we believe effective diversity training should be more than a one-time event — it should create measurable, lasting impact. Our research-backed approach combines behavioral science, case studies, and real-world data to ensure employees don’t just complete training, but actually change how they think and work. By offering modular programs, we make it easy for organizations to start small, expand as needs evolve, and scale training across departments and locations.

We also focus on aligning training with both compliance requirements and culture-building goals. This dual approach allows companies to reduce risk while fostering genuine inclusion and engagement.

Our offerings include:

• Modular design for scalability – Customize training paths for teams, managers, and leaders.

• Evidence-based tools – Programs are grounded in research and proven to shift workplace behaviors.

• Long-term integration focus – Follow-up tools and reinforcement cycles keep concepts top of mind.

• Alignment with compliance and culture goals – Meet legal requirements while building an inclusive, innovative culture.

Workplace diversity training is more than a one-time workshop — it’s a strategic investment in your culture and your people. From foundational awareness programs to leadership development and ongoing ERGs, there are at least 15 types of training that can help your organization grow stronger and more inclusive.

Next steps for your team:

• Assess your current DEI gaps

• Combine foundational and advanced programs for maximum impact

• Partner with Refram52 to build a customized training plan

By choosing the right mix of training types, you’re not just checking a compliance box — you’re building a workplace where everyone can thrive.

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Sources 

1. 5 Types of Diversity Training in the Workplace — Diversity Resources: describes types like unconscious bias, microaggressions, cultural competency, religious sensitivity, etc.  https://www.diversityresources.com/types-of-diversity-training-in-the-workplace/ 

2. 8 types of DEI training to implement within your company — InStride: gives a more expanded list of DEI trainings and their purposes.  https://www.instride.com/insights/diversity-inclusion-training/

3. Chronus. (2023, August 15). How ERGs create belonging in the workplace. Chronus. https://chronus.com/blog/how-ergs-create-belonging-in-the-workplacehttps://www.instride.com/insights/diversity-inclusion-training/?utm_source

4. Fu, R., Varghese, J., & Leff, S. S. (2024). A systematic review of microaggression-focused interventions: Outcomes and best practices. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241306349

5. Inclusive Leadership and Innovative Performance: A Multi-Level Investigation — article from PMC: shows evidence that inclusive leadership improves team commitment, performance, etc. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9261735/

6. Diversity Training: What Works and What Doesn’t — Culture Amp: looks at different formats of workplace diversity training and how to design effective programs. Culture Amp  https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/diversity-training 

7. Inclusive Leadership and Employee Workplace Well-being: The Role of Vigor and Supervisor Developmental Feedback — BMC Psychology: research connecting inclusive leadership behaviors to employee well-being. https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-024-02029-5

8. Liu, Y., Fang, Y., Hu, L., Chen, N., Li, X., & Cai, Y. (2024). Inclusive leadership and employee workplace well-being: The role of vigor and supervisor developmental feedback. BMC Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02029-5 

9. reframe52 LLC. (2022). Our services. Retrieved from https://www.reframe52.com/services 

10. Sarabia, M., & Evans, D. (2023). A systematic review of microaggression-focused interventions: Outcomes and best practices. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(3), 678–693. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241306349

11. Training Industry. (2024, March 12). Microlessons: The key to DEI training that works. Training Industry. https://trainingindustry.com/articles/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/microlessons-the-key-to-dei-training-that-works/

12. Toll, E. (2024, February 26). 5 types of diversity training in the workplace. Diversity Resources.https://www.diversityresources.com/types-of-diversity-training-in-the-workplace/ (diversityresources.com)