How Project Equity applies language justice to benefit businesses and their workers
- Laura Flores
Across the U.S., there’s been a rise in foreign-born workers—especially in industries like construction, transportation, hospitality and manufacturing according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
It’s well documented that a culturally diverse workforce has its benefits and challenges. At the top of the list of challenges is often language barriers. According to Slator research, 49% of global executives surveyed reported financial losses stemming from language barriers.
Poor communication or a lack of communication on the job leads to misunderstandings, errors, poor time management, decreased employee satisfaction, increased conflicts and decreased productivity.
That’s where language justice comes into play. It is a versatile, practical solution that mitigates the risks associated with communication barriers and helps workers who don’t speak the dominant language to thrive.
At Project Equity, we are proud to be able to weave language justice measures directly into our employee ownership transition services to ensure that every employee-owner, regardless of background, can use their voice.
What is language justice?
Per the American Bar Association, language justice is defined as the right “to ensure that all language communities receive systematic and fair treatment and respect for their fundamental language rights.” It provides “access [to] critical services without language barriers [so employees can] live free from linguistic discrimination in education, workplaces, civic participation, and all other contexts.”
It goes beyond language access. Language access refers to simply providing access to materials and access in workers’ native languages. Language justice, on the other hand, means that a whole space is created with non-dominant language speakers’ rights and humanity in mind.
Using language justice benefits employees greatly. According to the American Public Health Association (APHA), “Language justice is imperative not only for the well-being of workers but also for the economic prosperity of the United States. Language justice in training can increase worker safety and, therefore, reduce injuries and fatalities, decrease workers’ compensation claims, and increase worker productivity and morale.”
Other benefits include reduced burnout and stress, an increased sense of belonging, better retention, empowerment and inclusivity.
In other words, applying language justice offers advantages not that dissimilar to those of employee ownership (EO).
Real-life example of language justice and EO
Project Equity recently helped the Watershed Nursery, a leading provider of quality native plant material and restoration services in Northern and Central California, transition into a worker cooperative.
As part of the transition process, we ensured that language justice was a foundation element in this coop’s culture at the Watershed Nursery’s request. The Watershed Nursery wanted this for their workers. This was funded through our national Employee Ownership Catalyst Fund and included translation and interpretation services from experts in workers’ rights, who made sure that the nursery’s Spanish-speaking workers understood all elements of the transition process. All slides were shown in both Spanish and English at the same time, and interpreters translated everything from English into Spanish immediately.
This ensured the Spanish-speaking workers had a voice in the design of the coop and were able to bring their expertise to the process. Some of the Spanish-speaking workers have vast depths of knowledge in agricultural practices that make them invaluable to the business, and the owners and workers alike wanted to make sure those voices were included in the process from the start.
Want to learn more? Read their ownership story.
The power of language justice in employee ownership
Adopting language justice practices helps ensure there is equitable participation in employee ownership among diverse workforces. When workers can seamlessly communicate and share information in multilingual spaces, then they are more likely to exercise the rights and responsibilities of employee ownership. Language justices deepens engagement among employee-owners, strengthening EO culture.
For more information about the impact of employee ownership, check out our impact report or other ownership stories.
