There is no shortage of leaders vocalising corporate commitments to DEI. A recent survey of European organisations found that 76% stated DEI as a value or priority area (PwC 2021). At a global level, the amount spent by organisations on DEI initiatives has been estimated at $7.5 billion in 2020 and continues to rise (PR Newswire 2021). Despite this, progress appears slow. The global gender gap is far from closed, with forecasts that it will take 131 years from today to achieve full parity (World Economic Institute 2021). Data on racial disparities, though harder to find, reflect a 30% gap in median annual wages between black and white workers in the United States (McKinsey Global Institute 2021). If organisations are putting both money and mouth into DEI efforts, why is this not translating into improved employee experience?
There are two key reasons which go some way to explaining the feeble progress of DEI efforts:
- A lack of proper diagnosis;
- A lack of follow up.
Lack of proper diagnosis
There has been a tendency for HR professionals and leaders, driven by increasing scrutiny from employees, customers, and investors, to dive straight into setting up DEI initiatives with the aim of showcasing results right away. Progress is measured (and more often than not, marketed across websites and CSR reports) using metrics such as ‘number of employees undertaking DEI trainings’ and ‘number of celebratory events for minority groups organised’, to give some examples. Jumping straight into implementation, despite good intentions to move on DEI as quickly as possible, misses a crucial first step – diagnosing the issue. Every organisation will face a unique DEI challenge, based on its geography, sector, size, business model, culture – the list goes on. For this reason, organisations wanting to seriously tackle DEI must carry out a proper diagnosis to understand the current state of DEI within their organisation. Often this involves a data collection exercise to lay out clearly the existing (mis)representations and (in)equalities across the organisation. Useful DEI data should straddle both the quantitative demographic breakdown of the organisation at all levels and the qualitative experience of inclusion lived by employees. Only when this foundational data is analysed, can the DEI problems facing an organisation be properly articulated and a strategy targeting the root causes developed.
Lack of follow through
Any good DEI strategy requires rigorous follow up. Once again, data plays a key role here in tracking the progress of initiatives and course correcting if they do not appear to be targeting identified issues. Most DEI strategies are likely to be multi-year and benefit from regular refinement as the organisation, and in turn its DEI challenges, evolve. Follow up is also key to demonstrating accountability towards employees, in particular when commitments have been made and employee input has been invited through surveys, focus groups or employee resource groups. Failure to follow up with (arguably) the most important stakeholder in an organisation’s DEI efforts may jeopardise trust in leadership and lead the most affected employees to withdraw from participating in DEI efforts or sharing their experiences with HR. This could compromise the organisation’s ability to measure the impact of its DEI efforts and to effectively direct resources towards improving it.
Effective measurement of progress should focus on the impact of DEI initiatives, rather than the existence of those initiatives in and of themselves. For example, measuring the retention and promotion rates of women in senior positions before and after the implementation of a general maternity leave policy may give a useful indication as to its effectiveness in increasing female participation at senior levels. In another instance, following up on the experiences of employees of colour at regular intervals following a series of diversity trainings may point to the effectiveness of trainings on actual experiences of inclusion. Strong follow up thereby maximises the chances of success of any DEI strategy.
The appetite for organisations to embrace DEI remains strong, for now at least. To yield the positive results that employees, customers and investors are rallying for, it is imperative for DEI efforts to be approached as any other strategic priority would. This approach should include a comprehensive diagnosis of root causes and robust follow up. With these two components, organisations will be much better positioned to win in their DEI efforts, and in turn, create more empowering workplaces for all.
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This article was written by Larissa Machiels, Associate, ESG & Sustainability - Apex Group.
References
PwC (2021) European diversity & inclusion benchmarking survey,
Available at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/people-organisation/global-diversity-and-inclusion-survey/european-report.pdf.
Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (2021) With global spending projected to reach $15.4 billion by 2026, diversity, Equity & Inclusion takes the lead role in the creation of stronger businesses,
World Economic Forum (2022) Global gender gap report 2022,
Available at: https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2022/.
McKinsey Global Institute (2021) The Economic State of Black America: What is and what could be,
Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/the-economic-state-of-black-america-what-is-and-what-could-be.
