Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) In the Workplace – A Compendium

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe. – Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes, one of the torchbearers of the Harlem Renaissance wrote this about the USA of his times. The great Martin Luther King Jr. laid the foundations for the modern diversity and inclusion movement in America in its true sense, encompassing communities and states across the USA with his fiery speeches. Poets like Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou gave it the power of the written word.

Langston Hughes speaks in the above lines of a country which needs to realize its true self, be true to what it deemed itself to be – the land where everyone is free, where everyone can mould his/her life the way they wish to. The availability of opportunity is strengthened too by the sense of equality. “Equality is in the air we breathe” implies that equality is like the air – ever-present, unchanging, and available to all.

Bringing the Spirit of Diversity and Inclusion to Today

In the modern sense, this definition of “all” includes every citizen of the country, including the marginalized or overlooked sections of society, be it based on race, gender, social status or sexual orientation. The term equality is replaced by “equity”, which relies on bringing about the same “outcomes” for everyone, a shift from just allocating the same resources to everyone. “Inclusion” is about ensuring that every voice is heard, respected and appreciated.

The spirit of diversity, equity, and inclusion spread in the postcolonial world and the now digitally connected world and is something that today’s modern governments, institutions and workplaces cherish. Every source also has its own definition of DEI.

Expanding DEI for clarity

Before we proceed, let us define DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion and present two definitions of it from different sources, one the textbook definition from the faithful dictionary and second, a more practical and working definition from the just and resourceful government.

Dictionary Definition of DEI

A conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.

How the Government Defines DEI?

Diversity

The practice of including the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including underserved communities.

Equity

The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment.

Inclusion

The recognition, appreciation, and use of the talents and skills of employees of all backgrounds.

Accessibility

The design, construction, development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology, programs, and services so that all people, including people with disabilities, can fully and independently use them. Accessibility includes the provision of accommodations and modifications to ensure equal access to employment and participation in activities for people with disabilities, the reduction or elimination of physical and attitudinal barriers to equitable opportunities, a commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities can independently access every outward-facing and internal activity or electronic space, and the pursuit of best practices such as universal design.

Please note that both the above definitions of DEI are valid in its entirety. The dictionary definition is brief. The government has expanded its definition and now also includes Accessibility in its DEIA initiatives, ensuring that the communication is clear and that no group feels underrepresented or left in the dark.

DEI Through Different Corporate Lenses

Corporates have their own definitions of DEI, with some being succinct while others being more expansive. Coca-Cola has a simpler definition of DEI – “Diversity is defined as respecting individuals, valuing differences, and representing consumers and the markets where we do business.”

Dell on the other hand has a more comprehensive one – “Diversity is characterised by similarities and differences, it can be defined more broadly than just race, gender and ethnicity. It’s about diversity of thinking, leadership, skill set and style. Diversity represents a way of doing business that is barrier-free and all-inclusive, allowing the unique ideas, experiences, cultures and backgrounds of all our people to come together for creating the most innovative products and best customer experience.”

Notice that while Coca-Cola has gone for a more concise definition and one that doesn’t define the impact on leadership, skill set or style, the one from Dell is more comprehensive and all-encompassing. Also, the Coca-Cola definition of DEI includes the customers and the markets where the business is done, whereas Dell talks exclusively about the employees. This brings us to the definitions of DEI. Let us look at these definitions now.

DEI in the News: How the DEI Revolution Began?

The shooting of George Floyd by a police officer was a wake-up call for every soul who until then had only dreamed of equal opportunities and rights. Diversity and inclusion became a subject of much debate and marginalized communities came to the fore demanding equality and safety. This affected both corporates as well as the Government, which responded and made accommodations to ensure that every person in the United States is equally represented.  This news made the headlines in the days to come.

C for Change in the C-Suite

A Diversity and Inclusion Chief has been appointed at more than 60 companies after the killing of George Floyd by the police a year ago. This will hopefully speed up the process to the change we want to see.

A Directive that champions the national spirit

President Biden signed an Executive Order to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal workforce. This Executive Order reaffirms that the United States is at its strongest when the Nation’s public servants reflect the full diversity of the American people.

How to Craft Your DEI Vision Statement?

 

When you start your DEI journey, it is easy often to lose track of your main goals and become short-sighted or worry only about immediate business benefits. To combat this, it is necessary to have a long-term vision for your DEI initiatives. In the context of three different entities, it would translate to:

1. Of a place or country that cares about its people “Here people from all backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and heritages are free to express their individuality.”
2. Of a team and culture in an organization “To have a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture, through creating opportunities for equitable training, education, and rewards and recognition for everyone.”
3. Of a company relating to its customers and the world “Our diversity initiatives are reflective of the customers that we serve and united in the objective of creating a healthier world, where every citizen has equal access to the services we provide.”

Please note that when crafting a DEI vision statement in an organization, we need to consider only (2) if DEI initiatives are more employee-centric and (3) also if you are a larger organization and looking at DEI initiatives in larger communities and the world.

Hiring for Diversity: Job Roles

Diversity and Inclusion Specialist/Manager

There are nearly 11000 professionals working as Diversity managers and consultants worldwide. 72% of all such candidates are female and 28% are male, an encouraging split in the hiring share, which makes the hiring pattern quite diverse.

Most of the talent for such roles comes from London, UK, New York Metropolitan Area, and Washington DC-Baltimore Area. Google, Deloitte, Amazon, PwC, and IBM are the organizations hiring such talent. The YoY growth in hiring is very positive at PwC at 37% while it is not very favourable at IBM with a dip of 13%. It is very hard to hire such talent.

Chief of Diversity and Inclusion/Head of Diversity and Inclusion

There are over 6600 professionals worldwide working as Chief of Diversity and Inclusion/Head of Diversity and Inclusion worldwide. Though that doesn’t seem like a great number, 67% of all such candidates are female and 33% are male, which makes the hiring pattern quite diverse.

The top locations for such hiring are New York City Metropolitan Area, Washington DC-Baltimore Area and Greater Boston. The top organizations hiring such talent are Alpha Phi International Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Gamma, EY, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and Eli Lilly and Company. The YoY growth in hiring is very positive at Kappa Kappa Gamma at 425% and moderately so at Eli Lilly and Company at 86% while it is not so great at EY at 0%. The talent is also very hard to hire.

Diversity in hiring: An Example

In the above example of an executive role in Content Marketing, Atkins, the company of choice, clearly highlights that they are “an equal opportunity, drug-free employer committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community – a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop.” This is the crux of diversity at Atkins, and they have described it briefly and beautifully.  In the next three lines “To help embed inclusion for all, from day one, we offer a range of family, friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee networks to support staff from different backgrounds.” Atkins realizes that actions speak louder than words, and so they also cite what they will be doing to ensure inclusion, and that every employee will be a part of the solution from day one. Lastly, they also add a very reassuring line for any candidate, “As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability”.

In the second example from Cisco, they say “We take accountability, bold steps and take difference to heart. Because without diversity of thought and a dedication to equality for all, there is no moving forward.” Cisco here connects diversity and inclusion with empathy, and how it is necessary to maintain diversity of thought and dedication to equality for all for the world to move forward.

They add that they like people with colourful hair, tattoos, pop culture and technology geeks. That’s a wide spectrum of people they promise to accommodate without giving up their interests, another perhaps overlooked aspect of diversity and inclusion.

They also add in the last para that they will ensure that individuals with disabilities will be provided reasonable accommodation to participate in job application or interview process and even further be provided support to perform essential job functions. This is very reassuring and promotes a culture of belonging for everyone who joins Cisco.

Moving from activity to outcomes: The challenges

 

For more than decades together, DEI has been a set of activities without a specific goal or outcomes. This must change. DEI must be outcome-based and must create a social impact on a global level, becoming a topic of conversation among Gen Z, the future employees in the Big 5 and other prestigious companies promoting DEI within their four walls.

More emphasis on solving for the individual rather than the system

Solving DEI issues at the individual level is a great step, however unconscious biases in the people and in the groups that are formed within can hurt the overall culture at the workplace and your efforts may go in vain if you do not focus on the larger picture.

Disconnect between DEI initiatives and business goals

There is a positive correlation between diversity in a company and the innovation and profit that is made possible in the company. Thus, diversity or inclusion goal must be considered one of the business goals itself. Such an alignment will stress the importance of diversity and inclusion in the organization and invite a positive sentiment amongst board members and other stakeholders of the company.

How to Measure DEI at the Workplace?

 

When measuring DEI at the workplace, there are several metrics that you can consider. Here we present seven of the top metrics. You must endeavor to understand the following metrics across a range of demographics which include different races, genders, sexual orientations, and interests in your company. We also present the questions that you can ask in relation to each metric, which will provide more clarity about how well DEI initiatives are doing in your company.

• Attrition

Employees choose to leave the company when they lack a sense of belonging. Attrition is a great measure of how good/bad your DEI efforts are. Some of the questions you can ask are: What was the reason suggested during the exit interview for leaving the company? Were the people who left happy with their manager? Was there a different picture provided during the process of hiring? Was the employee unhappy with the DEI policies in place and can something be done about it?

• Performance

An employee’s performance is directly linked to the levels of morale and satisfaction in the job, and a manager’s feedback can have a decisive impact on it. Some of the questions you can ask to understand how performance relates to DEI are: Was the manager providing constructive feedback to improve performance? Does employee have the freedom to discuss performance issues within the team? Was all training and education provided to the employee, and was there any discrimination based on gender, race or sexual orientation.

• Promotions

A promotion is something everybody loves. Stagnation in a job role is a nightmare come true for anyone. When considering how promotions are impacting your DEI efforts, the questions you can ask are: Are promotions more prominent at certain levels and not so at other levels? Are members of certain demographics more likely to get promoted than others? Are certain departments in the same company seeing more promotions than others? Are people of a certain race or gender seeing more chances of a promotion?

• Leadership Pipeline

Preparing your diverse and special needs employees for job roles is very rewarding and presents an ethical and just face of your company to the stakeholders and the customers. When understanding how the leadership pipeline impacts DEI, the questions you can ask are: How many diverse people are there in the leadership pipeline? When can they be expected to get to leadership roles, Is the management in favor of this change and working towards it, is the work culture conducive to leaders from diverse backgrounds and do they command respect?

• Employment Pipeline

Your business could hinge on the success of new recruits, especially if it is a small or medium-sized business. Some of the questions you should ask to gauge the impact of the employment pipeline are: Of all the people offered the job, how many of them accept? Of the people who rejected, how many of them felt that they lacked representation in the company? Of all the employees that take up the offer, how many belong to a particular gender or race? How many of those employees who cleared interviews were of a particular gender or race?

• Pay Equity

Haven’t you heard, “The way to an employee’s heart is through his/her wallet.” No, we totally made that up, but generous pay slips make happier and more productive employees. Are people happy with the salaries they are receiving? Are people being paid commensurate with the work they put in or the results they have achieved? Are people of a certain gender, race or sexual orientation being paid less?

• Inclusion

Finally, inclusion itself is a very important metric. The questions you can ask to understand its impact on DEI are: How inclusive do people feel in the workplace? Do supervisors lack inclusive behaviors? Does everyone have the same say when it comes to policies and workplace issues? Are people of all genders and races able to work without any concern?

How to improve these metrics – Tactical Overview

This checklist will help you prioritize, embed and broaden the diversity and inclusion efforts in your company. It will give you a step-by-step process on how to build a more diverse and inclusive organization, where every employee has a shared sense of belonging and acceptance. The process is divided into seven stages.

Build…

 

• A rationale for your DEI vision and align it to organizational goals. Then put the vision and the strategy online on your website and welcome employee feedback.
• ERGs to facilitate discussion and for better engagement with the employees.
• Collaboration within the team looking at it from a lens of equity.
• A dedicated structure and budget to support your DEI initiatives and stand by them.
• A work culture that promotes good work-life balance for everyone and provides flexible work arrangements.

Provide…

• Operations managers and leaders with good reference tools for DEI.
• Special assistance to employees with special needs.
• Employees with mentors who respect diversity and inclusion.
• Coaching in DEI and hold safety awareness meetings among employees.
• To the diverse communities around you, building a spirit of philanthropy.

Collect…

 

• Self-identification data from your employees on public websites and see how many of them comfortably do so.
• Data on safety records, innovation, absenteeism, number of applicants in hard-to-fill jobs, number of diverse candidates receiving promotions or bonuses, and establish a connection with DEI initiatives.
• Data from employee experience surveys and make sure that under-represented groups get a focus. Use these surveys to initiate conversations to bring about good change.

Monitor…

• Gender diversity at all levels within the company and at the board levels and hold leadership accountable for it.
• Recruitment and talent development processes through the lens of DEI.
• Promotion to higher levels of leadership for DEI skills and competency.
• Skill-based requirements in recruitment and revise them to hire more diverse candidates.
• Biased behaviour and challenge it on grounds of DEI

Review…

• Progress of managers in the organization and ascertain if they are biased. If so, then try to establish a conversation with the concerned people and try to resolve it.
• The DEI policy and the practices within the organization. Make sure everyone in the organization is happy and feels included.
• Communication ON DEI policies to all employees and remove any barriers present for those with special needs.
• Harassment complaints and be proactive and prudent when it comes to taking action.

Inspire…

• Leaders to take the lead and talk on issues in diversity, equity and inclusion. Set an example of inclusive behaviour through your leaders.
• Employees to achieve greater levels of confidence and competence in DEI, to drive organizational growth.
• Employees to share their personal stories around diversity and inclusion and use it to drive change.
• Employees, managers and teams to share examples of benefits derived from DEI, direct or indirect, with everyone.

Celebrate…

• The achievements of employees who face economic, social and other challenges.
• The spirit of DEI in the company with frequent meet-ups and get-togethers of diverse individuals.
• Leaders and managers who have diverse teams and give them recognition for their contribution to DEI.

Some inputs sourced From Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Benchmarks:  Standards for Organizations Around the World © 2021, Nene Molefi, Julie O’Mara, and Alan Richter. Used with permission. All Rights Reserved.

Link between DEI and sustainability

Sustainability has expanded in scope from organizations caring for the environment to including human rights, work conditions and social responsibilities too. Diversity, equity and inclusion might seem like a subgroup of sustainability from such a reading, but it is not. This is because DEI also considers such things such as pay equity and compensations, which necessarily does not come under the umbrella of sustainability.

DEI is also broadening its scope to encompass companies, communities and independent groups. In the cases of both sustainability and DEI, the fight is for representation. In the first that of the environment and the human cause and in the second, that of human diversity. Both also significantly contribute to business growth. Sustainability and DEI are connected:

1. Inclusive leaders can drive change, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, helping to battle worldwide issues, such as climate change.
2. More diverse the company is, the more creative and independent suggestions there are from its employees to reach ESG goals.
3. When inclusivity moves the needle toward sustainability, it will get the support of all stakeholders in an organization including members of the board, who may be ready to invest more time and money in the organization.

Examples of DEI Initiatives in Top Companies

‘She’ doesn’t stoop to conquer auto giants

Luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz has mandated that half of all new recruits in the year 2023 will be women. Tata Motors is also focusing on gender diversity at the shopfloor, with 25% of all new recruits being women, according to the CHRO, Ravindra Kumar GP.

Women take ‘pride’ in leadership in TCS

Gopinathan, on stepping down from a leadership role in TCS, the largest IT services company in India, attested that the company today has nearly 200,000 women employees. This comes up to nearly 35% of the total six lakh employees who are there with TCS.

Google ‘searching’ for success in equitable learning

Google has been working with several communities in the Asia Pacific providing them learning in offline formats, breaking the barriers of caste and religion. SwaTaleem, an organization recently received grant funding as a part of the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls for undertaking such activities. They teach girls aged 10 to 16 years from rural and remote areas life skills and empower them with digital and financial awareness.

Letting everyone take a bite of the Apple

Apple expanded its Community Education Initiative, providing learning and skill development opportunities in nearly 600 communities. Focusing on equity, Apple today works with 150 educational partners to provide opportunities for upskilling for a wide audience.

Microsoft remains positively in support of the LGBTQIA+ community

This past year the Employee Resource Group (ERG) GCR GLEAM created impact by creating awareness and empowering the LGBTQIA+ community in Greater China. Through an online panel discussion with leaders from the LGBTQIA+ communities in Hong Kong, Mainland China etc., it educated LGBTQIA+ employees in how to grow personally and professionally.

Future of DEI

The access to high tech gadgets such as mobiles and body worn cameras has brought about more and more instances of racial and gender abuse to light by relaying what’s happening in the here and now. People can no longer pretend that nothing’s happening and must face the uncomfortable truth head on. Instances of racial and gender abuse have been happening even in the past, but they never were a publicised as they are now. A splash on social media or a clip sent to news outlets could be devastating for organizations or individuals involved.

Because of this, more and more importance is being given to DEI issues and companies are talking about internal differences before they go external, trying to sort things out, no matter how uncomfortable the talk. A lot of companies now and many more in the future have DEI counsellors who help people who have difficulty adjusting to the norms of DEI. Now let us look at two focus points for DEI in the future.

A better definition of DEI

People can belong to more than one of the identified groups and based on their interests may have other responsibilities as well, which makes them even more different. But when DEI programs are developed and ERGs are formed, then employees are grouped into one of these categories. Such strict classification is not necessarily practical.

A black employee can be bisexual and work part time as a caregiver for the elderly or a white employee who is excluded from the scope of DEI may have a slightly debilitating disability that does not allow him to function to the best of his capability. How do you better define DEI to include diverse groups at the same time and can you develop a DEI policy in special context of the workplace?

A data-driven approach to DEI

Data is the fuel that drives the digitally connected world around us. It establishes identities, creates relationships, and enables robust decision-making. A data-driven approach to DEI can help companies focus on non-traditional identities for their employees and can speed up the process of DEI adoption in the company.

It can also help increase the accuracy of certain HR processes when viewing them through a DEI lens, allowing employers to contextualize and personalize experiences for their employees. If an Asian employee has been on a succession plan for leadership at the organization, then the company can plan education and training programs in not just the job role but for leadership roles also for the employee.

Closing Words

 

DEI is more than a buzzword in the corporate world today. It is no longer a meaningless metric that can be ignored circumstantially. Companies such as Coca Cola and Dell have diversity and inclusion statements that glorify the visions they have for DEI in their companies. Automakers like Mercedes Benz and Tata Motors have mandated that they will be employing more women in their organizations while software giants like Google are contributing to the larger communities by educating and empowering the less fortunate.

A company that wishes to be fully supportive of DEI must use metrics such as attrition, performance, and diverse people in leadership pipelines, asking the right questions, finding the right stakeholders and putting forward the right solutions.

Undoubtedly DEI today enshrines the rights, living and working conditions of people, sustains their growth and most importantly brings down that great wall before them and lets them dream, beyond boundaries, letting themselves be more productive and innovative, contributing in meaningful ways to the growth of the company. And the future is bright for remote communities and disconnected individuals all around the world, thanks to the proliferation of DEI and the good people behind it driving change through change.