Last year was the first time we took a closer look at diversity within the governance profession. The data revealed trends that many people might have expected but had no hard evidence to support/back up. In truth we did not expect the data set to change all that much as identity is not impacted by a change in market conditions. The analysis that Baljit Kaur (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist) provided last year therefore remains relevant to the data we received this year – we have therefore decided to republish her overview and advice on what strategies to employ to support DEI within your organisation.
The governance profession is not alone in its pursuit to attract, train and retain a diverse workforce and anecdotal evidence suggests that the trends are slowly moving in the right direction. Governance teams recognise that if they are to authentically promote DEI policies at Board level and across the wider business, they too must be representative of that change.
As such we have noticed that recruitment practices have changed over the past few years and many clients insist on strategies that intentionally cultivate a diverse, balanced and inclusive recruitment process, one that embraces different abilities, genders, ethnicities, skills and people of all identities. Provided this is maintained and respected, we expect some of the gender/ethnicity/disability imbalance seen in our data continually improve over the next few years.
Data Trends/Insights
The key trends noted from the data, in the majority of the sectors surveyed, include the following:
- The majority of the workforce is white. Much of the DEI work undertaken by organisations focuses on gender and little effort has generally been applied to other areas of diversity such as ethnicity, disability and other underrepresented groups.
- Minoritised groups are underrepresented in leadership positions, particularly at Group level. This situation aligns with many other sectors and professions where women and minoritised groups are still being overlooked for top leadership positions.
- Disabled individuals are underrepresented across the workforce and particularly at senior levels. A greater number of individuals have opted to mark ‘Prefer not to say’ suggesting that many are still not prepared to answer questions about the often invisible aspects of identity such as disability and neurodiversity. Organisations need to create psychologically safe environments where everyone feels valued, all identities are celebrated and individual differences are embraced.
- Those that identify as LGBTQ+ are underrepresented in the sectors surveyed. More individuals have opted to mark the ‘Prefer not to say’ category compared to questions on gender and ethnicity. This requires organisations not only to ask about sexual orientation, but also to establish an environment where employees feel safe to answer honestly.
“Inclusion and fairness in the workplace… is not simply the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do..”
Alexis Herman
Top 10 DEI Strategies
- Leadership Commitment: Ensure that senior leadership is fully committed to diversity and inclusion efforts. Their support will set the tone for the entire organisation.
- Inclusive Policies: Develop and implement inclusive policies that promote diversity at all levels of the organisation. These policies should address hiring, promotion, compensation, and employee development.
- Diverse Hiring Practices: Review and adjust your hiring practices to attract a diverse pool of candidates. Use anonymous recruitment techniques to reduce unconscious bias during the initial stages of hiring.
- Unconscious Bias Training: Provide regular training to employees, especially those involved in hiring and management, to recognise and mitigate unconscious biases that can affect decision-making.
- Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): Establish employee resource groups that cater to different affinity groups (e.g., women, LGBTQ+, ethnicities) to provide a platform for networking, support, and idea sharing.
- Mentorship and Sponsorship: Implement mentorship and sponsorship programs that connect employees from underrepresented groups with senior leaders who can guide and advocate for their career growth.
- Inclusive Language and Communication: Foster inclusive communication by using, for example, gender-neutral language and promoting awareness of cultural sensitivities. Avoid assumptions and stereotypes in internal and external communications.
- Flexible Work Policies: Create flexible work arrangements that accommodate different lifestyles and needs, such as remote work options, flexible hours, and parental leave.
- Equal Pay and Opportunity: Regularly review compensation structures to ensure there are no gender or minority-based pay gaps. Also, provide equal opportunities for training, advancement, and leadership roles.
- Measurement and Accountability: Set measurable diversity and inclusion goals, regularly track progress, and hold leadership accountable for achieving these goals. Make adjustments as needed to ensure continuous improvement.
In some sectors (Insurance & Small Companies), there is a 100% male apprentice intake. The need to create opportunities for apprentices from a more diverse talent pool will be necessary to ensure a balanced workforce.
Strategies
The data highlights that whilst progress is being made, there is a need for further action. The following strategies support organisations progress in the DEI space.
Link DEI to the business strategy – DEI is an integral part of business strategy and organisational goals. A holistic, co-ordinated DEI strategy that has clear aims and objectives, a defined implementation plan and measurable outputs ensures meaningful progression.
The critical role of leadership – It is critical that the organisation’s leaders are involved from the outset and show their ongoing commitment to DEI strategies. They must be role models, champion change, ensure the relevant policies, practices and metrics are in place, and effectively communicate the importance of DEI.
Collect and analyse DEI data – an intersectional approach to the use of DEI data (a range of equality and socio-economic data) supports evidence based decisions about where and how to invest resources to attract and retain talent, increase engagement, remove barriers to career progression, report pay gaps, and improve the delivery of day-to-day services, for example. Such an approach helps achieve equity – creating transparency, increasing fairness, and promoting access.
Seek qualitative evidence about the organisational culture and the employee experience to assess the inclusivity of the organisation. This can be collected through staff focus groups, employee resource groups, DEI councils/committees or open text responses to DEI related survey questions.
“Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business statistically outperform their peers.”
Josh Bersin
Learning and development that delivers sustainable behavioural outcomes – Adopt a programmatic learning and development approach, using both formal and informal learning interventions, rather than a ‘sheep dip’ approach – done once for reasons of compliance. A continuous process of raising knowledge and awareness of what DEI means for the organisation and why it is important will shift behavioural and systemic barriers and enable more informed and constructive conversations in the workplace.
To affect diversity, make Bias awareness mandatory for everyone involved in recruitment, performance management, reward and promotions. Biases can lead to quick judgments and assessments of people and situations based on background, cultural environment and experiences. This results in decisions which positively favour people that ‘fit’ (‘people like us’).
Broaden your talent pool – Nepotistic recruitment attitudes, narrow attraction strategies and the deep seated implicit thought processes unknowingly guide our attitudes and decisions to make subjective and un-meritocratic decisions.
Have you reviewed your current processes and policies for systemic unconscious bias? Are you varying how and where you’re doing your outreach? Are images and language used inclusive? Are you promoting agile working and meaningful benefits? Are you anonymising first-stage shortlisting? Do you analyse the conversion to interview and offer stages? Do you seek interview panels that are as diverse as possible? Do you check for biased language? At apprentice level, do you profile female and minority ethnic apprentices as role models?
To tackle under representation of minoritised groups at higher levels of an organisation, identify high potential employees from underrepresented groups and prepare them for senior leadership positions through mentoring and sponsorship programmes. Leaders in particular need to become more aware of their unconscious biases and understand how easy it is to misrecognise and categorise people. It is this that often determines how talent is managed in an organisation – who you invest in, who you listen to, and who you develop and promote. Managers can have fixed ideas about the kind of person needed to do a job – or the design of a job, or the way in which a job should be done – usually based on how it’s been done in the past.
Conclusion
Equitable DEI policy and practice means creating an environment where individuals feel welcome can do their best work and thrive. Employees who don’t feel like they belong are less engaged and less productive. By creating diverse workforces and healthier cultures, employees will be able to better engage with their customers, understand their needs and provide excellence in customer service.
“Brand is a promise to a customer and culture is how you deliver on that brand promise”.