Why is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion so important?
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is not just another acronym, the latest trend or buzzword. In fact, DEI has been around a lot longer than that, all the way back to 1961, when John F. Kennedy established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. This was just the beginning.
Leaping forward to today, the benefits are huge for organisations that choose to incorporate DEI into their strategies and everyday business practices. In McKinsey’s 2020 report: “Diversity Wins” research proved that “Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 25 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile,” as well as “36 percent likelihood of outperformance on EBIT margin for ethnic and cultural diversity."
It’s no surprise that having broader perspectives leads to better innovation and decision making. Mirroring the market via your team helps you to understand your customers’ needs better. Having the ability to attract the best talent to your business, develop them and provide them with opportunities to contribute will lead to better engagement and higher levels of retention, saving you significant amounts of time and money. The business case for DEI is strong and is backed up by extensive research on the impact that its making.
When incorporating DEI into your business, my extensive change management experience, transformational coaching practices and vast knowledge of driving culture breakthroughs creates the perfect mix for successful and sustainable results.
What does it really mean?
We are hearing more and more about DEI but it’s important to really understand what all the aspects mean, separately and together.
Diversity acknowledges all the ways people differ race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs and more.
Equity is often used interchangeably with equality, but there’s a core difference: where equality is a system in which each individual is offered the same opportunities regardless of circumstance, equity distributes resources based on needs. We live in a disproportionate society, and equity tries to correct its imbalance by creating more opportunities for people who have historically had less access.
Inclusion is about diversity in practice. It’s the act of welcoming, supporting, respecting, and valuing all individuals and groups.
In addition to DEI, we are starting to hear more about:
Belonging. This is when employees feel that they truly belong at work, they feel more connected and committed. How people feel, and whether they feel as though they belong, is truly the key to DEI and human connection.
How i can help
I help organisations to understand the value of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and show them how they can, and why they must, fully integrate it into their business practices. There is a misconception that saying that you are diverse, equitable and inclusive, or introducing “stand alone” or one-off initiatives is enough. Research proves however, that this is not the case, and in fact can cause more harm than good. We need to create organisations where people don’t only talk about DEI, but they show it, feel it and live it, especially during the moments that matter, like hiring, onboarding, promotions, change management, performance reviews, feedback sessions etc. We must put actions behind our words, and integrate DEI into our vision, mission and values to be truly successful.