Why Diversity Should Still Be Seen As An Outcome Not A Value
Diversity has become the benchmark in determining if a company is a good one or not. If a company has diversity as a value, surely it must mean that they accelerating change?
Sadly not. A ‘diverse’ workforce will only be achieved through equitable and specific practice.
The truth around values is that they are often aspirational, difficult to translate in practice and for the most part forgotten. If employees were to be asked how their company has expressed their values in D&I as part of daily business most would probably struggle outside of answering we have hired a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer or we have had a series of trainings.
When any business makes a pivot in strategy, they don’t do it piecemeal, but they approach it with what I call an ‘ecosystem lens’. They look at all parts of the business, they make best and worst-case scenarios, and more than that they go deep into the infrastructure and governance that supports these systems.
This should be no different with D&I. Much to the chagrin of many, the history of the workplace is by nature exclusive, which means that only by addressing systemic issues such as the impacts of racism or the patriarchy, can there ever be the hope of achieving long-term success. Easy ways around governance and best practice would be the eradication of Ethnicity and the Gender Pay Gap. How are women and women of color supported through the complaints process? Is the end result, that the offender gets to stay because they generate a lot of profits? Does your culture advocate for Black people, but none are seen to be at the table?
There is D&I fatigue and it is not being taken seriously in real terms despite news coverage. It has become a nice thing to do, which has allowed far too many companies to say a lot without doing a lot.
The Lean-In & McKinsey Women in the Workplace report has shown that there have been no improvements in the workplace for Black & Latina women, despite the improvements that have been touted and the statements that have been made. Following our Closing the Chasm Report: Changing with Workplace for Black Women Research, we received confirmation that DEI initiatives were not working for Black women because they lacked the necessary specificity in dealing with their issues.
A diverse company can be superficially manipulated by hiring candidates, or in some cases reducing the size of boards which automatically increases the quotas of women. On the surface when the numbers are requested then they look better. It is not indicative of the culture.
The approach to D&I in a silo will only get us so far if we don’t push to challenge the system and accept discomfort as part of the growth process. Further to this having it as an outcome creates the flexibility to embrace the nuance of diversity’s meaning, for example, it is not expressed the same way in Germany in comparison to the U.K.
For companies with several European entities, the approach cannot be one size fits all, but rather the question ‘what is the face of diversity here and how do we get there?’
Addressing systemic issues also means questioning ‘why?’. Having a homogenous team doesn’t happen by accident but by design. Whether it is through hiring because of “cultural fit” or because the barriers to entry have not been explicitly acknowledged or addressed.
The short answer is changing the governance, which also changes the culture. Easier said than done perhaps, but it significantly increases the chances of success.
