Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are interdependent concepts. As mutually reinforcing principles they work to enhance workplace cultures and boost employee performance.
As either a business owner or HR manager, it’s vital that you understand what DEI means. Recognizing its definitions can help explain its relevance for your company.
Definitions
Diversity, equity and inclusion are terms commonly used in the workplace to describe principles designed to create an inclusive work environment. Diversity initiatives enable organisations to leverage employee perspectives for more creative problem-solving approaches.
Diversity encompasses an array of identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion disability sexual orientation socioeconomic status education marital status language physical appearance among others. Diversity also covers varying ideas perspectives and values.
Equally, equity refers to meeting communities where they are and allocating resources based on needs for equal outcomes for all community members. Equity also encompasses addressing historic and current inequalities that have created disadvantageous groups in society.
Equity in the workplace encompasses belonging, which means treating individuals as equals and making them feel like they belong within a team or organization. To accomplish this goal, programs such as unconscious bias training and inclusivity leadership training may be implemented to foster an environment where diversity thrives and ownership feels shared among employees is fostered within diverse workforces.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are not simply buzzwords; they represent an ongoing awareness of differences that contribute to power and privilege imbalances and discrimination. Furthermore, diverse communities and workplaces tend to be stronger, richer and more sustainable than ones which knowingly or passively exclude members who differ.
Discrimination refers to any unequal treatment of members of a particular group based on conscious or unconscious bias that favors one group over another on grounds such as race, ethnicity, gender, economic class, disability status or sexual orientation. Discrimination is closely tied with privilege – an unearned social power given unto a member of one of these groups via benefits, entitlements or privileges in society.
Equity and inclusion refers to meeting individuals where they are, while providing them with opportunities for success based on their abilities. This can involve creating an inclusive workplace culture, conducting an efficient recruitment and hiring process, or providing appropriate conditions for those with disabilities or health conditions who require special accommodations in the workplace.
Impacts
Diversity Equity and Inclusion, or DE&I as it’s commonly referred to, refers to efforts undertaken to foster an environment more welcoming of people of various backgrounds. DE&I includes efforts in areas like recruiting, hiring, training and mentoring of new employees.
To truly embrace inclusion, a company must have three essential components in place: belonging, respect and support. If workers do not feel that these three aspects exist within their workplace environment, they could easily leave.
One effective way of accomplishing this goal is through the implementation of an inclusive DE&I strategy that addresses every employee in your workforce. This will ensure all workers have their voice heard and are treated fairly.
Businesses that incorporate DE&I practices are able to provide their employees with opportunities for personal discovery, as well as seeing themselves reflected in the values of the business. This is essential in creating jobs where employees feel fulfilled and can contribute their talents and ideas towards its growth and expansion.
Companies that foster an inclusive culture often succeed at attracting and retaining top talent, which helps them remain competitive in the market.
Diverse workforces also bring fresh perspectives that can enhance how employees perform their job – potentially leading to greater productivity, improved customer service and innovation.
An effective workforce can also contribute to greater financial results for any given business, with companies that employ diverse management teams having greater revenues as a direct result of such workforce performance.
Diverse workforces also tend to be more loyal and committed to their organizations, which reduces turnover rates and saves an organization money on employee recruitment costs.
Companies looking to successfully achieve diversity and inclusion efforts must place emphasis on recruiting diverse talent into executive, managerial, technical and board roles. A robust I&D business case tailored to individual companies must also be implemented with data-driven targets in mind; fairness and transparency in advancement processes should also be ensured.
Implementation
Inclusion refers to creating closer bonds among employees, making them feel comfortable, and creating an atmosphere in which people can freely express their ideas. It should be an integral component of any business’s diversity strategy to foster strong teams and cultivate positive work culture.
Employee retention and reduction can save your company money; employees who feel supported and valued tend to stick around longer while newcomers who don’t feel part of the team are likely to leave sooner.
DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) has gained increasing attention from both job candidates and employees, with three-fourths treating it as an important factor when selecting either their new employer or role within an existing one, according to Deloitte’s 2020 Millennial Survey (Brennan 2018). Furthermore, companies that embrace diversity equity and inclusion generally outperform those that do not prioritize DEI initiatives (Brennan 2018).
Implementation of DE&I depends on various factors, including your business size and structure. For effective implementation, however, a comprehensive plan must cover all areas of recruitment, hiring, employee benefits administration and customer service delivery.
To maximize the success of your DE&I strategies, it is crucial that you identify and focus on eliminating barriers that prevent vulnerable groups from entering the workforce. This may involve adopting inclusive recruitment and selection processes, training staff on how to handle microaggressions and unconscious bias effectively and developing community partnerships with underrepresented populations.
Though it might be challenging, defining diversity, equity and inclusion can make getting started much simpler. Doing so helps prevent confusion that could otherwise lead to ineffective or unsustainable efforts.
An effective way of assessing how inclusive your organisation is running an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) survey anonymously among your employees and to gain insight into any areas for improvement. This approach allows them to voice their experiences while you uncover opportunities.
An established company should utilize more than just EDI surveys when setting their DEI goals, and should also establish an effective mechanism for monitoring and reporting them, along with an inclusive policy to guide employees and managers as they strive towards creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace environment. This may include conducting extensive research in local communities, building relationships with influential leaders, or employing inclusive language when communicating external audiences.
Results
A global study on diversity equity and inclusion demonstrates that organizations committed to valuing diversity and equity typically experience a higher average return on investment, particularly those firms which place strong emphasis on inclusive leadership practices and initiatives to increase fairness in performance evaluations.
Firms with greater inclusion are also more likely to retain employees due to engagement levels being linked with feeling included (McKinsey & Company., 2018).
Diversity equity and inclusion initiatives have the power to enhance employee satisfaction and retention, innovation, customer loyalty and revenue. Multiple studies have confirmed this trend by showing how diverse teams outperform homogenous ones in critical thinking and decision-making ability.
Individuals bring different perspectives and experiences to the table, which can help solve problems faster than would otherwise be possible from just a single viewpoint. Furthermore, diversity equity and inclusion can lead to higher levels of creativity and productivity as well.
Results can have a dramatic impact on a company’s success, leading more and more firms to adopt diversity equity and inclusion practices.
Companies are beginning to understand that diversity equity and inclusion benefits them as much as it benefits their customers. A 2021 CNBC/SurveyMonkey workforce survey showed that eighty percent of respondents preferred working at organizations that prioritize diversity and inclusion over those that do not.
A key part of creating a healthy company culture lies in creating an environment in which employees feel welcome to bring their authentic selves to work every day and contribute their full talents – while it’s equally essential to implement policies which ensure an environment safe and healthy environment for workers.
One of the greatest advantages of diversity equity and inclusion is creating an open work culture, making employees feel safe to bring their “authentic selves” to work, leading to greater employee engagement levels and lower turnover rates.