Organizations often create diversity equity and inclusion statements that span several pages or more in length, providing additional depth on research behind diversity and inclusion.
Your organization’s DEI statement must be easily accessible online. Add resources that enrich it like workforce diversity reports and anti-racist pedagogy guidelines that support it further.
Commitment
An effective DEI statement communicates your values and pledge to foster an inclusive workplace culture, while setting specific goals that you hope to meet and outlining how your company follows through with them. Your DEI statement shouldn’t just exist as an addendum on your website or subheading in an annual report; rather, it should become part of its culture and strategy.
Diversity at work goes beyond hiring individuals from diverse backgrounds; it involves making sure employees feel welcome and valued for who they are as individuals. With increasingly diverse workforces, companies must ensure all members of their team have equal chances to thrive and reach their maximum potential.
Either in an email from the CEO to employees, an office meeting, or on your company website blog post, include a statement outlining your commitment to diversity. A common approach would be providing a definition and then outlining ways in which your business supports diverse workforces. You could then share examples of how these principles have been integrated into its practices and policies.
When writing a diversity commitment statement, it’s essential that cliches don’t become cliches over time. For instance, simply writing “diversity is a core value of our company” won’t have the same lasting impression as writing something more relevant such as: We recognize and celebrate the unique traits in all our employees.”
Commitment statements that provide supporting data are more convincing. Include links to your DEI reports and include metrics used to measure progress. Furthermore, include any public-facing diversity statistics so readers can see what your company is doing to enhance its culture.
Your statement should also outline your plans for the future, if applicable. For instance, if you intend to create new programs targeting underrepresented students or junior colleagues at your university, be sure to mention it here as this shows your dedication towards making an impactful statement about it at your campus, potentially inspiring other colleagues elsewhere to follow suit and make their mark on them as well.
Diversity
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) discussions can be extensive and challenging, with varied vocabularies used to describe each concept. To facilitate productive discussions on DEI it is vital to clarify each term’s meanings to facilitate productive dialogue; additionally it’s vitally important to recognize there are social mechanisms at work which transform differences into inequalities; understanding these mechanisms is integral for developing practices which promote equality and inclusion.
Step one of DEI involves acknowledging that we live in a society which is profoundly biased against certain groups. This discrimination stems from social and cultural norms that shape how we view the world and one another. These beliefs may cause us to exclude people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender orientation or any other personal characteristic.
Once we recognize that we live in an unfair society, it’s crucial that we confront this problem head-on. To effectively tackle it, a holistic approach should be taken that addresses every aspect of an organization and promotes a culture of empathy and respect in order to foster an environment that welcomes employees from diverse backgrounds.
An integral component of holistic approaches is offering employees opportunities to interact and learn from one another’s perspectives, whether through employee resource groups, community table discussions or outreach programs. The aim is to break down any barriers preventing employees from reaching their full potential within the workplace.
Finalizing the DEI process means creating equitable structures that benefit all employees regardless of their social circumstances. This can be accomplished by addressing systemic and organizational issues like unconscious biases, discrimination and microaggressions.
Companies committed to diversity, equity and inclusion can reap many advantages when they integrate diversity, equity and inclusion policies and hiring practices into their operations; from attracting top talent to meeting customer demands. Unfortunately, however, many organizations find it challenging to make these necessary adjustments within their policies and hiring practices; McKinsey’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives guide offers resources that can assist businesses in creating more diverse and inclusive workforces.
Equity
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are often used interchangeably; however, each term has a unique significance. Some prefer placing equity before inclusion to emphasize an outward approach that attracts candidates of diverse races, viewpoints and gender identities; however this could also be seen as a quick fix to deeper problems.
Equity can be defined broadly as fair treatment, access and opportunity for all groups. It embraces the notion that not everyone starts from equal ground; that there may be unequal advantages or barriers preventing some from realizing their full potential – this can manifest itself physically (i.e. wheelchair access issues to buildings) or ethnically (racial disparities in education, health care or housing).
Inclusion refers to welcoming and supporting differences and seeing them as integral parts of any culture, team or organization. It requires being respectful and understanding each person’s values, beliefs, perspectives and experiences while creating an atmosphere where all feel they belong and can contribute.
DEI initiatives often consist of three elements, which have been described by those involved as belonging, respect and support. Belonging refers to how accepted someone feels; respect refers to whether someone believes they are treated with civility; support refers to whether someone feels they have access to resources needed for success in their workplace or community.
Companies often prioritize diversity and inclusion (DEI), creating initiatives designed to attract applicants who differ from the norm. Such programs often include an initiative committee, ongoing training programs and requests for employee feedback on issues that affect employee wellbeing. It has proven its worth: companies that value diversity typically outperform those that don’t. But for true impact to be felt, organizations must go beyond simply recruiting employees who differ and ensure they’re being treated fairly – otherwise their efforts could result in inequity instead of inclusiveness.
Inclusion
Diversity statements that succeed go beyond simply listing goals and initiatives; they also demonstrate how these efforts relate to your company’s core mission – something demonstrated in these examples from Workday, Google and Target.
A company must embrace inclusivity beyond employees alone; to do this effectively, its commitment must extend to all stakeholders and members of its community. For this to occur, leadership teams must articulate its importance across all levels of their organizations – this means C-suite leaders needing to lead by example and show examples of inclusion through actions and words; mid-level influencers can serve as conduits between upper management and employees at lower levels.
Finally, it’s crucial that your company be transparent about its current DEI status and plans. Being honest helps your statement resonate with readers and make people more likely to hold your organization accountable for meeting its goals – P&G provides not only its demographic data but also diversity targets with plans on how they plan on meeting them.
At the same time, it’s essential that your company provides evidence that demonstrates it is making strides toward meeting its DEI-related goals. To demonstrate this progress, statistics such as percentage of women in leadership roles or amount spent with diverse suppliers should be included; additionally employee resource groups such as Africans@Google Greyglers or Trans at Google can also help.
Your diversity and inclusion statement shouldn’t read like just another generic template used by other companies; it should be fun, inspiring and unique to your company. Furthermore, it should include an action plan with clear metrics to hold yourself accountable – this way you can start making meaningful changes to your culture while recruiting top talent who value inclusivity – creating lasting change while expanding business capabilities over time – this effort may take effort but is definitely worthwhile!