An equity and inclusion statement (DEI statement) is an invaluable way to convey your company values and demonstrate your dedication to building an inclusive workplace culture. However, it’s imperative to ensure that this statement not only stands on paper; its goals must also be supported by tangible actions or initiatives.
Noting your progress towards meeting your goals will add credibility to your DEI statements.
Identify Your Target Audience
Diversity Equity and Inclusion Statements help companies attract and retain top talent by showing that their workplace values the unique qualities of each employee, improving morale, productivity, satisfaction and ultimately profit and competitive advantage.
Attracting and reaching your target audience are both key components of creating an EDI statement that resonates. Generally, statements should address prospective employees, students, customers, or any other relevant parties – though it could also serve to communicate with current and former employees.
When identifying your target audience, it can be helpful to include demographic details like gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and disability status as part of their profile. Doing this will enable you to gain a better understanding of the organization’s current EDI status as well as potential areas for improvement. Furthermore, surveys or focus groups could be employed in gathering feedback regarding company EDI policies and initiatives.
Make your EDI statement accessible to people with disabilities by including alternate text (alt text), such as Braille or audio descriptions, and using accessibility features on your website. Furthermore, ensure that these materials can be accessed by people using screen readers or other assistive technologies.
Your EDI statement should demonstrate how you have and will continue to promote diversity, equity, and belonging through specific examples from your work and research. For instance, it might describe how your institution recruits workers from marginalized communities or hosts workshops/training sessions on these subjects; or address how research helps address socioeconomic conditions which contribute to underrepresentation of individuals/groups within specific fields.
Your organization can utilize an Ethical Data Integration Statement to attract new workers by including it on job ads and company websites, or placing it prominently within your building to show employees and visitors that you truly live up to its promise of ethical data integration. Furthermore, include a link in your email signature so everyone who emails you will see its commitment.
Be Specific
For your diversity statement to have maximum impact, it must be detailed. In particular, it should outline how you would work towards making research and teaching environments more inclusive and empathetic; concrete examples like how your personal experiences have informed your approach should also be provided as evidence of inclusivity.
As an example, your own race might affect how you engage in conversations about marginalized groups in your field or mentor students from racially under-representated communities to thrive in higher education and your scholarly community. Or your disability might lead to discovering different perspectives about how to create an inviting and welcoming space for people living with disabilities.
A comprehensive diversity statement should also explain how you intend to incorporate these broad ideas of inclusion into your research and teaching work, for instance citing how your disciplinary expertise in intersectionality will enable you to recognize and address how various forms of marginalization converge in everyday life and research.
As part of your statement writing process, it can be extremely useful to seek feedback from trusted advisors and mentors before finalizing it. This step is especially necessary when crafting diversity statements for faculty positions as these documents will likely be read by committees comprising faculty with diverse views and priorities.
As part of your DEI efforts in any department or institution, it is a good idea to write multiple drafts of your statement with input from coworkers in order to ensure clear communication of your goals and ideas. Doing this also gives you an idea of how other colleagues perceive your contribution.
Make sure that your diversity statement reflects the core values of your institution, such as caring, honesty and respect if these concepts are part of its values. Be realistic in terms of current diversity initiatives if applying for leadership positions where your dedication to inclusion will have an impactful effect.
Be Honest
Organizations need diversity statements to demonstrate to employees and potential candidates that they recognize the value of inclusion as part of the corporate culture, yet are committed to making it part of everyday work life. Success should not simply be measured through representative numbers but through continually monitoring and improving in areas that matter most – for instance screen readers for employees with disabilities or ensuring cultural holidays can be observed within the workplace are just some examples of metrics which make an effective diversity statement.
Candidates using diversity statements as part of their application to jobs offer candidates the chance to demonstrate their understanding and commitment to diversity and equity (DEI), such as volunteering or engaging with local communities or previous professional experiences. While it isn’t essential to explicitly name specific identities within your diversity statement, highlighting how experiences like this have informed your perspective as well as ways in which these experiences have helped break down barriers that marginalized groups may face is highly recommended.
Overall, DEI statements must be honest and transparent. Otherwise, it’s easy to fall into the habit of making promises that don’t align with a company’s values; to prevent this from happening it’s essential to set clear and measurable goals, along with regular reviews to make sure that promises made are being kept.
As a leader, it is also vitally important that companies be transparent about the state of their current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. Declaring your desire to be more inclusive won’t do the trick; you need the tools and resources available to you in order to be inclusive – this includes training staff on diversity issues as well as partnering with local organizations that provide opportunities to underrepresented groups. Furthermore, be open about any difficulties that come with change management processes as it takes time before results emerge.
Be Creative
An effective diversity statement provides your company with an opportunity to express its values creatively while also showing your dedication to inclusivity and attracting top talent.
Your DEI statement should make an impressionful and emotional connection with readers. To do this effectively, use words that resonate with people. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Begin by identifying your core values. Next, link EDI principles with these values so your employees will see you are committed to creating an inclusive culture that values individual differences.
Additionally, create an easily understood message. Don’t leave your audience confused or make them feel they’re missing out on essential information.
Finally, it’s essential to create a diversity action plan. This can help set goals for the future and track your progress while providing insight into whether initiatives are working.
To ensure the effectiveness of your EEO statement, ensure it engages diverse voices during its creation. Doing this can help identify any areas for improvement while making sure it is culturally sensitive.
Ideal, employees from all levels of your organization should participate. That way, you can collect various perspectives and experiences and incorporate them into the EDI statement.
Ask for feedback from your audience as this will give you a better sense of how the EDI statement has been received by them.
Finally, it is best to avoid using overly legal language in your EDI statement as this could come across as insincere and alienate your audience.
While it’s essential to create an eye-catching diversity statement, quality must never be sacrificed. A poorly written EEO statement could damage your reputation and turn off employees from joining your company; for this reason it would be wiser to hire the assistance of an experienced writing professional.