Articles can be an excellent way to educate and engage your target audience, creating a community around a specific topic.
An effective diversity statement details how you would make contributions as a faculty member in an institution’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. It should reflect your experiences, interests and identities for maximum effect.
Be specific.
A diversity statement should do more than set a vision: it should also outline concrete goals that support that vision and create an inclusive workforce environment, leading to employees feeling safe and valued, which in turn boosts morale and productivity. While you may wish to research DEI statements from other organizations as inspiration, your DEI statement should reflect your organization’s unique culture – any changes within your company should also be reflected within it.
One thing many companies neglect to do is ensure their diversity statement is aligned with the overall mission and goals of their business. Your diversity statement should form the backbone of your identity as a company and should help inform all decisions made within it; for example if your company offers employee resource groups (ERG), be sure to mention this fact within it to show potential candidates that your company values diversity.
Your company should include a link to its DEI webpage on its website or in its company bio, where you can showcase current initiatives and goals as well as past work done by your organization. Include data like representation reports or equity strategies as proof that your business actually fulfills their promise.
Your company should list all of the groups it is working to empower. This shows your candidates that your company is committed to equality for all and they can feel proud that your efforts support that cause.
Effective diversity statements must convey positive language that provides a sense of purpose, so don’t hesitate to seek assistance when writing them. Collaborate with team of people so your message reaches its intended target. Avoid legalistic language as this could appear fake and mislead potential candidates.
Be relevant.
An equity, diversity, and inclusion statement is an effective tool for communicating an organization’s priorities and values to employees and the general public. But without concrete goals and initiatives in place to support it, it can quickly turn into empty marketing or PR without proper follow up and credibility building. In order to foster trust between your DEI statement and its recipients and to build it into something real with lasting effect, concrete goals, initiatives, and actions should accompany it.
If your organization already boasts an inclusive workforce, it is helpful to emphasize this fact in its statement. Doing so shows that your company values diversity among employees and is committed to creating an environment in which all workers feel safe at work.
Starting off their diversity and inclusion efforts isn’t easy for companies, so it is vitally important for those just getting underway to be specific with what steps are being taken towards making progress a reality. Google provides information such as their percentage of women or people of color in leadership positions; percentage of suppliers who are minority-owned businesses; amount spent with vendors offering diversity related services etc on its EDI page.
As well as their past efforts, candidates should explain how their future plans will contribute to an inclusive workplace. If they intend to launch a program specifically targeted toward underrepresented students in their field, for instance, this can demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of barriers faced by marginalized groups as well as efforts being taken to overcome them.
If a candidate has experience volunteering with underserved communities, now is an excellent time to highlight those experiences and prove they understand the challenges facing those groups. They may bring this understanding with them when moving into their new roles at universities.
Provide evidence of what the candidate has done personally to promote diversity and inclusivity – attending cultural events, visiting sites significant to underrepresented populations or participating in racial justice initiatives could all count.
Be compelling.
If you’re going to invest time and energy into creating a diversity statement, it must be compelling. It should compel employees, customers, and the wider community to believe in your mission of inclusion and equity while also setting out what your company will do to live up to its values. Ultimately, DEI statements should align with organizational culture while offering a roadmap for actionable change.
Goal setting should not only be ambitious but also realistic and attainable; you must recognize that your business is an ongoing effort with some goals taking longer than others to be met. A compelling statement should address barriers to success without using generalized statements that might come off as stereotypical or falsely optimistic.
Mastercard provides an excellent example of this with its statement that “Creating equal access and promoting inclusivity begins with our people.” Not only does this show Mastercard’s appreciation for employee wellbeing, but it also emphasizes its understanding that creating a truly diverse workforce depends on empowering its own workers.
An effective diversity statement must also be tailored specifically to your organization and demonstrate why you stand out from competitors by adding something original such as Adobe and Spotify’s slogans “Adobe for All” or “Don’t Just Work Here – Belong Here.”
Your diversity statement must be easy to locate and accessible, while simultaneously connecting back to your mission and values. Make sure it is easily found online and available to all employees; also include it as part of the employee handbook so all new hires are aware of your commitment to creating an inclusive workplace and minimising unconscious bias in employees’ workplace experiences. Doing this will reduce unconscious biases while simultaneously helping ensure all employees feel valued regardless of differences.
Be consistent.
Consistency when it comes to your DEI statement is key, as employees perceive this commitment to DEI as something companies truly value. A study by Intel revealed that 56 percent of Gen Z and millennial workers would consider declining an offer from an organization without diversity among leadership positions as a deal-breaker when considering job offers.
And while it’s alright to recognize that your organization isn’t where it should be when it comes to diversity and inclusion, you should provide clear details of how the steps taken so far to address this. Outline current initiatives with specific targets and milestones as well as any public-facing data such as your gender pay gap report or current representation figures for different demographic groups. Also add any links or resources which further enlarge upon your DEI statement.
Employ employee and candidate testimonials as a means of lending credibility and authenticity to your DEI statement. In addition, make sure that your website is accessible for all individuals including those with disabilities or specific needs/preferences by adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).
Diversity equity and inclusion statements aim to inspire employees and the public, with the best way of creating change being to integrate DEI values into your business strategy and culture. To do this, listen closely to both internal and external stakeholders regarding what DEI means to them personally and professionally.
Take time to incorporate their feedback into your action plan and develop measurable pledges that will create real change. Include these goals into your DEI statement and keep yourself accountable for meeting them; once completed, share the results publicly to show how effectively they helped drive real change. By following these tips you can craft an impressive and effective diversity and inclusion statement which will attract the talent needed for thriving in your industry.