Diversity equity and inclusion statements provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate how you plan to advance diversity, equity and inclusion principles through research, teaching, service or other activities. Your statement should include various components that demonstrate your dedication and passion for this field.
Your statements should address specific forms of oppression such as sexism, racism, social class disparity, age discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination.
Statement of Values
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statements are short written documents that describe how an individual or company values and experiences contribute to DEI. Statements should typically be written in first person and should not exceed two pages in length. An ideal DEI statement would focus on outlining goals with their various facets as well as how these work together towards meeting them; being honest while avoiding blanket generalizations that are not fact-based or accurate are also key components.
Effective DEI statements require clearly articulating an organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; outlining how and why steps will be taken toward meeting stated goals; setting specific metrics and timelines that hold it accountable; as well as clearly outlining metrics and timelines against which they can be judged against in meeting goals.
An effective statement should also outline how the organization is currently performing and any specific steps that have been taken so far, while outlining the current state of diversity and inclusion within its ranks as well as pinpointing key areas of focus.
As part of its diversity commitment statement, an organization should demonstrate their dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion within their workplace. This should include details about recruitment and retention efforts of a diverse workforce as well as any programs put in place for this goal. In addition, activities taking place currently to support mission and values could include serving on faculty committees, advising minority student groups or participating in community outreach initiatives.
Employees, customers and other stakeholders of a company will want to know its progress towards becoming an inclusive brand. Without an action plan and key performance indicators to demonstrate real change is underway, company values may simply appear like empty rhetoric; without these measures in place they expose the business to public backlash against outdated corporate visions and values.
Statement of Commitment
Like its mission and vision statements, the Statement of Commitment serves as a guiding principle for companies. Typically accompanied by specific initiatives, policies, and programs designed to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, as well as communicating its importance among current employees and prospective recruits.
Statements of Commitment must be straightforward and accessible, ideally no more than two pages in length, including an introduction explaining its purpose and defining terms like diversity and inclusion. Many DEI statements we reviewed were short and concise; Adobe offers an example with their slogan of ‘Adobe for All,’ evoking inclusivity through their name alone; Workday, Target and LEGO Group also have concise DEI statements linked directly with their missions and values – which many examples do quite effectively.
Some organizations include information on their current progress and where they hope to be on the journey towards diversity, equity and inclusion. This can demonstrate that your company is committed to making changes that meet its goals while taking real steps toward their achievement rather than making grandiose promises that cannot be kept.
If the company is public, its DEI statement can also be linked with any publicly available diversity data that it has such as percentage of women or minorities in leadership positions or expenditure on diverse suppliers – this demonstrates its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Higher education institutions can use a Statement of Commitment as a way to demonstrate their dedication to diversity and inclusion. It can be included as part of their profile on external websites or marketing materials like brochures. Furthermore, this requirement may also apply when applying for fellowships, graduate and professional school admissions, fellowship applications or fellowship applications that require fellowship statements of Commitment; applicants can use it to outline how their strengths will be used within teaching, research or service capacities in ways that advance diversity and inclusion.
Examples of Actions
Diversity Equity and Inclusion Statements serve to ensure all employees feel welcome and treated fairly within the workplace, and promote an environment conducive to innovation, collaboration and productivity. They focus on developing diverse talent pools while encouraging inclusive communication practices; eliminating any barriers to participation; and giving all employees equal chance to excel and flourish.
As part of your organization’s effort to foster diversity and equity, it’s essential that diversity goals be set and measured against. This may involve setting hiring quotas for diversity hires or making sure your leadership reflects wider community diversity or offering diversity training courses to all employees. Establishing these metrics can also help your company build credibility within the market and bring more diverse customers.
Add metrics to your DEI statements and monitor results over time to gauge progress. Use statistics from third-party sources or your own company performance data such as percentage of women in leadership roles or number of people from underrepresented groups working at your business as indicators for how committed your business is to equality and diversity; sharing this type of information demonstrates your company’s dedication and provides useful data that could inform future policies.
Development of an DEI strategy during challenging economic conditions can be especially complex. But businesses should prioritize DEI issues even during times when pressure exists to focus on financial success alone. A report released by McKinsey Global Institute shows that companies with higher levels of diversity and inclusion in leadership perform better than those with lower scores.
As one example of flexible working arrangements during a pandemic, fashion companies were forced to provide flexible working arrangements so their workers could meet customer demands while still caring for their children. It has also been found that women in financial services find it harder than usual to advance due to inadequate representation; an issue which becomes especially acute during times of crisis.
Highlight any existing programs your organization is involved with to demonstrate commitment and support of underrepresented populations, such as McNair Scholars or student internship/mentoring programs that reach underrepresented students. This shows your dedication and adaptability in adapting to shifting conditions.
Future Plans
While many companies are making commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, results have been mixed. A recent study discovered that only 30% of companies were successful at translating those pledges into real actions that altered workplace culture.
Key to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive culture lies in providing everyone an equal chance to succeed within the company. That means addressing gaps in recruitment, retention, promotion and career development as well as identifying and eliminating unconscious bias, microaggressions or discriminatory practices which impact people negatively.
Culture-sensitive organizations need to provide cultural awareness training regularly, with all employees receiving it on an equal basis. Furthermore, companies should set goals and assess progress regularly.
Research demonstrates that companies with an emphasis on DEI outperform those that are less concerned, are more competitive, and attract and retain talent more readily; employees feel fulfilled working at companies which support their values.
An effective DEI strategy also reduces employee attrition as employees will feel appreciated and secure that their contributions are valued, and that their employer is dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, training new employees can be expensive; therefore implementing an effective diversity, equity and inclusion strategy could save your organization money in the long run.
Millennial and Gen Z workers increasingly prefer companies with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. According to one poll from Gen Z workers themselves, 56 percent said they are less likely to apply for positions at companies which fail to address such matters.
As such, it is imperative that businesses take a proactive stance against diversity and equity to ensure employees can thrive in their workplace. Business leaders must listen to employee concerns – activists may bring activism into the workplace that needs addressing – as this shows your employees you care.