Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, also known as DE&I or DEI, is an essential initiative within any organization. Having a strong DEI strategy in place shows potential employees and competitors that you find extreme value in showcasing your business as a diverse, fair and inclusive environment that fosters acceptance and tolerance. But what exactly does DEI mean when broken down? Furthermore, why is it important, and how do you implement new strategies within your organization? Read on.
D – Diversity: For much of the developed world’s history, diversity in the workplace was almost non-existent. Many industries were white male-dominated and left little room for opportunity for those outside of this box. As such, business developed primarily with one viewpoint – that of a white straight man oftentimes built on the customs and traditions established by the religious elite. This meant that only one group of individuals spoke for the community, pushed their personal and collective agendas, and dictated what was prevalent in society.
As the world developed and people began to understand their right to have their voice heard, action began. Monumental shifts in our government, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Women’s Liberation Movement that spanned almost twenty years, created a significant change in how we view diversity within the workplace. With the addition of the Fourteenth Amendment, which required all fifty states to both grant and recognize same-sex marriage, as well as experiencing our very first female Vice President, Kamala Harris, sworn into office on January 11th, 2021, it is now abundantly clear that diversity for opportunity, was essential.
This year, the year 2022, diversity in the workplace will only help your brand grow by providing your company with different perspectives allowing you the opportunity to tap into an entirely new market that can engage with and benefit from your products and services.
E – Equity: Equity is the active practice of an employer recognizing both the advantages and barriers within their business that either skew equity among team members or bring fair and equitable opportunity to all. Meaning, all humans in your organization possess the same opportunities, recognition, pay scale, and more, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and more.
In the early 2000s, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Chicago concluded a study that sent thousands of fictitious applications to 108 Fortune 500 companies. These studies wanted to measure the differences in callbacks between “white-sounding names” and “black-sounding names.” Not to any of our surprise, white-sounding names were 50% more likely to hear back from an employer.
When it comes to your DEI strategy, Equity refers to the processes that are being implemented to offer your current and potential employees fair access to the same positions. Implementing a DEI strategy guarantees candidates with names like DeAndre and Kiyana have the same opportunities as candidates with the names Michael and Emma – there is no difference.
I – Inclusion: Inclusion is inclusion – Merriam-Webster defines inclusion as “the act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability).”
Although this definition is relatively easy to understand, inclusive implementation and the change within an organization to think inclusively can be very difficult. Many individuals from marginalized communities have a hard time feeling welcomed or valued – especially if the office environment does not actively participate in an appropriate DEI strategy. Being diverse and equitable within an organization needs to start from the ground up – within your operations, procedures, disciplinary action, hiring, firing, promotions, pay scale, and more. Inclusion shows all employees that they have access to the same resources and opportunities as everyone else in the workplace.
The right DEI strategy will help an employer source, attract and retain quality talent regardless of age, race, sexuality, and gender identity. This focus allows an employer to lead a team of diverse and unique individuals who think outside the box to offer them, their clients, and their customers the best product or service while steadily increasing their bottom line.
So how do you start planning for your very own DEI strategy? Don’t you worry – we’ve come up with our top 5 Must-Haves for an effective DEI Strategy and Initiatives to get you started on the right foot.
The CEO of a company is the only person that can declare DEI as a company priority and allocate funding to the strategy. The CEO should serve as the primary advocate for the DEI initiative, both internally and externally. DEI should be just as common of a talking point as profits or customer service. The CEO’s position on advocating for DEI will ultimately set the tone for how important DEI is to the company. All of that said, it is most successful if the funding is an internal focus. Companies should not raise sponsorship dollars to support their DEI initiatives (after all, it’s your company’s initiative, not your sponsors)!
DEI is not only the responsibility of your HR department. It is vital to integrate accountability throughout the business so that everyone is operating within the same DEI framework. It is a full-company undertaking and should be represented in every company department, such as:
Before you can establish key metrics, you must establish a baseline for where your company is in regard to its DEI competency. Yes, it’s scary and probably not pretty, but you can’t move forward if you don’t know where you are. Once you have a baseline, establish 3-5 key metrics to measure your progress for implementing your DEI strategy/initiative. Pro tip: be bold but not stupid. Don’t settle for softball metrics that you can achieve without real effort. However, don’t create metrics that it would take a miracle to complete.
Accountability is just as important as the key metric itself. Besides, if there is no reward or punishment, what’s the point? Make sure there are tangible accountability measures for every senior leader, department head, and staff member. Be careful not to only focus on your frontline staff. EVERYONE is responsible for making DEI a priority to achieve the company’s goals.
You might need to shout it from the rooftops because people need to know what you’re doing. They need to know that you’ve become more intentional about DEI and have decided to make it a companywide priority. You should put real marketing and ad dollars behind communicating your new DEI strategy/initiative the same way you would your latest product. Further, don’t forget to communicate with the most important people, your staff!! Nothing is worse than your staff hearing about the newest company happenings from social media, a newspaper article, or tv ad. Keeping your team informed and excited about this new strategy only bolsters the progress and buy-in.
Sometimes folks need a clear picture of what they are working towards, and you may need to paint them a picture of what success and failure actually look like. This will help them gauge their progress throughout the year. Outlining wins and areas of opportunity will also give the company a good idea of how to adjust moving forward and reevaluate what didn’t work in the process. This picture should be broken down into smaller digestible pieces that can be checked quarterly. This keeps the goals attainable and challenging while keeping the ball rolling toward the end result.
We have barely scratched the surface here regarding DEI Strategy, but hopefully, these five tips will help you get started. The Orenda Collective actively challenges organizations and individuals to view their community through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive lens to deliver innovative solutions that live on in perpetuity. If you’d like more information or have questions, please reach out, and we’ll have a chat!
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