Focus on the “I” in DE&I
- November 3, 2020
- Humantelligence
Diversity and inclusion have always been an integral part of a successful business and healthy corporate culture. As we evolve and learn, including equity, has become the new normal in human resources transforming D&I, to DE&I.
While the three of these are important in their own respect ‘inclusion’ tends to bring about diversity organically. If you and your company have created an inclusive environment a more diverse candidate pool will start to apply. It’s not enough to just claim your company is inclusive without being able to back it up though, in fact that might harm you.
Studies show that when a job posting includes that the employer accepts all applicants, that can actually discourage some people from applying. The need to say you’re accepting of everyone can come off as placating applicants making it counter intuitive. Instead, focus on how to show your company has an inclusive environment.
Equity is a way to monitor and stimulate an inclusive mindset. While it’s a newer concept equity addresses culture in a way that D&I haven’t before. What are steps your company should be taking to use diversity, equity and inclusion to elevate your culture?
1. Be open to change, if necessary
2. Let smaller voices be heard
3. Check your culture for diversity of thought
4. Create small wins and short-term goals
Companies that value DE&I tend to be higher-performing as well. In a 2019 study by McKinsey different companies were evaluated based on how diverse they were when considering gender and ethnicity. Those that had more diverse employees outperformed their exclusionary counterparts by up to 36%.
If you don’t know what your current corporate culture is, that’s a great place to start. Discover where you are, and map out where you want to be. Get started by taking our free 12-minute self-assessment to unlock self-awareness and move forward from there.