Driving Change Through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Most people (not counting a handful on the more extreme fringes of the discourse) agree that promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels of our society is ultimately a positive thing for humanity and the planet.

It is this belief which is leading increasing numbers of businesses to work with their HR departments to promote these values within their own organizational structure. However, there are more benefits to brands from diversity, equity, and inclusion than simply doing the right thing, with these values able to have a profound and positive effect on the business itself.

People bring their values and cultures into the organizations they work for, meaning a more diverse pool of talent brings with it a greater range of ideas and contributions which can come together to push the business forwards in new and unexpected ways.

The Business Case for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

According to research from McKinsey, organizations which are in the top quartile for gender diversity and ethnic diversity are more likely to outperform financially by a proportion of 25% and 36% respectively. These likelihoods have been steadily growing since 2014 which demonstrates how these values are having a progressively larger impact on the performance of businesses which prioritize them.

However, despite these clear advantages, progress on achieving a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce has been slow. Between 2014 and 2019 female representation on executive teams in the UK and US has risen from 15 to 20%. When the data is expanded globally, the increase for the same period is just 1% - rising from 14 to 15%. In a similar pattern, ethnic representation rose from 7% in 2014, to 13% in 2019 for the US and UK.

"While overall progress on gender and cultural representation has been slow, this is not consistent across all organizations,” says McKinsey. "Our research clearly shows that there is a widening gap between I&D leaders and companies that have yet to embrace diversity. A third of the companies we analyzed have achieved real gains in top-team diversity over the five-year period. But most have made little or no progress, and some have even gone backward.”

The Role of HR

When it comes to promoting values of diversity, equity, and inclusion within an organization, the change really must start with the HR department. For most people, HR will be their first point of contact with their employer from day one, and it’s here their perspective of the company’s attitude towards these values will likely be cemented.

It is HR’s role to therefore work to create a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion which begins in its own four walls but spreads to permeate the entire organizational structure. Make sure employees know their HR representatives represent a safe space where they can feel free to discuss issues which may be extremely sensitive and unique to their demographic. This means making sure HR are professionally trained to manage these cases and kept updated on the best signposting options for various populations.

HR has long held the reputation that it exists to represent the interests of the company rather than the employees. If your workforce is laboring under this impression, it will put up walls between them and you which can be hard to break down and will disproportionately isolate and affect people who belong to historically underrepresented populations. It is not enough to simply pay lip service to diversity, equity, and inclusion in your HR department, it will require training, effort, investment, and buy in from the executive suite.

In its latest State of HR Report, the HR Exchange Network found that 23% of organizations surveyed are conducting their own research into diversity, equity, and inclusion and are creating a dialogue about inequity. 45% are increasing transparency throughout the organization to improve its culture.

This means, if your organization is not yet investing resources into improving these values, it may very well find itself lagging behind its peers in the extremely near future.

"Companies should build a culture where all employees feel they can bring their whole selves to work,” says McKinsey. "Managers should communicate and visibly embrace their commitment to multivariate forms of diversity, building a connection to a wide range of people and supporting employee resource groups to foster a sense of community and belonging.”

Final Thoughts

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are no longer optional parts of the HR experience and workers are increasingly gravitating towards employers with values which mirror their own. Retailers which promote and prioritize these values will not only see the benefits in their performance but will also enjoy the pick of the absolute best talent in the recruitment process.

You can hear David Casey, Chief Inclusion & Social Impact Officer, Tapestry; George-Axelle Broussillon Matschinga, VP, Diversity & Inclusion, Sephora; and Nicole Moses-Milner, Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, J.Crew speak on these topics and more at HR Retail 2023, being held in April at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, WA.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.