Organisations need to refocus their approach to diversity and inclusion if real progress is to be made, according to experts
The challenges facing businesses trying to boost the diversity of their workforces was a key topic of discussion at the annual Global Equality & Diversity Conference on Wednesday. Here are some of the key points raised on the day:
All action and not enough impact
There is a gap between organisations’ intentions to improve diversity and the impact of their actions, according to Simon Fanshawe, writer, broadcaster and partner at Diversity by Design. Chairing the event, he told delegates that while there was a lot of talk about diversity and inclusion, there was not actually that much change happening, suggesting companies need to reassess how they approach the issue.
“When talking about diversity in your organisation, start with the purpose – what is it for?” he said. “The kind of diversity you need has to be related to what you want to achieve.” Fanshawe added that organisations get better results from people working together, and that “the dividend from diversity comes from the combination of different talents”, rather than an increase in productivity, for example.
One way businesses can change the way they do things is to change their recruitment process, he said. Instead of taking each person’s CV one at a time, try assessing each section against other candidates, based on the criteria that are key to the role. This horizontal approach focuses the recruiter more on what people can do, rather than who they are.
Get to the root of the problem before implementing the initiative
Simon Feeke, senior manager at the diversity and inclusion advisory practice at EY), spoke about the trends driving the need for diversity and inclusion – including globalisation, growing employee expectations, skills shortages and the rise of technology – and the commercial reasons that it’s so important to achieve success.
Diversity and inclusion affects everyone
Former equalities minister Jo Swinson reflected on the result of the US presidential election and the fact that it demonstrates diversity and inclusion are not at the top of people’s priority lists – but that shouldn’t stop us trying to improve the situation. “We spend a lot of time at work. It needs to be a place where we feel safe and valued,” she said, adding that these are issues that affect everyone.
“We need to go from an incremental approach to a more transformative one,” she said. “We all have a gender, race and sexual orientation. Not everyone will experience the same levels of disadvantage, but it is something we all have to deal with.” She said that while there is no quick fix, and equality in the workplace will require significant leadership efforts, we shouldn’t take any progress we have made for granted and should protect what we have already achieved.
HR can help lead the change
The HR profession is dominated by women, and as a combined force could implement major change, suggested Elaine Yerby, senior lecturer at the University of East London. Speaking about her research into inequality in HR, and the continued causes of its high feminisation, she said that, although the sector is dominated by women, when you get to HR director level the number of males increases – as does the salary.
She added that there was not enough focus on the issue of high feminisation and what it means. It can be seen as a bad thing when HR professionals are perceived as the ‘guardians of equality’ and if high feminisation is seen as a corporate weakness, she said, adding that the profession has the power to make changes from within.
The apprenticeship levy could widen the gender pay gap
Sharron Gunn, executive director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, questioned whether the introduction of the apprenticeship levy could actually result in a widening of the gender pay gap, as apprenticeship courses have traditionally been very gender stereotyped, with female pupils offered information about beauty and hairdressing and male pupils informed about engineering and plumbing apprenticeships, for example.
She also called on organisations not to miss out on the talents of the increasing number of females going to university. “We need to consider the things that hold women back. Helping people balance careers with families is important,” she said.
Unconscious bias training on its own is not enough
The merits of unconscious bias training and awareness were discussed by several speakers on the day. Feeke said he believed that awareness training doesn’t make a difference on its own – it merely makes men conscious of their unconscious bias, and can even lead to people using it as an excuse for their views.
Fanshawe agreed that you can’t change your behaviour by simply making yourself more aware of it. For unconscious bias training to work, it needs to be accompanied by organisational change, he said.