Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is an essential theme in business today. Fairness, tolerance and access to opportunity are principles that should underlay any responsible business, and are fundamental to getting the best out of people. Diversity in our workforces brings innovation and creativity, represents customers and the communities our organisations are part of, and opens up our talent supply lines to the skills and capabilities we need.
This is not easy. We are seeking progress on issues of bias, discrimination, and intolerance which for many years were ignored, misunderstood or misrepresented. These are not just organisational challenges, but societal and political as well. Recent years have seen greater awareness, particularly through the Black Lives Matter movement from 2015. ‘Woke’ became the term that represented this for some. It initially focused on racial injustice but was then used more generally to identify with wider forms of social injustices.
The pendulum had to shift, but some now argue it has swung too far and even the term ‘woke’ itself is increasingly being used in a pejorative way. Others claim EDI is a fad or even an ideology, or simply less of a priority in tougher economic times. At the same time, intolerance and taking offence at different or opposing views is rising, fuelled by the unfiltered medium of social media.
Our profession is finding itself in the crosshairs given our central role in championing EDI within organisations. We have to recognise where the criticism may come from, and be clear on our own actions, but continue to be resolute in the rationale.
We know that inclusive cultures start with how we attract, retain, develop, and progress people from the rich mix of talent in our societies. And how we create fairness, tolerance, and respect whilst giving voice to people to understand their lived experience. There are many dimensions to consider, but we have to take care not to over-complicate or impose solutions without clarity on outcomes, evidence and impact.
Businesses are seeing the value in creating more open cultures, to respect and hear different views in a ‘safe’ environment, and to encourage authenticity in the parts of ourselves that we choose to bring to work. Being authentic shouldn’t mean people lose all their filters, and organisations should have clear principles and values that indicate what is and is not acceptable. Intolerance can quickly lead to bullying, harassment and discrimination, and individuals in any collective environment have a responsibility to respect others.
EDI isn’t the agenda of the people profession alone and requires understanding, leadership and support at all levels. It demands clarity on the business rationale, and evidence that EDI enables positive outcomes for the workforce and the business, alongside important moral and ethical arguments.
We need to understand the diverse make-up of our workforces and how that’s changing. But we must also understand where the boundary is between inclusion and intrusion. Requiring people to fill in surveys on many personal characteristics, without clear outcomes can rapidly be seen as an intrusion, begging the question ‘what is this really for’ and 'what is going to be done with it?’.
We cannot hope to identify everyone in endless categories of difference, after all we are all individual, in many different ways. Our overriding approach to inclusion must be to have cultures of respect, of tolerance and understanding, and to celebrate the different parts of ourselves we bring to work so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When we do these things, not only do we create better businesses, but we also play our part in supporting fairer societies.
