Whether your organization is a leader or a laggard in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a reflection of how you benchmark against other companies, but also and more importantly, it’s a direct reflection on how your culture is experienced by your own employees.
Whether your organization is a leader or a laggard in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a reflection of how you benchmark against other companies, but also and more importantly, it’s a direct reflection on how your culture is experienced by your own employees.
How your leaders perceive your organization to be doing at inclusiveness is not an accurate indication of how well you are doing. Leaders are nearly twice as likely as their employees to believe they are creating empowering and inclusive environments. Korn Ferry would only qualify 5% of leaders globally as inclusive leaders. In a 14 country study, Catalyst found that 3/4 of employees felt their organization’s racial equity practices were not genuine. When DEI is perceived as performative, you lack trust and credibility in your leadership and culture.
Meanwhile, a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report found that only 1/3 of employees rate their organization as ‘very successful’ at cultivating an organization that is diverse, equitable and inclusive. But for those organizations that stand out as DEI leaders in creating an inclusive culture, two critical factors make the difference: “a commitment from leadership and a commitment to data.”
Without senior leadership visibly steering DEI, your organization will be spinning wheels. DEI is not a human resources silo. It’s a core business function that permeates your organization. It requires broader executive prioritization and participation. The importance of executive leadership in fostering an inclusive environment cannot be overstated.
Also, a lack of executive leadership commitment drastically diminishes the impact of everything else you try to do - that and a lack of representation at senior leadership level are the biggest inhibitors to inclusive culture. According to HBR Data Analytics, 50% of respondents from DEI laggards say a lack of leadership commitment hinders their DEI efforts. Among DEI leader companies, it’s only 5%.
When DEI is wholeheartedly held up as a strategic priority by executive leadership, it both grounds and magnifies advancement towards an inclusive culture. This means top inclusive leaders are committing intentionally, actionably and measurably - and underpinning that commitment with frequent communication, transparency and accountability.
Beyond being a reflection of DEI leadership, companies in the top quartile of gender diversity and of racial and ethnic diversity in the executive teams are more likely to outperform on profitability than companies in the bottom quartile of each (by 25% and 36%, respectively).
If greater visible diversity at executive level is one of your goals, moving the needle first requires the commitment to intentional action from your executive leaders, regardless of their race or gender.
Building a DEI program without executive leadership is like spinning your wheels; addressing DEI without good data is flying blind. DEI leaders focus on being data-rich and strategically well-informed in the continuous navigation of DEI strategy.
As with all core business functions, what you value, you measure.
So an essential component of, and complement to, executive commitment is regularly monitoring DEI metrics - to establish benchmarks, identify issues, create focused strategies, gauge progress, communicate to stakeholders and improve approaches, all underpinned by accountability.
At Pulsely, we’ve witnessed these two critical factors of DEI leaders are intertwined. There can be a chicken and egg dynamic around top leadership commitment and DEI data. The right DEI data approach will compel your executive leadership to immerse in discussions about the challenges and rewards of DEI. On the other hand, leadership commitment is often a prerequisite to get the resources for obtaining the right data. We understand and balance that chicken-egg dilemma in our approach.
Remember that data alone will not make your organization a leader in DEI. It is not just about collecting data. It is critical to find the story in the data that reveals actionable insights about your diversity, equity and inclusion status. Most importantly, it is essential to present that data in a way that resonates with leaders, builds their commitment to DEI, and compels them to action.
It’s a simple formula to accelerate your organization towards becoming a credible DEI leader: committed leadership and compelling data. It’s our expertise to work to help you achieve both. Ready to level up your organization?
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