Five areas to invest for creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and why facilitation is key to enable change

If you do a google search and you type ‘Chief Executive Director’ and you click on photos, you will notice that 90 % of the photos are white males and 10 % white females. You will hardly notice people from another ethnic background.

When I was watching the Tedtalk of Arwa Mahdawi, a consultant and expert on diversity and inclusion, I was touched by her story, that the streets in our big cities are changing into multiethnic and diverse places, while our board rooms of big companies are still predominantly white and male. Arwa Mahdawi is wondering ‘Why is the face of power still not changing?’ According to Arwa there are in the US more CEO’s leading big companies called John (17), than there are women being CEO (7).  Somehow, there are still a lot of unconscious biases, which need to be tackled, while the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace are outstanding. According to research;

• Racial diverse teams outperform non-diverse ones by 35 %
• Teams where men and women are equal earn 41 % more revenue

Watch the Tedtalk:  The surprising solution to Workplace Diversity – Arwa Mahdawi  

Certification on gender, diversity and inclusion 

Although there are still a lot of hindrances, a number of front running companies are taking the lead in having a more gender friendly, diverse an inclusive workplace. EDGE Certification is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. EDGE Certification has been designed to help organizations not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it.  IKEA Switzerland has attained the highest level of gender equality practices in the world, becoming the first company globally to attain LEAD, the highest level of EDGE certification. IKEA Switzerland has bridged the pay gap between men and women, their Executive Board is 50/ 50 composed of men and women and in 2018 it initiated a two month Paternity leave. Overall IKEA globally is promoting gender, diversity and inclusion.  IKEA’s has even incorporated it in its vision statement. IKEA states at its website;

Caring for people, diversity and inclusion is embedded in our vision and in our values. At IKEA Group, we see diversity and inclusion as the right thing to do. Recognising our co-workers’ differences contributes to creativity and supports our growth. 

In 2017, the UK Government introduced regulations that require businesses with over 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap and gender bonus gap. IKEA UK openly shares their statistics about the gender pay gap at their website and actively fosters policies to bridge this gap.  Worldwide the IKEA Group has a global diversity & inclusion network, including more than 70 diversity and inclusion ambassadors representing various IKEA Group businesses, functions, and countries.

EDGE assesses organisations in five areas.

• Equal pay for equivalent work;
• Recruitment and promotion;
• Leadership development training and mentoring;
• Flexible working;
• Company culture

Business motivations for fostering an equitable and inclusive and diverse workplace for women and men are multifaceted. The most cited benefits include:

• Improved financial performance
• A healthy talent pipeline
• Retention and development of the best talent
• Deeper insight into customers and market opportunities
• An enhanced reputation and corporate brand

As an increasing number of companies are discovering, diversity and inclusion in the workplace is an opportunity that can no longer be ignored.  Companies as CapGemini and Starbucks are also actively working on talent development, diversity and inclusion.  Watch this video of Starbucks

Strategy is to reduce unconscious bias and facilitate dialogue for change 
According to the Tedtalk of Arwa Mahdawi the direction for creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace is to reduce the unconscious bias and initiate dialogue about these biases and how to overcome them.

As example; Some professional orchestras started to do blind auditions, and surprisingly selected women went up from 25 o 46 %.  A number of recruiters and recruiting agencies started a selection procedure to only receive and review anonymous curricula vitaes. According to research;

• 60 % more minorities were selected for interviews as compared to resume screening;
• 125 % more women were selected for interviews as compared to resume screening

The argument of many CEOs that we can not find the people with the appropriate skills, talents, qualities and experience is not valid in these cases. It is an unconscious bias.
Recruitment is not the only area where gains can be made.  To create an inclusive workplace facilitation is essential to create a safe environment and to enable dialogue about differences. It requires commitment from the Top and an overall approach covering the areas of strategy, governance and management structures, organizational culture, talent development and training, human resources policies, product and service delivery strategies, marketing and advertisement, job welfare and renumeration policies and supportive workplace policies. The senior management should take the initiative and show commitment to take steps, that their workforce will reflect the diversity of our societies.  A working group, reflecting a group of committed people who want to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace, should further carry forward this process with the support of their executive management, diversity & inclusion experts and good facilitators. Individual assessment, but also focus group discussions and the use of creative methods such as theatre and participatory video can add a significant contribution in bringing hidden differences above the surface, create awareness, bring people together and build bridges and facilitate change. 

                                                                                    Participatory Video

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is not the result, it is a journey which continuously should be nurtured by dialogue, taking steps little by little, continuous monitoring, overcoming challenges and difficulties and celebrating milestones and successes. Finally it will benefit the organisation if they can have and promote role models and ambassadors, who reflect the diversity and changes taking place in the society. So it will finally benefit to  embrace diversity and inclusion. The competitive advantage or an organisation of the future will be determined by talent. The organisations having the best talent and most inclusive workplace will be most successful in meeting these complex demands in this fast changing society.

Simon Koolwijk
e-mail.  faccom@xs4all.nl