I recently hosted a webinar entitled «Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging: a modern approach to the best practice» as part of the series of meetings with international experts I host as chairman of the EMBRAS International Business Awards Jury.
The webinar experts were Fatiah Touray, Executive Director for Inclusion and Equity at New York University Abu-Dhabi, and Iroda Azimova, an internal communications and engagement expert at Beeline Uzbekistan. I decided to share my insights from the meeting.
The parameters of diversity
The first important topic we discussed is that, depending on the country, the issue of diversity and inclusion has its priorities.
For example, in the U.S. and Brazil, the focus is on race; in India, it is on caste; in Japan, it is on age; and in Uzbekistan, it is on gender. Certain aspects become more relevant depending on the country’s history and current situation.
Fatya shared a list of parameters a company can consider when designing programs and what to look for.
Among them:
— Language
— Ethnicity
— Religion
— Mindset (neurodiversity)
— Experience
— Education
— Gender
— Physical ability
— Race
— Sexual orientation (in some countries, it is illegal, for example, in Russia and Uzbekistan)
— Culture
— Nationality
— Age.
In recent years the topic of neuroplasticity has become very popular, which includes creating opportunities for people with special needs to work — for example, dyslexic or with an autism spectrum disorder. On this topic, I see many events where companies share their experiences.
What will be relevant for a particular company depends on many factors: country, culture, business features, market opportunities, etc.
Leadership and Culture
To succeed in developing a culture of inclusion, equality, and diversity, the role of leaders is vital. If they have a similar approach and practices, the company can implement a similar approach.
There is an attractive 6C leadership model from Delloite
— Cognizance-because prejudice is the Achilles heel of leaders
— Courage-because talking about imperfection is hard, and it’s a personal risk
— Curiosity-because different ideas and experiences contribute to growth
— Cultural Intelligence-because people see the world differently
— Collaboration-because teams thinking differently produce better results
— Commitment — because it’s hard to stay committed to the theme of diversity.
But without creating and developing a culture of embracing diversity as an idea that underpins business and people management systems, the theme will prove «empty,» unviable, and lead to cynicism and frustration.
Steps to Create a Strategy
What is essential for a company that wants to implement a DEI culture?
Step 1. Identify the company’s values. See if there are any among them that will support this approach. For example, the value of integrity, which is gaining popularity in international companies, is directly related to this theme.
Step 2: Identity what is diversity and inclusiveness for you, creating equal opportunities.
Step 3. Be willing to openly discuss the topic of pay equity, regardless of factors unrelated to experience or qualifications. Since companies often have an income gap based on gender or race, this is one of the most important things.
Step 4: Conduct an employee survey. Understanding what the topic means, what aspects are essential to address, and what is important to them personally is essential. And what aspects are essential to pay special attention to in the implementation process.
Step 5. Create a centre of expertise in the company that can support the employees in the process of developing the culture and new approaches.
Step 6. to learn and talk more about microaggression, a behaviour which may subconsciously emerge in the work process and is often based on the factors of difference (division according to the principle «a stranger — stranger»). Paying attention to it and working with it
Step 7. Develop for all employees’ competencies necessary for diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities policy
Step 8. Create support groups and communities for employees on different grounds to support them.
Step 9. Give employees public credit for their work.
Step 10. Change the hiring system to avoid discrimination in the hiring process.
Step 11. Involve your partners and suppliers in the implementation of the DEI policy.
Step 12 Publish regular data on how and what you are doing and what progress has been made.
Step 13. Include DEI competency assessment in the employee evaluation system.
Step 14. Involve leaders and make them ambassadors for the program.
Such detailed and helpful instruction can allow companies to form their approaches.
