Corporate Diversity & Inclusion · 9.3 Coaching and Education 26 10. Extend to Senior Managers 28 10.1 Tracking & Progress 28 10.3 Policies and Principles 30 11. Cascade to People

Supported by

Corporate Diversity & InclusionBetter Performance & Equality Outcomes

for academics

Written by Nigel Stewart Edited by Asari St Hill

2 Corporate Diversity & Inclusion - Better Performance & Equality Outcomes

Acknowledgments“I want to say huge thank you to David Benson at Google for putting

faith in us to deliver such an important study. It's been wonderful

to work with you. Thank you to the research and production team,

Natasha Thompson, Natalie Mayhew, Asari St Hill and Tamba Foday.

I appreciate your hard work in bringing this project to life. Finally,

I want to offer a special thank you to all the respondents who

contributed their ideas. It's your knowledge and insights that have

made this report what it is. I’m grateful for your time and willingness

to share.”

3panafricanthought.com

Contents1. Introduction 4

2. Literature Review 5

2.1 Changing workforce demographics 5

2.2 Labour Market Exclusion in Britain 5

2.3 Race, Ethnicity & the Labour Market 6

2.4 Comparing US and other Western Democracies 9

2.5 Unconscious Bias Training 10

3. Reasons for Stagnation and Regression 11

4. Making Progress 12

6. About the Diversity & Inclusion Planning Tool 15

7. Using the Diversity & Inclusion Planning Tool 16

7.1 Data Collection 17

7.2Classification 18

7.3 Leadership Belief andContextualisation 18

7.4 Targets & Priorities 19

8. Dealing with Race & Racism 21

8.1UnderstandingtheRacialised Experience 22

9. Plan & Design 23

9.1DataRefinement 23

9.2 Leadership Transformation 24

9.3 Coaching and Education 26

10. Extend to Senior Managers 28

10.1Tracking&Progress 28

10.3 Policies and Principles 30

11. Cascade to People Managers & ICS 31

11.1 Build Systems of Accountability 31

11.2 Management Training 32

11.3 Strategic Review 34

12. Diversity and Inclusion Tool Box 35

12.1 Better Recruitment & Retention Practice 35

12.2 Better Inclusion & Wellbeing Practice 36

13. Conclusion 37


1. Introduction

1 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

Diversity and inclusion is now a global conversation, a conversation that has been happening since the term was first adopted by the UN Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2001. At the root, it’s a conversation about achieving equality at work with talent that’s reflective of the communities we serve. In the UK, it has been born out of over 50 years of equality legislation going back to the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Race Discrimination Act 1976. Our most significant and recent legal changes, the Equality Act 2010 and mandatory Gender Pay Gap Reporting 2017 are evolving the nature of corporate leadership in an unprecedented sense.

In the existing body of research, that evidence tells us that the most ethnically, sexual and gender diverse workplaces are 45% more likely to financially outperform their industry average than the least diverse workplaces.1 The evidence that good D&I yields higher performing companies is so powerfully sophisticated that executives are now sold on the economic case. However, knowledge on the practice of building inclusive workplaces is more threadbare. If we want executives to deliver D&I in a tangible and sustainable way then sharing intervention and thinking tools that equip them to deliver is paramount.

In actuality, meeting the challenge of blending individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences and insights into higher functioning teams that lift the organisations performance is a discipline in and of itself. Clearly, Britain hasn’t trained enough theorists and practitioners to tackle the D&I agenda in full. There is a vacuum in formal diversity education. Why is D&I not on our business MBA’s? That may surprise because the penalties are wide ranging and severe. Stagnation, fatigue, and regression, then there is the changing legislative environment and growing

consumer activism. Most importantly, corporate D&I grows ever more crucial because the acquisition and retention of talent from all sections of gen Z will ensure companies don’t die from the ringing voices of their own echo chamber. Organisations that reproduce in their own image using old recruitment methods will simply die in the 21st century. Business cannot expect optimal performance without alternative voices in the room. Voices looking for employers who best reflect their own values and needs. It's what Matthew Syed describes in his book ‘Rebel Ideas’ as cognitive diversity or diversity of thought i.e. the collective intelligence of a teams ability to solve problems. In that sense D&I is a command over the evolving nature of our working population.

We analysed the D&I footprint of eighteen large companies across six sectors with the idea of compiling a simple model of practical change, a blueprint for analysis and execution. We wanted to find practice that set the leading companies apart in order to share what works and what doesn’t, and help others save time and energy, or progress faster. Our report harmonises thinking from the leading diverse and inclusive employers who we believe are showing us the way. It communicates what these leaders would advise other boards, CEO’s and CDO’s in simple pragmatic terms.

The report also offers an independent and fresh theoretical perspective on the canon of literature, interventions and tools already available. A perspective that comes from our expertise and work on racialised discrimination in employment, criminal justice and education. Overall, wherever your business charts on the journey, we trust it will give you confidence to improve or do more. Whether that be in the recruitment and retention of minorities or developing a more inclusive culture - we trust it will help to shape clearer thinking on ways to progress.


Literature Review

2. Literature Review2.1 Changing workforce demographics

Diversity and inclusion are important to embrace because of the changing nature and makeup of our workforce populations. On a national level there is a steady incline in Britain’s minority population - globally, that growth is exponential. We are in an ever expanding multiracial multicultural workforce of multifaceted identities.

Britain

● Today, approximately 14% of the total UK population is a “person of colour” or from a “non-white” ethnic group, up from just over 2% in 1971

● By 2030, it is expected that the proportion will be closer to 20% of the total UK population.

● By 2051, it is expected that the proportion of people of colour in the UK will reach to over 30% of the total UK population.

Source: Parker Review 2017

Rest of the World

● Between 2015-2050, one-half of the world’s population growth will be concentrated in nine countries, five of which are in Africa and three in Asia.

● Africa is expected to account for more than half of the world’s population growth between 2015 and 2050

● China and India remain the two largest countries in the world, each with more than 1 billion people, representing 19 and 18 % of the world’s population

Source: UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs

2.2 Labour Market Exclusion in Britain

Why is minority talent in Britain falling away? Social and labour market exclusion starts in education. It is the lack of access to quality education and training that prevent marginalised groups from entering the national talent pool. If the national talent plan itself produces a homogeneous labour market then corporations will inevitably struggle to achieve diversity. On a macrosocial level, there must be a new combined force, a contract between corporation and state that marries social responsibility with the national equality plan under a Private Sector Equality Duty (PSED). A contract that outlines the obligations and parameters for producing a heterogeneous labour market that balances the interests of citizen, corporation and state.

When the nation state fails to provide equal and fair education opportunities and exclusion persists as a result, the burden of support often falls on the welfare system. This is where corporations and PLC’s have a role to play, by integrating D&I into broader socioeconomic and educational justice initiatives. Industries cannot solely rely on the state to produce the national talent pool. Instead corporates should look at extending interventions that remove the social barriers leading to “macro” diversity. What is sure, is that in the triennial report on equality in Britain, Is Britain Fairer? the evidence on educational outcomes paints a sobering picture. The recommendations for reducing things like the attainment gaps, school exclusions, HE (Higher Education) access and HE outcomes do not go far enough. Social inclusion is a corporate responsibility. The private sector could and should do more in terms of community outreach and policy engagement as part of their D&I strategy.


In Britain, the percentage improvements on labour market exclusions per minority group from 2011 are so appallingly low that policymakers may soon be tempted in drafting tougher legislation - for both the public and private sector. That is where the notion of a new contract comes in. It is the point where aspirational targeting becomes statutory targeting, penalties and sanctions. Debate about how far the government should intervene in holding corporates to account is ongoing academic discourse. The Parker review steering committee settled on the agreement that aspirational targets without legislative intervention is sufficient. Our view is that due to the political pressure that comes from Britain’s equality obligations to the UN, that position is fragile. Corporations would be wise not to take this gentle approach on targeting for granted. If aspiration won’t deliver then statute will at some point have to come into force.

Pattern of labour market exclusion in Britain

Disability

None Disabled 2010/11 Disabled

64.5% 32.6%

None Disabled 2016/17 Disabled

71.9% 35.1%

PP - ND 7.4 / D 2.5

Ethnicity White British 2010/11 Ethnic minorities

57.9% 55.1%(White minorities employment rate is 64.2) (exc. white minorities)

White British 2016/17 Ethnic minorities

59.1% 59.9%(White minorities employment rate is 64.2 74.1%) (exc. white minorities)

PP - WB 1.3 / EM 4.8 (WM 9.9)

Gender

Male 2010/11 Female

63.7% 52.5%

Male 2016/17 Female

65.5% 55.1%

PP - M 1.8 / F 2.6 Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission

2.3 Race, Ethnicity & the Labour Market

Government and activists have earmarked race and ethnicity as the next equality battle station. All our institutions, public and private, are under the race and ethnicity microscope. There are two studies to emerge as the leading guidance for industry. The Parker review, aimed at executive representation and board composition and the Mcgregor Smith Review, a general look at race in the workplace in the FTSE 100.

There are two things that jump out of these reports that are important to note. One is that less than half of the 74 respondents had any meaningful data on race and ethnicity to share with the committee. Out of that comes the strong recommendation for government to ensure that all listed companies and businesses employing over 50 people publish workforce data broken down by race and pay bands. Although mandatory reporting on race and ethnicity has yet to be legislated it is almost certain to be introduced. Companies who have voluntarily published their race and ethnicity pay gap ahead of the legislative curve must be commended. We expect more to follow suit.

The second relates to the claim that full representation and progression of BME employees adds a potential economic benefit of £24billion to the


Literature Review

UK economy.2 As attention grabbing as that figure sounds it is based on the loose assumption of full BAME employment as a proxy to white employment. The calculation assumes no white displacement and so the idea that the economy will produce more jobs in proportion to increased BAME participation completely invalidates the claim.

Despite the loose £24billion claim, as a body of review work, the Mcgregor Smith report is unrivalled in statistical analysis and recommendation. It acknowledges where the problems are. In the supply chains, the data, the recruitment processes and culture. We would endorse it’s call for the government to develop employer guides and knowledge hubs on how to improve racial diversity. It recommends BITC publish a race quality index and for government to hold and review diversity policies for the fund owners of all FTSE 100 companies. Again, we would describe these measures as welcome and progressive. The most crucial omission from most of the race equality discourse is the “what is” and “why” we need race as an archetypical descriptor for human beings in the first place? Racial divisions and prejudice have their historical basis in the ideologies developed as part of early group contact, especially for justifications of the international slave trade and colonialism (Fredrickson 2002).3 The result was a set of beliefs, ideas, and prejudices about the inferiority of nonwhite racial groups that were often quite similar across western countries (Winant 2001).4 If one was to the transpose hypothesis of Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory, to racially classify people will inevitably always lead to the natural cognitive response of “othering” i.e. the psychological process of creating ingroups and outgroups (us and them). In other words, by upholding colour descriptors we are asking too much of human beings to re appropriate the characteristics

2 Baroness Ruby Mcgregor-Smith, Mcgregor-Smith review on Race in the workplace, Feb 2017 pp 2 3 Quillian, Heath,Pager, Midtbøen,Fleischmann, Hexel, Journal of Sociological Science, Do Some Countries Discriminate More than Others? Evidence from 97 Field

Experiments of Racial Discrimination in Hiring, June 19, Pge 467

4 Quillian, Heath,Pager, Midtbøen,Fleischmann, Hexel, Journal of Sociological Science, Do Some Countries Discriminate More than Others? Evidence from 97 Field Experiments of Racial Discrimination in Hiring, June 19, Pge 468

5 Sir John Parker, Report into the Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards, Oct 17, Page 15 6 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ethnicity-labels-are-divisive-says-phillips-qptswxk3l93

applied to each racial category. The ideological construction of those terms are so entrenched in the human psyche that for all the great work in stemming racism and racist behaviour you still have the framework of discrimination, the idea of race.

The conversation on terminology and racial classification was a discussion among the steering committee of the Parker Review. A committee that includes three of the countries leading race equality theorists. Once chairman of the equality and human rights commission Trevor Phillips, Ken Olisa and Yvonne Thompson. The consultation concluded that terminology was in quote a “minor part of the discussion” and that terms like BME and POC (People of Colour) adequately convey the meaning necessary for the report and is sufficiently well understood for the recommendations to be implemented.5 It seems incredulous to us that Trevor Philips OBE for example, who has in the past publicly condemned the use of the term BME, describing it as “deepening and masking inequalities” could endorse it’s continued use.6 Terminology, language, how we think and classify human beings is a major issue - with three race equality giants on the committee we would have expected an endorsement for non binary classifications and data monitoring systems that inform on the racialised experience more intelligently. How else will we move away from the idea of a black or white person is doing a job and to just a person doing a job?

The most important aspect of the Parker Review is to acknowledge the empirical findings. It not only exposes just how exclusively monosexual, cultural and hetronormative corporate leadership is, but that it continues to reproduce in its own image. These are the group we are relying on to buy into, resource


and push the diversity agenda. There is a credibility and hypocrosity case when leadership are self appointed to engineer organisational and cultural transformation, especially when that excludes those marginalised and keeps power centralised in the hetronormative white male minority. The stakes are so high one would assume the need to assert harder reforms to accelerate diversity in a more impactful way. Aspects of the review clearly make commercial logic and are useful. What we find problematic are the incrementally soft gradualist recommends allied to the Mgregor Smith review. In fact, two of the stronger recommends, one having statutory quotas for board composition and two, minimum requirements for nomination committees a kin to the “rooney rule” in the U.S were deemed as insufficient legislative measures, why? The fact that “business representatives among us were clear that such compulsion would be strongly resisted”. That “valuable energy would be wasted debating (these) unrealistic proposals” itself highlights the issue with leadership and the diversity agenda.7 Turkeys are never going to vote for christmas. In addition, the idea that a ministerial review without legislative recommendation can be seen as progressive raises an eyebrow. Nevertheless, the set of internal actions put forward dovetail seamlessly with the other state commissioned reviews. It offers good tips for developing a voluntary code of conduct, improving multiethnic executive pipelines, managing recruitment supply chains and effective transparency and disclosure systems via what it calls a directors resource toolkit.

● Directors in the FTSE 100 directors 1,050, 81 directors were of colour

● Directors of colour remain at 8% of the total number of directors in the FTSE 100

● 51 of the FTSE 100 companies do not have any directors of colour

● UK citizen directors of colour represent approximately 2% of the total

● Six directors of colour hold Chair or CEO position

● Black and ethnic minority representation on UK FTSE 100 Boards is currently at around 5%

Source: Green Park Analytics

The main theme of the Parker review and it’s headline, the slogan “beyond one by 21” is meant to encapsulate a recommendation for every FTSE 100 board to have at least one ethnic minority director by 2021. A figure calculated by scaling the current and projected ethnic population down by 50% and applied to a 10 person board. The review further explains that owing to board appointment cycles that will mean the FTSE must employ a ethnic minority at a rate of 1 in 5. At a time when data published by Green Park and Audeliss in 2016 highlights hundreds of high- calibre “board ready” candidates from ethnic backgrounds we would question the review’s logic in scaling the benchmark down from 14% - 20% to 7% - 10%. In fact, it makes the contradiction of citing the Executive Leadership Council and Powerful Media as two sources of experienced board ready ethnic minority candidates who are available and on the market. What message does this send to the abundance of talent in waiting? It is not a benchmark methodology that takes us forward.

7 Sir John Parker, Report into the Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards, Oct 17, Page 45


Literature Review

The other reason that the Parker benchmark is so demoralising is that it ignores critical mass theory. Research on gender reported it takes 30 per cent or more women at a senior level to make a sustainable change, as in they will no longer be perceived as female directors, but simply as directors.8 Research also shows that a critical mass of around a fifth of leaders from ethnocultural minorities is necessary for new ideas to surface.9 In a world where the social reality of a shrinking white male majority is true and the racial, sexual minority pool is expanding, that benchmark should be scaled up by 50% not down. It may take a recruitment ratio of 2 or 3 in 5 to reach critical mass. In such an internationalised global economy “beyond one by 21” does not stretch far enough and we fear it’ll foster more regression and tokenism.

8 in 10 believed that factors other than merit have hindered their career

7 in 10 said that their background has been a significant barrier to their progression

Over 60% believed that unconscious bias of CEOs and leadership teams is one of the leading reasons for the lack of progress

(BAME) perspective on barriers to progression in leadership, in and out of the workplace.

Source: Harvey Nash Survey

2.4 Comparing US and other Western Democracies

The question of comparative racism in the workplace as a global phenomena has not been extensively discussed. It is somewhat surprising how little analysis or evidence is collated on cross national racial discrimination. National and cross national differences has been a point of study for Professor Lincoln Quillian of the Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, Chicago. Cross national differences in levels of racial discrimination are useful conversations to understand racism as a global structure and to measure against successful foreign diversity and inclusion practice.

What we should ideally see in studies are a correlating decline in the significance of race along with the incline in diversity. Instead, the results of Professor Quillan’s research “document a striking persistence of racial discrimination in US labour markets.” On average, white applicants receive 36% more callbacks than equally

8 Raj Tulsiani, Trevor Pullips OBE, Diversity 10 minute guide for business executives, 201X, Pge 14 9 Q Roberson and H J Pack, The Effects of Diversity Reputation and Leader Racial Diversity, Apr 06, Pge x


Literature Review

qualified African Americans and white applicants receive on average 24% more callbacks than Latinos. Although there is some indication of declining discrimination against Latinos, he finds there has been no change in the levels of discrimination against African Americans since 1989.10

It is important to note that his studies measure discrimination by field experiments on points of contact where fictional candidates from different racial or ethnic groups apply for jobs and call backs, emails and interview invitations are counted. He uses the meta-analysis methodology of aggregating national studies and coding the datasets to deduce a discrimination ratio. In high-discrimination countries white natives receive nearly twice the callbacks of nonwhites. In low-discrimination countries white natives receive about 25 percent more. France has the highest discrimination rates, followed by Sweden. There are smaller differences among Great Britain, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States, and Germany.11

So what does this all mean for global diversity managers on the D&I journey? While the study clearly illustrates variations between nations that we can attribute to their particular social and political history it underlines the reality of racism as a global political system, a particular power structure of formal or informal rule, socioeconomic privilege and norms for the differential distribution of material wealth and opportunities, benefits and burdens, rights and duties.12 Dismantling racism, this global system of injustice “is” the structural work of diversity practitioners. It is a deeper level of creating and implementing global policies, frameworks and institutional mechanisms that play out across jurisdictions. In the example of France, we are also warned that a colour blind approach deepens discrimination. That may contradict the notion that

10 Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2017/09/11/1706255114.full.pdf Apr 17, Pge 1 11 Quillian, Heath,Pager, Midtbøen,Fleischmann, Hexel, Journal of Sociological Science, Do Some Countries Discriminate More than Others? Evidence from 97 Field

Experiments of Racial Discrimination in Hiring, June 19, Pge 467

12 Charles Mills, The Racial Contract, 1997, Page 3 13 EHRC Research Report 113, Unconscious Bias Training, Mar 18, Pge 614 EHRC Research Report 113, Unconscious Bias Training, Mar 18, Pge 8

colour descriptors are undignified. However, human difference needn’t be constructed in race theory. Perhaps they could in future be continental or ethnically constructed, or both.

2.5 Unconscious Bias Training

One of the most important pieces of literature to go under the radar in 2018 was the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s research paper on UBT. Written by highly respected business psychologists and researchers Doyin Atewologun, Tinu Cornish and Fatima Tresh, it builds on the work of Alexandra Kalev at Tel Aviv University and Frank Dobin of Harvard in seeking to evidence the effectiveness of UBT against the claim that most training ends up reducing the share of women and minorities in leadership jobs. The report doesn’t go so far as reaffirming this, however it brilliantly puts UBT under a critical microscope for companies who believe it to be the silver bullet to their diversity problem. The evidence that UBT has the ability to effectively change behaviour is limited. While UBT reduces implicit bias for a short time, these biases are unlikely to be completely eradicated 13 The important distinction it draws is that the goal of UBT shouldn’t be about making people in your organisation less bias, it should be about opening people up to dialogue. UBT doesn’t make change, UBT brings biases into our awareness so the individual work to change can begin. It’s a mistake to believe buying in UBT sufficiently solves the problem. Along with IAT (implicit association testing), UBT should be treated as just one part of the comprehensive strategy for achieving organisation wide change.14 A tool to unearth people’s passive and implicit associations rather than change them.


Reasons for Stagnation

3. Reasons for Stagnation and Regression Corporate diversity management requires high level skill, competence and patience. It’s the discipline of creating competitive advantage by coordinating corporate activities and behaviours towards an equitable state of being. In the last five years the D&I discourse has centered on the performance imperative. D&I as good for bottom line, D&I as crucial for innovation and diversity of thought, again, what Mathew Syed calls neurodiversity in ‘Rebel Ideas’. D&I also helps us to understand candidates and customers better or give us a competitive edge, drivers that are true. However, from a broader social justice perspective there are still huge pockets of disparities that persist in our labour markets. There is still a wealth of untapped underutilised talent in all the minority groups.

In our view, despite best endeavors, there is slow or reverse movement on the representation and progress of minorities in Britain’s largest companies for two primary reasons:

● Problem Perception - Corporations lack a true understanding on the root causes of discrimination (biases) that block the employment pathways of those from protected identities (characteristics).

● Corporate & Social Transformation - Consequently there are no sure models, agents and bodies delivering adequate corporate and social change programmes.

Improving diversity performance requires deep transformational work on multiple levels. D&I tackles the complex psychological and sociological issues that are rooted in our historical, legal and cultural legacies. The real issue is one of developing truer perspectives on those roots and the proficiency of agents delivering structural and individual models of change. It's the job of unearthing frameworks and associations so far embedded in our national and

international paradigms in order that unconscious behaviours are recognised and challenged. The power to change begins with the will to tackle the psychological and sociological barriers that block the employment pathways of marginalised groups.

In addition to this, the study also found that progress across all the protective identities (characteristics) is slow for six secondary reasons:

● Discourse - The narrative on D&I has become so disconnected from its original ideological meaning that companies lose the right context from which to draft an effective strategy.

● Non Inclusive Inclusion - Companies have spent years heavily focused on gender parity and ignored the legislative trajectory on race and disability.

● Competent Leadership - Companies incorrectly prioritised leadership commitment and buy in over leadership transformation.

● Diversity Paralysis - The lack of accurate data and analysis rationalised an apathetic and laissez faire attitude to positive action.

● Data Misclassification - Companies collected datasets that homogenised people with unique and differing recruitment and progression barriers.

● Racism Denial - Despite the evidence, there is a real struggle getting executives to acknowledge, understand and implement solutions for race equality.

● Diversity Fatigue - Actions and practice that were misaligned and didn’t yield results caused disillusion and diversity fatigue.


4. Making Progress

15 Arun Batra, EY, National Equality Standard sample assessment report, April 2018 page 22

In the early stages of our study we quickly discovered a strong correlation between problem perception and diversity performance. We realised that even the notion of best practice “as a one size fits all” theory is a redundant idea without first accepting there are deep root causes of disadvantage in both the company and society as a whole. What was evident is that despite our leaders making great strides across the board there was an immense determination to do more. The overriding message was “we know more needs to be done even if we’re not sure how”. Common struggles that sprang up time and again centred around leader acknowledgement/denial, collecting and interpreting data and harmonising across a global business. Struggles around getting minority groups into the recruitment funnel and proportionately progressing through the promotion cycle - as well as the impact of new processes on the individual behaviours of hiring staff and how to nudge people into disrupting their biases on a day to day basis. Its what we describe as corporate dissonance. This dissonance comes from the intuitive and intellectual sense that there must be change without necessarily having the awareness or confidence in how. Rather then, in order to overcome this dissonance and begin this deep transformational work the board and it’s executives must first:

a. Do some deeper learning on the psychological and sociological nuances that affect the employment pathways of people from each protective group.

Awareness and mindset are what set our leaders apart. It was in the degree to which their organisations had a grasp on the various internal and external forces so as to prescribe the appropriate set of actions. In other words it’s not just about hiring and promoting more minorities but learning why the gaps exist in the first place. It’s not just removing or training

people with individual bias. In fact those who make hiring decisions mostly do so in good conscience with justified reason. It’s about taking steps to confront the processes and systems that inadvertently render talent from minority groups invisible. The business must understand why identities exclude people from entering our pools and pipelines with any sense of the same fair and just opportunities as their peers.

The Corporate Diversity Goal:

Anequalplayingfieldforworkersof all groups and consistent standards of practice resulting in proportional representation of everyone in society at every level of the business.

b. Invest in, empower and build the organisations capacity and proficiency to deliver a robust diversity and inclusion strategy.

What do we mean by capacity and proficiency? Well, the NES (National Equality Standard) D&I maturity model brilliantly outlines five levels an organisation transitions through to becoming diverse, intercultural and institutionally inclusive, however, it is incomplete. On level five, the level where D&I becomes a core component of the business and has sustainable initiatives embedded through the organisation. The level where D&I is capable of changing behaviours and diversity data is shaping strategic decisions does not characterise full maturity.15 There is another level, a sixth level, where metrics and scorecards yield results that inspire others and being diverse


Making Progress

and inclusive becomes a natural way of creating value for the business. It is a level of maturity that demands that the right expertise and resources around each of the diversity strands are in place - along with competence to implement. Borrowing from the great work of Professor Ibram X Kendi in “how to be an antiracist” people believe becoming non discriminatory eliminates discrimination. This duplicitous thinking is kin to saying “I’m not racist because I black friends.” Only anti discrimination practice elminates discrimination. Corporate proficiency is essentially opting to be anti instead of non discriminatory. Anti discriminatory is actively seeking to create more equal and equitable frameworks so regardless of individual bias talent can still comes through. We believe the corporate world needs more anti discrimination advocates, allies and pioneers - what we call diversity pioneers.

Six Characteristics of a Diversity Pioneer

State of a naturally inclusive organisation with consistent standards of practice that result in the proportional representation and remuneration at all levels of the business. 1

D&Ihasachievedtheobjectiveofanequalandequitableplayingfieldforemployeesofallgroups 2

Organisation can tangibly demonstrate the elimination of discrimination and the results of their D&I work has yielded a bias free workplace 3

Aninclusivebiasfreeorganisationalculturereflectsinthewellbeingofitsemployees 4

Diversity data, metrics and scorecards are market leading and an inspiration to others 5

A return on D&I investment can be clearly articulated by the business leaders 6

Adapted from the National Equality Standard

c. Use the framework of our Planning & Analysis Tool to craft a document that crystallises D&I responsibilities, obligations and aspirations into a strategic plan.

Help Employees to

Overcome Individual Bias and Prejudice

Tackle Structural Bias and Discrimination

Reverse Social Inequalities that affect

Local and National Labour Markets

Aims of a D&I Strategy


Making Progress

5. Our Corporate Diversity Planning & Analysis ToolConversations on strategy with our respondents were extremely candid and enlightening. Out of those ideas we developed a planning and analysis tool that sequences the journey in chronological steps. It’s a simple but powerful tool for understanding the fundamentals of corporate diversity management and the process of drafting a diversity and inclusion plan that’s true to any corporate environment. Setting out the components through such a comprehensive planning tool develops more confidence in the diversity vision and more confidence in the strategic choices. The tool inherently covers compliance with the social, legal and corporate responsibilities of the business. It produces a unique set of actions that avoids the aforementioned pitfalls and matures the organisation as a diversity pioneer.

Diversity & Inclusion Tool Box

Recruitment Inclusion

Retention Wellbeing

Collect Believe &Contextualise

Target & Prioritise

Refine Transform Design Systems & Processes

Track Role Model Policies & Procedures

Accountability TrainManagers Review

Initi

ate

Plan

Ex

tend

Casc

ade

Jour

ney

Stra

tegy

Dire

ctin

gRe

peat

1Pillar

Data Intelligence

2Pillar

Leadership

3Pillar

Implementation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4


About the Diversity Planning Tool

6. About the Diversity & Inclusion Planning Tool Our diversity and inclusion planning tool is a four step framework devised under the three fundamental pillars of good D&I. In each step, three components make up the framework along the x axis and four components on the y axis. The pillars, data intelligence, leadership and implementation are foundational, meaning it forces broad based analysis on the challenge of delivering D&I. Based on those foundations executives and CDO’s are able to tailor the appropriate interventions and practice for their business environment. Implementation is supported by a diversity and inclusion tool box that features the different actions available to execute strategy. Recruitment and retention, inclusion and wellbeing are implementation steps. It is of course important to work through building strong foundations before execution.

Crucially, what we found is that the foundational components are mutually exclusive. There must be an awareness of managing this interconnectedness along the x and y work streams. The symbiotic interaction between data and leadership and the development of subsequent policies and procedures cannot be underestimated. If you miss the construction of one pillar it jeopardises progress regardless of the quality of work in another. It’s this interplay, the total sum of interconnected parts that work to drive (or hinder) diversity performance.


7. Using the Diversity & Inclusion Planning Tool Step 1

Initiate the Process

Collect Data

In order to find the gaps and disparities, outline the company’s D&I focus and set measurable targets across all the protective identities.

Diagnostic

Monitoring and Measurement

Employee Motivation

Inform Strategy

Targeting

Readiness for Mandatory Reporting

Control Narrative

Reasons to Build a Diversity and Inclusion Index


Using The Diversity Planning Tool

7.1 Data Collection

In recent years data and data transparency has transformed the D&I landscape. Data is obviously crucial to evidence where the disparities exist and to be clear on where you’re failing. It is where you understand your baselines and establish a starting point. The challenge we found is that as new and multiple identities shape our cultural evolution companies are also being forced to look at designing more integrated data extraction systems. Systems for collection and analysis that structure information across all the protective identities. One option is to collect and produce your metrics using an in house equality index, what we call a Corporate Equality Index (CEI). While we understand the logic of external assessment and review, the need for live, dynamic data to help leaders be aware of where they stand is greater. Building a company owned Corporate Equality Index is a great starting point for creating a complete raw picture that reflects the institutional reality. Rather than awaiting external review and validation, self indexing provides the perfect architecture to be consistently on top of D&I performance.

Data is crucial to setting the right

aspirational targets

Data is crucial for understanding how you are performing

Data is crucial for driving and

measuring progress

Data is crucial for targeted

interventions and drafting strategy

Reasons for Good Data

While some companies struggle to get meaningful self id numbers our leading respondents had excellent disclosure rates, between 80 - 92% overall, 100% in some identities. Companies can improve disclosure rates by a. having multiple data capture points throughout the employee life cycle and b. improving data capture points and c. continually asking employees. This means investment in employer branding and communicating the diversity vision with consistency and passion. To improve self ID rates educate staff as to why their information is important. If there is hesitation or nervousness around disclosure, know that there is more risk in the inability to move forward. As with any strategy, D&I must be driven by solid data and evidence to be successful. The best hold themselves accountable, share more granular data internally and publish benchmarks and progress externally.


7.2 Classification

The enemy of diversity is homogeneity, and the trap of labelling people with very unique experiences and barriers into homogeneous groups is a subtle one. Misclassification can railroad the entire process. So for example, although popular, we see measuring in terms like BAME or BME as a grave error. In doing so you augment blind spots and render the barriers of each racial and ethnic group invisible. This issue of aggregating is not good practice, we should be narrowing down. In the UK the minority groups (those who identify as non-white) include Asian, Oriental, African/Caribbean and even Eastern Europeans as ‘white other’ and so blanket BAME inteventions will always be inadqute for everyone falling under the term. Yes, the British classification system is kin to much of our social order, it is the system that underwrites the stereotypes, prejudices and invisible racial hierarchy that we are socialised to believe in. However, mashed terms like these compound the confusion. While we don’t have terminology that’s global and adequately defining the best way to capture accurately and true is to use the office of national statistics (ONS) or national equivalent classification system.

7.3 Leadership Belief and Contextualisation

There’s a presumption that we all share a universal meaning on D&I. This is how discussions often begin in the anecdotal before escalating into some semblance of disjointed actions. These actions are often segregated from a. the social and legal responsibility and b. the corporate objective. Belief and contextualisation is understanding how the salient issues factor into the business and drive the organisation towards its corporate objectives. Salient issues will differ between industries, take the comparison with banking and construction. The

16 Mustafa Özbilgin, Karsten Jonsen, Ahu Tatali, Joana Vassilopoulou and Olca Surgveil, Global Diversity Management, Nov 14 Chapter 22 PP 434 17 Equality & Human Rights Commission et tal, research reports 108-113, Aug 17 - Mar 18

construction industry has particular trouble with gender stereotyping and attracting women to the sector. Conversely the sector has lower barriers to entry and performs better at employing migrants. Armed with the data, consider both the internal and external drivers and align them with the commercial objectives. Owing to global and national contexts, craft and articulate a global vision that is derived “from” the universal meaning - restoring the rights of individuals to earn equal pay for equal work and to work without discrimination.

Clearly, diversity doesn’t work as a set of functions outside of the corporate strategy and the attempt to balance between social and corporate responsibility creates a natural tension. Segregated actions are a sure way of misalignment, wasting resources, alienating stakeholders and diversity fatigue. The UN originally meant D&I to centre on equality and human rights, not profits, but if PLCs and partnerships are focused on nothing but profits there is there a risk of inaccurately framing the challenge. Also, crafting a global vision where there’s this wrestle between labour market conditions across various jurisdictions is complex. So is management where dynamics in employment rates and competition for talent factor differently, where the labour force is segregated along gender and ethnicity lines for cultural reasons 16 or where it may be a common practice to keep the local internal workforce homogeneous.17 The best visions are crafted in view of the business and business sector and clarity on the data patterns that emerge through the collection and refinement process.



the business

case

State

the legal case

Vision

Shareholders

Society

the social / moral case

D&I, Social and Corporate Responsibility

7.4 Targets & Priorities

Once you have the baselines, set the benchmarks and be explicit in declaring your aspirations. In order to know what good looks like quantify hard and soft targets. The view of all our respondents is that targets change the conversation. Targeting focuses the strategy and call people to action. Begin to separate numbers on the structural work from the behavioural work. Hard targets and indices measure the success of your structural transformation, for example, has a percentage of trans participation in leadership been delivered by a particular date in time? Soft targets are linked to percentage improvements in beliefs and behaviours of individuals, the culture.

In our observation the mistake we see on targeting is a misjudgement on what or who to benchmark against? Benchmarking against competitors or industry averages, particularly on representation doesn’t work. In some sectors that is to claim nobility for winning a snails race. D&I is about progress not keeping up with the Joneses. Instead, take the socially responsible approach in view of labour market dynamics for your sector. A true benchmark would recognise that if you operate in a city like London where 40% of its citizens are of an ethnic minority background then your working population is higher than the 14% national average. Concentration of labour and business location has to factor in.



Business Sector & Environment

Workforce Population

Local Population

Scientific Method for Targeting


Dealing with Race & Racism

8. Dealing with Race & Racism “In every case study, the pattern and conversations on race were remarkably similar. “If we’re really honest, when we break down BAME, what we’re really seeing is that the company is working with less Black people, particularly Black Carribean people. Not only are they not entering, when they do, the dropout rates are staggeringly high and we can’t retain them.”

Conversations on race are rarely progressive for three reasons:

● Corporates lack the understanding and vocabulary to adequately discuss race and racism.

● Penalties for subjective views and getting it wrong are so severe that it kills open and honest dialogue.

● Racism is denied when progression in other racial groups indicates a meritocracy that works.

On the evidence we see, the massive challenge for corporations is to become race literate. Positive action will always fail unless you remove these three roadblocks first. This is where the intervention of Race Equality Facilitators (REF’s) can help to moderate dialogue. As psychologist Dr Robin D’angelo explains in her book “White Fragility” understanding race and racism is obstructed by subjectivity. Mostly, what kills the conversation on race and racism is subjectivity. Subjectivity kills the conversation because when you personalise such an emotive issue people are compelled to defend their moral character for fear of being labelled racist. However, race and racism are objective social phenomenons. Objectivity is the only way to detoxify the conversation and look at them for what they are.

Race and racism is not something that can or should be self taught. Race Equality Facilitators (REF’s), one’s who know it’s history, nuaces, textures and complexities can help remove these blockages. Before that, some basic education can go a long

way. First, make the demarcations on race and racism clear. They are neither the same thing or the same conversation. The race discussion is really a discussion on the social construction of racial classifications. Racial classifications were invented to create the invisible social hierarchy that we see today. The trap we fall into when discussing race is believing it is about skin colour, no. Race (or race theory) is about the prescribed characteristics of that skin colour (phenotype). Characteristics that form the implicit associations we make of people from that racial group. Diversity programmes that do not deal with the utility and mechanics of race constructions are effectively blunt instruments. Racism, as in the structural and institutional practice of creating socioeconomic advantage, disadvantage and privilege utilises race. Individual acts of discrimination or racist behaviours are a bi-product of these structures. This is where calling out deficits or abuse on individual bad behaviour can mislead into thinking you are tackling racism when in fact the structural issues remain. It is whose education and employment pathways are obstructed, it is whose identity is made visible and dominant in the halls of power, it is who has access to skills and development opportunities. It is whose identity the notion of “best fit for the role” really serves? The racialised experience isn’t so much the overt or microaggression that people suffer, as dehumanising and debilitating as that is, it is the closed doors and abstraction that hurt the most. People of colour don’t need altruistic cultural celebrations, they need educated race allies that work on providing fair and equal opportunities that account for the racialised experience - not as often is the case opportunities for the few talents of colour that have economic privilege or conform to whiteness.


Dealing with Race & Racism

8.1 Understanding the Racialised Experience

In the six hundred years since the advent of race we have long gone past the acceptance of race theory as a basis for human classification. A theory that literally outlines a hierarchy of human beings. White at the top as superior to black at the bottom and inferior. What we seldom ask ourselves is how this superior inferior dynamic plays out in the workplace. How for a so called “person of colour” who carries their ethnic identity navigates corporate life in order to a. be accepted by and in the organisation and b. receive the rights, benefits and opportunities he or she see’s being afforded to others. Does the so called “BAME” person end up abandoning his her identity in pursuit of those same benefits and opportunities? If so this is a manifestation of a psychological phenomenon called “internalised racism”. When a Black person believes in the negative characteristics prescribed to their skin colour and abandons their identity to adopt the superior identity. It is done so as to receive the same status, rights and benefits as their “superior” peers. Internalised racism may also be at play in staff who hesitate to put themselves up for promotion alongside their white counterparts. This hesitation can be attributed to the feeling of “unworthiness” that comes from the inferiority of their race. It can also manifest as BAME talent restricting or tailoring their behaviours to avoid being labeled and judged. When everything around the organisation and structure reaffirms superiority of a dominant race i.e white, living in unworthiness or identity abandonment becomes completely rational. In that perspective it makes it easier to see why the life cycles for BAME employees are much shorter. If the institutional paradigms and conduct cannot restore the dignity and rights to individual expression and opportunity, BAME employees will look for employers or careers that do. We must authentically feel and believe that so called BAME identities bring enormous cultural and intellectual capital to our industries. So when there is real currency in being of a different racial or ethnic group talent will stay.

InternalisedIndividual

Institutional

Race & Race Theory

Three Aspects of Racism


Planning & Design

9. Plan & DesignStep 2

Analyse the data patterns to establish causation for gaps and disparities

In order to plan and design a D&I strategy that’s aligned with the company vision, targets and responsibilities

9.1 Data Refinement

Part of the executive education is about understanding “why” as opposed to “where” disparities and gaps in your index exist. It’s about contextualising the cold hard quantitative information into business intelligence to inform decisions on action and policy. That will mean tapping into cohorts and networks for further investigation. This is where employee groups and staff networks can be most valuable. In reference to the work of Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE (The Incredible Power of Staff Networks) networks are where you can aquire trusted insights and build narrative. They are your experiential voice, a trusted source of information. Aim to collect insights on minority perceptions of leadership, perceptions on career prospects and the business commitment to diversity and inclusion overall. It will entail running consultations, polls, employee surveys and working/discussion groups to engage in an open a non judgemental dialogue. Caution though, this will mean accepting the inevitable uncomfortability that comes with this process. It will require coming face to face with some institutional realities. It will also mean a commitment to action also because listening without action or a plan will quickly create mistrust. Determine that you will act before you start digging.

The big accountancies led in this aspect. Collecting and analysing data on every metric possible. In one case, a firm drilled as granular as being able to track the deal values and work allocation according to identity and professional qualifications. Then with closer interrogation and feedback learnt that their BAME cohort were less likely to be assigned career defining opportunities to prove themselves. The blockage was about trusting BAME talent with more responsibility and allocating important casework to demonstrate their skillset.

Don’t be averse to working with data scientists on extracting this kind of intelligence. If you do not have data analysts or experts in your firm, outsource or bring them in. Right answers require the right questions to shine the light in dark places, questions that aren’t obvious to ask when you’re standing in a blind spot. You may well look at each individual hiring decision and find justification that conflicts with the data patterns, that is normal. Individual hiring decisions in themselves can be bias free even if those decisions are made in a framework of bias that isn’t obvious to see.


9.2 Leadership Transformation

What we mean by leadership transformation is both composition at the top of the hierarchy and their capacity to face institutional realities. In other words transformation “of” leadership and “in” leadership. Before leadership can disrupt those realities there has to be a cognition, courage and commitment to understanding how discrimination serves our social order. This level of understanding takes education, self learning and development. A basic understanding of the history, law and the business case for D&I before engaging in strategic design.

One of the popular narratives in contemporary literature is that “commitment from existing chairs, boards and executives is essential to attract, develop and retain the best talent”. While this is true, particularly in regards to releasing budget and resources, the statement itself is a red herring. Representation and visibility matters, and the reality is that boards are becoming less and not more diverse. Not only is ethnic minority talent less likely to find a way into the boardroom, but 65 companies in the FTSE 100 – in effect, two out of every three companies still have an all-white executive leadership. 18 Even with the sexes, across the top three roles in each firm – Chairman, CEO and CFO Women hold just 23 roles out of 302.19 It’s a narrative that infers leadership is somehow exempt from being diverse and inclusive. The question should not just be one of convincing C suite and directors to support the agenda. It is a question of how the board and senior executives themselves transform to reflect its aspirations and manage the business transformation.

Managing transformation is where executive training programmes must target. Helping leaders whom often don’t have diverse peer and social groups to understand and advocate for the human experience of marginalised people. Caution though, power and privilege are not easy things to share let alone relinquish. This is why people often deny their biases. It entails devolution to the conceptual “other” - people outside of our social groups who don’t look or fit with our norms is such a big psychological hurdle. It is why tokenism is such an easy trap to fall into.

Tokenism is anywhere where there is powerless minority representation. “Powerless visibility”, a term coined by civil rights organiser Kwame Toure can be used to explain why tokenism is so damaging. It is a concept to explain that when a so called “Black” face holds a seat of power but cannot exercise that power in his/her own identity real change does not happen. In fact, inclusion becomes a fallacy to anyone that inspires to hold that office and stay true to their identity. Out of that you have a popular derogatory term like “coconut” - the accusation of “black people acting white to obtain power and status”. Programmes and coaching to recognise and prepare people must help the executive to intuitively embrace difference and be clear on these kind of nuaces. Once executives go through their own self awareness and development they become more effective at translating that into reforms.

18 Raj Tulsiani, Trevor Pullips OBE, Diversity 10 minute guide for business executives, 2017, Pge 14 19 Raj Tulsiani, Trevor Pullips OBE, Green Park Leadership 10,000 2018, PPX


Planning & Design

People who actively support diversity

champions down the hierarchy

People who have committed to

developing their own proficiency through executive education

People who set the tone and are an

example of accountability and

commitment

People who build networks and

pathways for diverse talent to come

through

Improving minority visibility on the board and senior leadership

People who are respected enoughto

demand inclusive behaviours from

others

Traits of an Inclusive Leader


9.3 Coaching and Education

We can all be more culturally aware and knowledgeable on the experience of different groups. However, how do we expand an individual’s awareness to become an inclusive leader? As an industry, we have bestowed the same white middle class hertronormative male (an increasingly women) cohort with the mandate of change without adequate coaching and education. The truth is that inclusive leadership means being cognisant of how individuals navigate society due to his or her identities. This is the major issue with race and race equality. People have placed the burden of justice on the shoulders of people who are inadequately qualified. The middle class hertrnormative white male cohort doesn’t become proficient without coaching, education and development. Programmes to upskill our executives in particular are crucial to ensuring the right changes stem from the right places.

We recognise that the idea of development programmes in D&I are not new. There is just the question of content and effectiveness. Is the business working with people who have the technical expertise of that particular protective identity? Do staff have ongoing development and support in place to overcome their denial and privilege (white or male). Any truly inclusive leader must come through that journey before being entrusted to drive programmes of change. This is where reverse mentoring programmes can be hugely successful. Mandating reverse mentoring in tandem with executive coaching as part or whole of a leadership development programme is positive action. It is a great way for executives to gain first hand understanding of what’s hindering talent through a minority lens. If you are not of a marginalised group and you don’t have an experience of being racialised or gendered say - this is a great way to gain empathy and a true perspective. Reverse mentoring is a powerful and enlightening experience for executives.

Educational programmes like the Investors in Diversity or the Leaders in Diversity accreditations by the National Centre for Diversity (NCfD) also set out a clear basis for good practice. Mandating this as part of a D&I education programme or as part or whole of a leadership development programme are great solutions. In our observation the bar for becoming an inclusive leader must be raised.

An inclusive leader makes a deliberate e�ort to understanding themselves

Awareness

Discovering blind spots and opening up about structural biases

Assessment

Dedication to D&I focused personal and professional developmentAssisted

Starts by looking at the truth about leaders and leadership in the organisation

Accountability

Seeking and taking opportunities to practice new insights and behaviours

Action

Gearing Executives for Business Transformation


Planning & Design

What an executive transformation programme should look like

Sample of an executive educational programme for the elimination of racial bias

Sample of an executive educational programme for the elimination of gender bias

● What is Race?

● Race & Racial Categorisation

● Race Theory in Society

● Understanding White Privilege

● Racism at work

● Removing Racialised Behaviour at Work

● Understanding Race & Culture

● What is Gender?

● A History of Gender Discrimination

● Gender in Society

● Understanding Male Privilege

● Gender at Work

● Removing Gendered Behaviour at Work

● Sex and gender, beyond the male female binary.

9.4 Systems and Processes

Reconstructing systems to provide equal and fair opportunity is the most important component of the planning tool. This is primarily what sexism and racism is, not the individual acts of prejudice or bias. In his book the racial contract, Professor Charles Mills put it these terms “what is needed, is the recognition that racism is itself a political system, a particular power structure of formal or informal rule, socioeconomic privilege and norms for the differential distribution of material wealth and opportunities, benefits and burdens, rights and duties.” He corresponds this with the feminist political theory of the sexual contract by Carole Pateman. This is where she explains how the rights of women have historically been excluded in the original social contract between man and state. In this component leadership is predominantly about actively identifying and removing any recruitment and progression barriers in the hiring and promotion process - leveling the playing field.

A good start is with reviewing recruitment and selection methods, does the system disproportionately favour candidates from certain groups? Do barriers (not behaviours) in promotion pathways limit the progression of women and minorities? Then, update any processes in the system to mitigate or prevent any adverse impact of individual prejudice and bias i.e name blind CV selections before interviews. It is about looking to minimise opportunities for individual prejudice and biased behaviour.

We also found is that building support around key appointments is a critical aspect that the board can overlook. The person in the business driving D&I has to have the right team in place to deliver. Yes, the importance of appointing a specialist CDO (Chief Diversity Officer) cannot be overstated, but also, appoint national and regional leads and support them with researchers, administrators, analysts, trainers and psychologists. In tech, in the U.S, six out of the top ten highest valued startups and private companies have a CDO or equivalent, but in the UK that figure is zero.20 At the time of writing only 3 out of the five global tech giants had a Europe D&I leader so inevitably, if you under resource support around the CDO tackling these issues becomes more challenging.21

20 Colourintech,DruthersSearch,TheChiefDiversityOfficerin2019,March2019,PP1221 Colourintech,DruthersSearch,TheChiefDiversityOfficerin2019,March2019,PP12


10. Extend to Senior Managers

Step 3

Install tracking and monitoring systems along with anti discriminate working policies and procedures

In order for managers to own, direct and execute the strategic plan

10.1 Tracking & Progress

Naturally, as the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) paints the broader picture leaders will discover competing interests – e.g. do we focus on disability or LBGT rights first? Organisations will have to look at their priorities and context to determine what is most relevant to their values and goals. Once a decision on the priority indices and metrics has been made, turn them into KPI’s. Ask executives and managers to report progress against those targets at least once a quarter and install robust tracking and reporting systems that can regularly pull the diversity profile of individual teams, business units and countries. Monitoring and tracking means you can adapt the strategy to any changes to the legal and social environment. By analysing the performance outcomes through a process of management and board reviews. The target is to see improvements in the data over time, quarterly or a year on year comparison.

10.2 Role Modelling

Leaders have the ultimate role of setting and directing the agenda. An inclusive leader (not only the directors and executives) is proficient at creating and leveraging diverse teams of unique talents for competitive advantage. He or she has to embody this by proactively seeking out opportunities to demonstrate this behaviour. In starting, have a diverse team in your immediate circle, staff will call out your credibility if you preach but don’t practice. Also be visible, support and engage with the staff networks. Attend national PRIDE events, observe international women’s week or African Liberation Day. The personal journey of the inclusive leader, executive or otherwise has far reaching influence. Only then can one be respected and expected to demand accountability and inclusive behaviours from others. When a leader is first to mentee, sponsor or embrace different people it makes it easier to demand others lift as they climb to.


Extending to Senior Managers

People who actively support

the diversity champions down

the hierarchy

People who set the tone and are an

example of accountability &

commitment to D&I

People who are respected to demand

inclusive behaviours from others

What a Diversity Role Model looks like


Extending to Senior Managers

10.3 Policies and Principles

Review, reform and draft supporting policies and principles. One of our respondents beautifully described policies and principles as their foundation for positive action, remarking that “progress was built on a shift in corporate consciousness and policies set the tone right throughout the organisation”. Policies and principles bring intent to life, they engineer culture. Policies must represent the core values you want to see and must be applied and alive in the culture, not just in manuals or handbooks. Its values and principles that drive new behaviours but policy that guide people to act in accordance with those principles. Companies should not be expected to train every employee be a diversity scholar, but all employees should have rules and codes of conduct.

Talking to our respondents, new policies mostly centred around internal/external targets and proportionality i.e. graduate intakes (external) vs disability progression rates (internal). Most had drafted explicit policies of no dilution and attrition in any of the progress and retention metrics. Once the intake and pipelines are proportionally representative ensure that HR and hiring managers work hard to maintain those ratios. Here again, it is important to be lead by the Corporate Equality Index to establish what those should be.

Communicating new policies and working practices is key. Communicate what you will do to close the gaps in all the diversity strands so your teams are clear on expectations. If there is limited capacity for policy reform look at adopting the various equality charters for guidance such as the BITC race at work charter or the disability standard of the Business Disability Forum. Alternatively you can buy-in the expertise from places like the National Centre for Diversity (NCfD). There is also the human rights commissions own various codes of practice. Equality codes which include practical advice such as a common language to avoid misunderstanding. These guides are extremely helpful in developing an employers own internal policies.22

22 https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/equality-act-codes-practice#h1


Cascading to People Managers & ICS

11. Cascade to People Managers & ICS

23 https://economia.icaew.com/news/february-2019/accountancy-firms-push-for-mandatory-ethnicity-pay-gap-reporting24 https://stats.paygaps.com/Analysis/PayGap

Step 4

Invest in management training, systems of accountability and evaluation

In order to roll out diverse and inclusive practices that reshape the working culture

11.1 Build Systems of Accountability

The idea of sharing your diversity profile tests the natural inclination to hide the “dirty laundry”- but sharing can work positively for the business when creating accountability systems. What our respondents said was that open and honest dialogue about the baselines and targets motivated staff to play their part, take ownership of the strategy and become accountable for their behaviours. It helped employees invest, believe and trust in the diversity vision. More importantly, it allowed managers to justify formally linking diversity performance to bonus and rewards. There is inevitable resistance, but on the whole incorporating D&I into business, team and staff appraisals is better understood in this context. We urge caution though, not all our respondents felt this was wholly beneficial, advising on the need to keep sensitive and potentially damning information on a “need to know” basis. So exercise good judgement. What we refer to is the topline information on medians, means and targets that give context for reviewing business, team and staff appraisals. Where the dissenting voices arise, leaders must deal with that sensitively by explaining that “it’s not about anyone group losing a slice of the pie, it’s about D&I creating a bigger pie for us all to enjoy”. There has to be a recognition of people’s fears, but you must reward teams and businesses that hit their diversity targets and reward them well.

What we learned from the big accountancy firms in particular is that public accountability and transparency matters. As one respondent put it “ we put our data in the public domain, take our medicine, and hold ourselves to account.” If you’ve been disciplined in creating a Corporate Equality Index (CEI) when mandatory reporting is introduced for ethnicity and disability the transition to public disclosure needn't be painful. A push for mandatory reporting on ethnicity is being lead by the large consultancy firms, all have voluntarily published in recent years.23 The lesson here is that public accountability and transparency matters, it is perhaps the biggest factor on gender success being the lowest it’s ever been on record. In 2018/19 down 0.2% to 9.5% across all industries and organisations in Britain.24

Transparency and reporting allow you to control narrative and manage PR. Stakeholders want to see organisations becoming more open, they want their brands to be diversity conscious. Taking that a step further, build the diversity vision into the brand proposition. An index allows you to show proactivity, progress and aspirations.

Do not discount the importance of client accountability also. We found this particularly true in the law, finance and consulting sectors where diversity performance featured heavily in the outcome of bids for services. Client accountability is a growing trend, it’s more and more common to find cases where contracts hinge on a preference to work with diverse teams. You also should expect your clients to uphold good diversity policies in the same way as you do.


Client

Public

Employee

Three types of accountability

11.2 Management Training

The senior and middle management tier is often where strategy falls down. Managers are crucial as they reinforce or undermine a leaders message to staff. While leadership is about vision, strategy, targets and pushing the culture so all can operate in new frameworks of behaviours. Management is initiating and encoding those frameworks throughout the business. Yes, mandatory D&I training and unconscious bias training is essential for all leaders, but particularly HR and those involved in managing teams and recruitment. However, make the distinction between leadership and management training clear, don’t lump them together. Recognise there are different responsibilities that require a set of unique tasks. Tasks that include highlighting overviews, narratives and trends when reporting the strategic data. It is easy to make the mistake of being so heavily focused on an executive leadership level that you fail to cascade correctly and train the managers. Don’t let the lack of HR or management capacity become a weakness in the organisation. Their role is to help the team leaders and individual contributors deliver their unique set of responsibilities.



Promote | Deliver | Champion | Escalate Monitor | Report

Present | Implement | Educate | Train Visibility | Demand

Vision | Commitment | Direction | Resourcing | Policy | Targets

Develop | Principles | Values | Processes | Sponsor

Personal Responsibility | Adherence Advocate | Participate | Feedback

C-Suite

Directors

Managers

Team Leaders

I.C’s

Responsibility Matrix



11.3 Strategic Review

A final and crucial component of the implementation pillar is the continual process of strategic review. Regular strategic review is the mechanism to determine if training or transformation has worked. It’s ongoing, not a destination or fixed point of understanding. Strategic review looks at the other eleven components to ensure efficiency and progress. Constantly look at ways to optimise each pillar and cement the relationship of each component. At board or council level consensus is to schedule reviews at each quarter, at director level once a month. Out of the review should be answers to questions on the accuracy and response to evidence. It is to ensure the CEI is as current as possible and to reflect on progress against targets.

● Do the gaps show signs of closing?

● Do the pipelines and talent mixes look more proportionate?

● What is the assessment of new leadership training?

● How effective are the new policies, practices and processes being embedded in the business?

Essentially, the review component is to reflect and respond, often on the smaller percentage gains and enhancements that make a big difference.

Finally, make an effort to celebrate the small wins. Shout about progression, make a point of letting employees and clients know you’re on the right path. We like to call this champion the champions, celebrating the role models. At one law firm the lead admitted they could do a lot better on communication. The firm did some pro bono work with the LGBT community and had recently worked on a groundbreaking non gendered passport case, yet none of this was featured on any internal or external news feeds. The danger this intends to avert is that of working in silos. Yes we want regions, teams and countries that are empowered, but a global team means a global culture. Work on celebrating good diversity work and sharing gains from countries and teams that are contributing to the global targets. We need D&I work to feel good and those accomplishing to feel proud. Don’t let success go unnoticed.


The Diversity & Inclusion Tool Box

12. Diversity and Inclusion Tool Box

12.1 Better Recruitment & Retention Practice

● Diverse candidate pools Rethink the talent pools you’re recruiting from. Review and assess where you search for candidates and ask HR to come up with alternative or creative ways to reach diverse candidates.

● Outlaw selection bias Review school and university selection criteria. As a policy, ensure a number of graduate intakes are outside the russell group/redbrick universities. If unnecessary entry requirements are narrowing the talent pool remove them.

● Debiase job advertisements Make sure ad copy isn’t preventing diverse applicants. Use software tools that decode discriminatory language in job ads and specifications.

● Use specialist recruiters Use specialist diversity recruitment agents. Partner with recruiters that hold diverse candidate databases and access to alternative networks.

● Design a PSED for your supply chain Demand more accountability in the procurement process. Draft a private sector equality framework for suppliers to evidence more than just a written D&I policy i.e. if they pay a living wage.

● Challenge your recruitment partners Task search firms and recruiters with creating engaging campaigns that incentivise groups from diverse communities.

● Commit your recruitment partners and search firms Get them to sign up to a voluntary diversity pledge with clear guidelines and policy on the ratios of diverse talent they refer to the business.

● “Go blind” to mitigate the impact of implicit bias Ask internal and external recruiters to anonymise (both name and school) shortlisting at the beginning of the selection cycle.

● Ask the nomination committee To adopt or use an adaptation of the “rooney rule” for executive and senior hires.

● Sustain diversity Ask the nomination committee to include an improved ratio of diverse executive and non executive profiles in their board succession planning.

● Start a returnship scheme Offer employees returning from a career break a programme to update skills, knowledge and build confidence to transition back into the workplace.

● Introduce a soft quota on self nominees for management positions Promote the idea of self nominations to drive minority uptake on key positions.

● Start an exclusive development programme to advance the next generation of minority talent Open talent incubators where culturally aware coaches and mentors and support minorities to become confident in driving their career ambitions.

● Improve community engagement Do more meaningful outreach in diverse sections of society, support equality campaigns and grass roots equality activism.

● Start a pathfinders initiative Talent map the resource groups, expect the executive sponsor to create mobility and progression pathways directly from the networks.

● Assign a sponsor or mentor earlier Once a minority employee from a protected group has passed their probation.


The Diversity & Inclusion Tool Box

12.2 Better Inclusion & Wellbeing Practice

● Don’t just focus on gender Draft and adopt a “pan” inclusive equality charter that commits the business to working on fair representation and treatment across all the protective identities.

● Be more aware of implicit associations Conduct an internal and external image audit to remove negative or stereotypical media from all communications.

● Launch a reverse mentoring scheme Ask senior leaders and board members to seek out opportunities to undertake mentoring from juniors of a different sex, ability, gender or race.

● Launch a reverse mentoring matching app To partner mentors and offer guides, tips and protocols for building effective relationships.

● Offer a peer mentoring programme early in an employee’s life cycle Enlist the support of allies to inspire starters in identifying and accelerating their career pathways.

● Mandate cultural intelligence training - Improve by ensuring all employees have resources to develop skills and confidence in cross cultural working.

● Mandate implicit bias testing Use IAT’s in confidential settings in order to tailor make or integrate the right diversity training into an employee’s development plan.

● Mandate unconscious bias training at induction Take the default position that bias is innate to us all and unconscious bias training comes as standard for new starters.

● Produce equality toolkits for your intranet Establish an online portal/forum of employee information, resources and toolkits that help staff identify bias and work more inclusively.

● Publish a diversity and inclusion code of conduct Along with the D&I policy, add the code to employee induction packs and handbooks.

● Celebrate allies, role models and inclusive initiatives Be bold in sharing diversity and inclusion case studies, work that’s been successful internally or externally with clients.

● Offer senior leaders confidential access to coaching, counsellors and behavioural psychologists Support individual transformation over the long term, biases and behaviours do not change overnight.

● Make culturally aware counselling and emotional support available Being racialised or gendered can dramatically affect one’s mental health. If there isn’t one onsite be prepared to signpost.

● Offer alternative wellbeing spaces Psychologists, coaches, mindfulness sessions, emancipation circles and personal development to build employee resilience.


Conclusion

12. Conclusion

25 https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/corporate-equality-index

Diversity and inclusion is tough work. The needle doesn’t move if we take actions without addressing the deeper systemic problems. The job of the true leaders and real pioneers is to gain an institutional grasp of those forces, both in society and the workplace. It is time to come away from this contemporary notion of D&I being a wooly politically correct synonym for sexism, racism, xenophobia and homophobia. Centre the work in its correct historical and original meaning, equality. Neither diversity or inclusion can be the antidode for discrimination without a grip on the frameworks and systems that produce biases in and around us. When we have a more equal and equitable society we unblock the pathways for all talents to access opportunities. When we open more pathways building diverse world class teams to perform for our organisations becomes easier.

The internal challenge of getting to the place of data driven action plans, adjusting to local context, with the right metrics and scorecards that benchmark the business accurately is mammoth. However, it’s not a challenge that can be ignored. The popularity of workplace indexes like the inclusive index by Stonewall, the Thomson Reuters D&I index and the equality index by the US based Human Rights Campaign Foundation are changing the landscape. In fact, the tipping point is in sight. That is when diversity analytics and profiles evolve to become consumer buying guides, this will transition us into the era of consumer driven inclusion.25 Then there will be no real sense that multinational companies can afford not to build a Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The era of consumer driven inclusion may well mean it becomes more difficult to manage perceptions and reputation.

Pionners should not fear the prospect of institutional characterisation, whether that be sexist, racist, trans or homophobic. Yes it is a tough admission, but an admission that should lead to determination and courage in the fight for change. No public or private organisation can absolve itself from discrimination, bias is pervasive. In any case the stigma and taboo around this admission is immature. We need to stop penalising companies for owning up to their flaws.

The key thing is to address those flaws. By first addressing representation and visibility in senior leadership you are already disrupting the structure of power and privilege. This is hugely positive action. It sets the course for a more inclusive future in itself. Then by upskilling leaders through fit for purpose development programmes that educate on positive action as defined by the Equality Act you are plugging the training gap and building capacity. If we then support managers and leads to replace the biased frameworks, barriers and systems with systems of fairness, both industry and society will be in a better place.

Saying that there are no quick fixes, change comes in stretches of time and this tool should be used in 3-5 year cycle at least. Closing gaps takes time, and sometimes two steps back to go forward. It is better for corporations to adopt the mindset of sustainable inclusion - where the corporate environment and culture is inclusive by nature over the long term. ‘Sustainable inclusion” is the point when policy, practice and performance naturally combine to repeatedly demonstrate a company’s compliance to human rights standards. Yes, concentrate on the priority areas, start with the quick wins, i.e ambition, intention, vision, but while always having an eye on becoming sustainable. Larger organisations with higher turnover rates have a great opportunity to affect the diversity of its staff quickly. Remember neither diversity or inclusion are an end goal in and of themselves. They are methods of transformation. They are the instruments for creating behaviours that lead to the outcomes we want, equality and equity.


Conclusion

Finally, enjoy the journey, pioneering and progress should be fun. New challenges, new learning and new perspectives to create the future of business we want to see. This is an opportunity to seize the advantages of a changing global workforce and a connected human family. Sexist, homophobic and racialised discrimination, all forms of marginalisation, have serviced our social order for far to long. D&I is the chance to change that, and industry has the chance to demonstrate this can lead to higher performing companies that deliver innovation and value for shareholders.

“The best positive actions stem from the right values and organisational philosophy and are expressed through policy, principles and processes that shape organisational culture.”

Planning

Practice

Policy

Progress Review

4P’s of Diversity & Inclusion

About the Centre of Pan African Thought

The Centre is a pan African think tank that works to create policy ideas for more just and equal society. We focus on producing quality evidenced-based analysis that empower policymakers with tools for tackling structural racism so people of African descent are free to realise their human potential.

For more information please visit:www.panafricanthought.comT: 0203 828 7129 E: [email protected]

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Documents

Corporate Diversity & Inclusion · 9.3 Coaching and Education 26 10. Extend to Senior Managers 28 10.1 Tracking & Progress 28 10.3 Policies and Principles 30 11. Cascade to People