While DEI has drawn increasing attention and investment from the business community over the last several years--and particularly since the murder of George Floyd--the efforts of organizations to increase diversity and allocate adequate resources to marginalized groups is not a new concept. For the last six decades, affirmative action in the US has tried to create structural protections for underrepresented groups to access education, employment, and other social welfare programs.
Legally and legislatively, affirmative action has implications beyond the scope of this blog post. However, it is crucial to understand the relationship between the broader goal of affirmative action and its contemporary applications in the realm of DEI.
Increasingly, companies are seeing the value of DEI programs, and they are investing in the development of the internal infrastructure necessary to carry out those programs effectively.
As organizations begin to implement their 2023 DEI initiatives, a vital aspect of ensuring their effectiveness is to examine these initiatives in relation to the company's other policies and objectives--up to and including affirmative action compliance.
What Is Affirmative Action Compliance?
Let's briefly outline what that means. Affirmative action compliance ensures that an organization is not violating any workplace non-discrimination laws. Exactly what that looks like will be specific to your legal (and geographic) context, and as mentioned above, the particular of that are beyond the scope of this post.
What is pertinent, however, is the understanding that while affirmative action compliance exists irrespective of DEI efforts, the two actually create a Venn diagram with a lot of overlap.
DEI initiatives must be integrated with any pre-existing compliance policies, and conversely, it may be necessary to revisit compliance practices in light of new and/or evolving DEI efforts.
How does that relate to DEI?
Broadly speaking, DEI seeks to make the workplace that already exists more equitable and inclusive. In order to do that, of course, there has to be an equity-oriented framework guiding the organization. In that sense, compliance can help define certain parameters for DEI efforts because it provides a baseline acknowledgement of underrepresented groups.
Increasing representation of marginalized groups in the workplace has been a popular metric for gauging DEI progress because it is relatively easy to gather and analyze data through this lens. It gives organizations concrete and readily identifiable metrics for evaluating themselves. Thus, there should be consistency between compliance practices and DEI efforts.
Bear in mind, however, that relying too heavily on representation metrics can actually become a bit of a sinkhole. Effective DEI measures require attention to many interconnected pieces. To fully grasp this, try envisioning the role of inclusion from an employee's perspective:
Employees won't want to stay in an organization where they don't feel valued and included. In fact, they may not even apply if an organization has a certain reputation, and they may not be actively recruited or hired if the talent acquisition process is biased or prejudicial.
This means that representation is just the tip of the iceberg. For increased representation to bear significance, organizations must be able to foster an environment that welcomes, includes and retains employees in the long-term.
Where do we go from here?
Affirmation action grew out of a recognition that there is a social and economic disparity between segments of the population. Likewise, DEI efforts stem from the same issues, and from the wealth of research that demonstrates how effective inclusion results in increased engagement, innovation, and productivity.
In other words, we know that DEI is good for business, but it is impossible to reap the monetary and other benefits of DEI without grounding programs in the very human elements that create social inequity. For example, representation as a metric for inclusivity may be somewhat useful, but it is insufficient to rely on this data without also examining policies, processes, and human behavior.
Consider the following guidelines for a successful approach to DEI efforts:
-
Hire trusted experts, especially if you are in the starting stages of implementing DEI programs. This will ensure that DEI efforts in your organization are truly equitable, legal, and effective.
-
Think less about one-off trainings and more about long-term, data-driven objectives. DEI efforts are here to stay, and training programs should reflect that longevity.
-
Make sure you have monitoring and evaluation systems in place for the short, medium, and long-term so that you can tune in and course-correct as needed.
-
Don't shy away from change. The relationship between DEI and systemic change is becoming an increasingly prevalent topic in the business community, so it is advisable to anticipate how your organization may need to adapt to an evolving workforce.
In addition to increasing the efficacy of DEI efforts, these pointers will ensure that your DEI initiatives are integrated with any work you may have already done. As your organization develops an inclusive, equity-oriented culture and builds the necessary infrastructure to maintain it, these processes will occur more organically. With time and consistency, the positive impact on your workplace and employees will be obvious.
Want to learn more about our DEI courses? Click here for a consultation
