Alex Hall-Chen
Principal Policy Advisor, Institute of Directors
Equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) is often seen as the preserve of HR, but business leaders and directors need to be front and centre of any effective ED&I strategy.
Creating inclusive workplaces requires buy-in at all levels, but having a clear commitment to, and ownership of, ED&I initiatives at the top of organisations is essential to driving and achieving cultural change in ED&I.
Increase in senior ED&I leadership
The number of organisations with a senior leader who actively promotes equality, equity, fairness and inclusion has increased in recent years, from 32% in 2015 to 44% in 2021.1 Initiatives like The Valuable 500, Change the Race: Ratio and the 30% Club have built communities of senior leaders committed to improving inclusion at all levels of business. However, business leaders can do more to champion ED&I efforts.
What can senior leaders do to walk the talk?
If there is a magic bullet for how business leaders can build and signal an inclusive workplace, it is through visibility. This can take many forms: visible allyship for marginalised groups, such as by adding pronouns to their email signature or by sharing their own lived experiences. It could also be as simple as leading by example, such as in a senior male business leader taking shared parental leave.
Learn from your employees
A fantastic tool that senior leaders can use to gain insights and see their organisation through a different lens is reverse mentoring. This is when they are mentored by a more junior colleague from a protected characteristic group to build dialogue between different employee groups and facilitate open feedback on ED&I.
If there is a magic bullet for how business leaders can build and signal an inclusive workplace, it is through visibility
Sponsoring employee networks is another way leaders can demonstrate senior-level support for ED&I and facilitate insight into employees’ ED&I views. Senior leaders do not need to lead in all areas of ED&I; accepting the leadership of others and learning from employees — for example, through employee networks — is a crucial part of creating an inclusive culture.
ED&I targets and open dialogue
Armed with these insights, business leaders can effectively centre ED&I in their business strategies — by setting targets that hold the entire organisation accountable for progress on ED&I outcomes.
Many senior leaders shy away from sometimes difficult conversations around ED&I out of fear of ‘saying the wrong thing.’ Yet, approaching such conversations with openness and a willingness to engage and learn will go far in fostering the necessary trust and psychological safety to create an inclusive workplace.
References
[1] Business in the Community (2021). Race at Work 2021: McGregor-Smith Review Four Years On. London: Business in the Community, p.13
