Firms Failing to Back Diversity & Inclusion Talk With Real Action

Although more companies are now talking about prioritising diversity and inclusion (D&I), many are still failing to back that talk with real action, according to a new study.

Around 58% of US employees say productive conversations are happening on race, ethnicity and bias in the workplace, revealed Eagle Hill Consulting Research. But only 10% say they see D&I representatives demonstrating the importance through action, according to its 2021 Employee Experience Survey, conducted by Ipsos.

“Many business leaders now understand the importance and value of diversity and inclusion, and they have made significant investments to build or strengthen their D&I initiatives,” stated Melissa Jezior, President and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting. “But our research finds that workers believe that employers haven’t yet taken the actions needed to drive meaningful D&I progress.” 

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ACTION

“Part of the disconnect may be tied to how D&I staff roles are defined within organisations. Often, staff are tasked with transactional or compliance D&I efforts rather than driving organisational change. Whatever the cause, employers must find ways to move from words to action; otherwise they risk damaging employee engagement and their reputation while missing the business performance upsides of a diverse and inclusive workplace,” Jezior added. 

Other key findings revealed that:

• Most employees (58%) are engaging in productive conversations about race, ethnicity and bias at work. More Millennials (65%) and Centennials (62%) report having productive conversations about these issues than GenXers (55%) and Baby Boomers (47%). 
• Employees say their organisations are not doing enough to demonstrate the importance of diversity and inclusion, and they see a gap between employers’ intentions and actions. Most employees (83%) say their organisation places importance on D&I; but 22% cannot point to anyone in the organisation who demonstrates that D&I is important through their actions. 
• Employees say that less than one in three (31%) of leaders are demonstrating the importance of D&I in their everyday actions.

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