Much has been written in recent years on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
‘Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Teams’ by Matthew Syed and ‘The Inclusion Imperative’ by Stephen Frost are two examples of books that have sparked and shaped debate about how to ‘do’ EDI.
But what do we really mean by EDI? And why should senior leaders commit to these values throughout their respective businesses?
All organisations in Northern Ireland, whether private businesses, charities or public sector bodies, have duties under equality law.
However, EDI requires compliance with the spirit of the law as well as the letter. It requires more than waiting for job applications to be submitted. For EDI to progress, proactive measures must be in place to reach out to diverse candidates for recruitment ensuring that everyone has a genuine opportunity to succeed, no matter their background or identity.
And once recruited, we must ensure that workplace culture empowers this new, diverse talent to achieve their full potential in a supportive and welcoming environment to benefit everyone.
Existing research makes a strong business case for EDI, too. Being a more inclusive employer can and does lead to more customers, increased profits, a wider talent pool, a better reputation and, ultimately, more settled employees.
For example, companies that have EDI strategies in place with diverse leadership are 120% more likely to achieve their financial goals and those with a diverse workforce are 39% more likely to experience greater financial returns than their respective non-diverse counterparts.
Beyond the bottom line, diverse workforces help avoid ‘group think’. They bring new ideas and approaches. All of this helps drive improvement and better efficiency for business at every level. In fact, without diverse workforces, it is increasingly difficult to be an effective, efficient, and future-fit organisation.
EDI should be transformational to an organisation’s culture, not simply an add-on to some of its existing processes and policies. I believe that organisation culture is what people say and do when no one is looking, it’s what is beneath the surface. Good EDI efforts require a focus on processes and interventions as well as outcomes.
One such process is the Diversity Mark accreditation – a framework that sets high standards to foster long-lasting change, Over the past seven years, organisations across all sectors have joined Diversity Mark impacting 200,000 employees - meaning that today, one in four people in Northern Ireland work for an employer committed to the Diversity Mark accreditation journey.
This accreditation is a symbol of an organisation’s dedication to continuous improvement in EDI - not a one-time achievement. It’s more than a badge - it’s a path to transformation, inclusive leadership, better representation and a workplace that is both thriving and engaged.
This year’s Diversity Mark Summit is taking place on October 8 in Titanic. To find out more visit https://diversity-mark-ni.co.uk/diversity-mark-summit/
- Christine White is director of Diversity Mark, part of the WiB Group
