Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been mainstreamed in global corporations over the past few decades. And although under-represented groups receive better representation and overall equity has improved, systemic racism remains a persistent issue.
That could change with the help of the World Economic Forum’s recently curated Global Racial and Ethnic Equity Framework. The framework aims to provide guidance and a starting point related to specific functions within an organisation's ecosystem, says Dr. Silja Baller, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Centre for the New Economy and Society at the World Economic Forum.
“The ten principles in the framework provide a starting point that can then be adapted to regional and industry contexts. In the next phase of the initiative, members are exploring best practices for implementation.”
The guiding principles include leadership commitment, supporting and co-creating employee networks, creating an inclusive work environment, having policies and procedures to manage employee complaints. Additionally, effective internal and external branding and communication are needed to embrace diversity, including knowledge and opinions of diverse communities for innovation and design. And lastly, systemic barriers can be removed with the help of bias-free recruitment, retention and development of staff, technological fairness and using the organisation’s influence and creativity.
Baller elaborates that the framework aims to provide a ‘whole-of-business-approach’ for tackling racial and ethnic equity gaps.
“Traditional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has tended to focus on the workforce, yet a more holistic approach is needed. This includes strategies targeting racial and ethnic equity more broadly across different organisational functions, including research and development, marketing, and supply chains.”
We expect a certain type of behaviour and conduct from our staff, how they treat each other. Then there are the formal policies that we have in place which we ensure are free from any sort of bias or any sort of opportunity which might lead to accidental bias. Then there is the organisational cultural approach, which is from the role modelling perspective.
For instance, Wärtsilä already has DEI policies to protect minorities. In addition, it is increasing DEI efforts to uplift diverse voices and push them into decision-making roles. Tiia Leino, Human Resource Director for Global Functions at Wärtsilä elaborates on how the organisation is using psychology and human behavioural patterns to create a more equitable workplace.
"We are trying to implement DEI from three different perspectives, initially we're taking into account human psychology and behaviour, we expect a certain type of behaviour and conduct from our staff, how they treat each other. Then there are the formal policies that we have in place which we ensure are free from any sort of bias or any sort of opportunity which might lead to accidental bias. Then there is the organisational cultural approach, which is from the role modelling perspective.”
Leino highlights that while Wärtsilä is a global organisation, it caters to the cultural and religious sensitivities of all its staff to create an environment of homogeneity and belongingness.
“A lot of what we are doing now is creating awareness, it’s crucial to form homogeneity and alignment within our organisation about how we want to take things further. It’s also geared towards creating empathy so that our employees, from non-minority backgrounds, can understand and get behind our organisational culture and policies. We want to keep the topic on the table, recognise that it is something we want to change and then creating a personal sense of urgency in everybody that they want to do this.”
Traditional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has tended to focus on the workforce, yet a more holistic approach is needed. This includes strategies targeting racial and ethnic equity more broadly across different organisational functions, including research and development, marketing, and supply chains.
While organisational culture is crucial to creating true racial and ethnic equity, technology and leadership strategies also have a big role.
When the World Economic Forum asked five global business leaders on how to implement and achieve true racial and ethnic equity in the corporate world, most agreed that creating a culture of technological fairness at the core of the organisation, along with cultivating career development, making employee resource groups a strategic priority and making sure sustainability at the heart of all equity and inclusion policies.
A recent Boston Consulting Group study involving employees at more than 1,700 companies in eight countries, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Switzerland, and the US and across a variety of industries and company sizes, found that increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance.
In addition, the study suggests that in both developing and developed economies, companies with above-average diversity on their leadership teams report a greater pay-off from innovation and higher revenues.
Experts agree that companies that take the initiative and actively increase the diversity of their management teams perform better. These companies find out-of-box solutions to problems and generate better and diverse ideas, with a greater chance of increased innovation. As a result, they financially outperform their peers.
Better performance and increased innovation are just two of the many happy outcomes of a fair and just workplace. At the heart of it all is the creation of a new social construct, which treats all people equally in every way. That is why WEF’s new guidelines are important for the future.
