Diversity & inclusion trends leaders can’t ignore in 2021
Deconstruct bias to raise floors & break ceilings
Many interesting panel discussions took place during the DIAL global summit in February (see below quote for context), not least a highly engaged panel on D&I trends that are crucial to consider for any business leader moving into 2021. To view the discussion, click here for a 12 min video summary. The below concise article briefly summarises this session’s highlights.
“We leave behind the rhetoric and empty talk about diversity and inclusion and talk about what really matters — real actions and real results. This Global Summit allows us all to learn from each other about how to best create change in our workplaces and in our lives. Because in our workplaces, there is much to do, much to heal, much to restore, much to build and ALOT more to gain.”
— Leila McKenzie-Delis, CEO at DIAL Global
For all people in society to feel and be truly included is not a given, and this holds true for people in any given corporate culture. For many not close to the topic of social equity, 2020 was a true eye opener, revealing underlying and systemic issues in our societies which also rippled through corporate life. Showing that a lot more attention needs to be given to all facets of Diversity & Inclusion by ALL business leaders.
In this rich discussion it became very clear that we are only touching the surface on the social equity journey across the globe. Many corporate inclusion initiatives seen throughout 2020, therewith also seeing an increased importance of business leaders speaking up about social injustice, were really just seeds that needed planting. The real work is starting in 2021, leaders across the board must recognise this to be able to build clear cut focus on priority areas for their respective corporate contexts and cultures. The lack of sustainable progress so far has meant that 2021 has already disappointed many people who believed after 2020 ended we’d all be turning a page.
Realism and optimism flowing with change
The impact of the uprooting of systemic issues will be felt in society and corporate life for years to come. This requires a serious yet highly nuanced and agile approach to devising and implementing inclusive business strategies. As Ramcess Jean-Louis points out there simply is no clear-cut strategic playbook for this.
Another clear point to address moving forward is how to measure both implementation and impact of such nuanced inclusion strategies. How do we perform along the facets that matter and against what do we benchmark the metricised units? The pandemic both complicated and accelerated already ongoing D&I initiatives, it had a universal impact on mental health and adversely impacted some over other groups of people. This means that when looking at the ‘numbers’, with which a nuanced and qualitative lens is required, these might look different ongoing as hidden issues will start flowing into the river of change that has erupted in 2020.
The session also included a sense of optimism expressed with caution that indeed we need to ‘stay on it’ as changes to the work force, to health care and to other areas of society take place while tech adoption accelerates. Not least the age facet or indeed those from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Behind every challenge, there have been many major changes — Pamela Hardy, Head of Inclusion, Equity & Diversity at Bose
Establishing what social justice means and co-designing solutions to improve your business’s strategic approach to inclusion will be a key task for business leaders across the board in 2021 and beyond. Not forgetting that many of the impacts of our current ‘political landscape’ will continue to ripple through our societies and organisations alike. Jumping on momentum is ‘easy’, running an ultra-marathon requires determination and stamina that can only be build up over time. Let’s kickstart the ‘workplace culture of inclusivity’ debate now and make sure meaningful dialogue can continue to take place over the long term.
This article was written as a voluntary content contribution to the team at DIAL.
More info on the summit below:
The DIAL Global Summit is headline sponsored by Unilever, The Co-op, Britvic, Studio Retail, Rugby League World Cup 2021, and Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions. The Media partners are Verizon Media and Yahoo Finance. The Summit’s charity partners are Operation Black Vote, The UN Global Compact Network UK and The Grand Maratha Foundation.
The DIAL Global Summit was live streamed across many mainstream and diverse publications reaching over 250,000 people in 160 countries.
Full details of all the panels and panelists during the February edition are available at www.dialglobal.org/febsummit
