Equality refers to the idea that people should be given access to the same resources and opportunities. Diversity is about difference, and ensuring that in general, our differences – be they characteristics and identity, experiences and opinions, are present and recognised. Inclusion is when these differences are valued and we feel that because of these differences, not in spite of these difference. These days, practitioners in the field also refer to ‘equity’ which recognises that some groups of people are and have historically been marginalised and/or oppressed. It means that even though we should all be ‘equal’, the reality is that we aren’t, because we are born into and inherit a society with inequality already present. Equity means we should actively work to redress these inequalities and make sure support is tailored to the diverse needs of communities and people who are disadvantaged.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace is important because in modern day, our society is diverse. If we don’t strive to recruit diverse colleagues, how can we expect to connect with the diversity of our customers? If those diverse colleagues don’t feel included and empowered in the workplace, we will struggle to maximise their skills and talent, such as creative content generation, risk assessment and innovation. It actually makes business sense to diversify our decision-making table and employee base. Multiple studies have shown increased profits to businesses with a diverse leadership team versus those with a more homogenous leadership team. (How Diversity & Inclusion Matter | McKinsey). Ultimately, recruiting a diverse workforce and ensuring all colleagues feel valued and included is the right thing to do- it is the sign of a responsible business.

EDI training will be tailored to client need. The general EDI content includes EDI basics such as definitions, legal context, unconscious bias; inclusion and allyship. Organisations needing a more in-depth training will benefit from the advanced contents such as intersectionality, privilege, and active-bystanding.

The diversity and inclusion training can be tailored to your organisation’s needs. Diversity training in the workplace addresses race, color, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age. 

EDI is essentially a change management project, and in this data-driven world, any project with concrete aims and objectives needs an evidence base and a case for change. Good practice means gathering information on the make-up and experience of your current workforce, and setting aspirational targets for your organisation. Metrics will be determined by what your objectives are, but hiring, headcount, promotion rates, pay and turnover cut by protected characteristics are common. Businesses should have a dashboard whereby these figures are visible to senior leadership and EDI stakeholders in the business, measuring progress towards your target. It is also important to measure inclusion, which is usually done with pulse surveys. While you can generate a quantitative way to measure inclusion, surveys are an invaluable opportunity to collate quantitative information from your employees, such as why they don’t feel included, or what good looks like for them.

The major challenges of EDI generally revolve around getting buy-in and support from leaders to drive change, poor data quality, and too little resource. Other micro-challenges include low rates of staff sharing data, EDI work being siloed in only some parts of the organisation, and lack of accountability. However, if you tackle the larger, more strategic challenges, the smaller obstacles are generally easier to tackle.  There is no right or wrong way to go about surmounting these challenges. Each organisation is unique, and will need their own EDI strategy and action plan that supports progress on EDI.

Most organisations will already have an inclusion or anti-discrimmination policy, or a respect in the workplace policy, which means employees are expected to treat all colleagues with respect and dignity, which covers inclusion.  Bullying and harassment policies expect colleagues to report instances of bullying and harassment in addition to discrimmination, whether this is direct, indirect, or third-party. Organisations should ensure all colleagues know the process for this should they need to raise an issue. However, much more important than policy is the workplace culture. These are the small and unspoken rules that govern the way a business is run and employees interact. An example is the expectation that all employees be available around the clock, or that junior colleagues are always note-takers in meetings. Workplace culture is essential to how included colleagues feel, and is always scrutinised by EDI practitioners. But workplace culture is made up of colleagues, and it is the responsibility of all colleagues to create and contribute to a culture that is respectful and inclusive of others

An effective DEI strategy is evidence-based (understanding your data) and has an accompanying action plan that sets out a roadmap for progress towards specific, measurable targets. The challenge with this is more often than not, prioritisation. There are potentially hundreds of activities and policies an organisation could focus on with a DEI lens, so understanding their unique challenges and drivers for success and then prioritising based on resource and impact is key. Also crucial is accountability and ownership of the strategy, which needs to be owned by leaders, rather than HR, who are accountable for success.