The difference between DEI words and actions
Every action is important, no matter how small it feels.
Conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) should focus more on the difference between words and actions. The fundamental difference between the two comes down to one question: how structured are your practices and processes?
Related: Building a sustainable DEI program: How to get started
Microaggressions are just one symptom of a culture that is insufficiently calibrated for true systemic change, regardless of what your corporate values or annual shareholder letters proclaim. One survey found that 68% of US workers consider microaggressions a serious problem. Managers are frequently mentioned as the aggressors.
Microaggressions are a leading indicator of a struggling culture
Microaggressions are “derogatory or negative slights and insults to the target person or group.” A throwaway comment or thoughtless action can seem harmless until it becomes representative of the corporate culture you’ve cultivated. Whether they’re intentional or unintentional, microaggressions can have a lasting impact on employee morale, retention and turnover.
Microaggressions are subtle but their impact is measurable – if you’re paying attention. A leader may begin noticing that employees from underrepresented backgrounds are leaving in larger numbers, or that engagement and inclusion metrics are consistently lower for historically marginalized groups. When employees do bring microaggressions to a leader’s attention, how that person or an HR professional responds says a lot about how a company acts on its DEI commitments.
Leaders who take DEI seriously should be as rigorous and structured in all aspects of company culture as they are with other business areas.
Structured processes build DEI organically
Before cultural problems rise to the level of headline-grabbing resignations, it’s important to consider honestly whether every leader in your organization is taking DEI seriously.
Reducing bias in your company starts from reducing bias in hiring. But that doesn’t mean it’s only HR’s job to think about and solve these problems. Executives and hiring managers need to make hiring more accessible, clearly articulate business objectives driving the need for a hire and specific goals that will be achieved by the new hire. This clarity helps your interview team focus on the key attributes needed to achieve those goals when interviewing a candidate, rather than leaning on heuristics like academic pedigree, personal rapport, or referrals.
Data is vital for enacting a structured approach. Like the managers looking for signs that microaggressions are undermining company culture, leaders need to be honest with what the data says about their hiring practices. Rigorous analysis can show whether the problem is in sourcing diverse candidates at the top of your funnel, or perhaps weeding them out prematurely with strict or undefined attributes that benefit more privileged candidates and perpetuate what Chimanda Adiche refers to as “the danger of a single story.”
Structured and inclusive hiring helps companies to build an environment rich in creativity and perspectives.
Diverse hiring must translate to diverse leadership
Ensuring diversity in hiring is a necessary but insufficient starting point. Diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations have leadership ranks that reflect and propagate that culture. Leadership means the people who actually have a seat at the table. They’re the ones calling the shots and making decisions that affect every facet of the company – from how money is spent to who gets hired, promoted, and fired.
Having diversity in leadership doesn’t just mean hiring a Director of Diversity. It first requires that all relevant stakeholders – from finance to HR to operations – be treated with equal respect and importance in company-wide decisions. Beyond that, promoting and hiring diverse candidates for senior leadership roles ensures diverse perspectives are being voiced in high-impact meetings.
Far beyond profit, DEI is a matter of trust and loyalty. Companies face greater accountability from consumers than ever before on how they’re implementing DEI goals. With a structured approach to hiring and building culture, accountability can breed action and credibility.
Jamie Adasi is director of DE&I at Greenhouse Software.
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