Evolving DEI policies explore new ground

While many aspects of business have been halted or stalled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, progress on corporate diversity and inclusion (D&I) has not been one of them.

A Baker McKenzie global survey of corporate HR diversity leaders shows 67% believe that D&I progress has not stalled with 25% strongly believing that. In the minority, only 19% believed progress on D&I had abated in some way, while 14% were not committal.

“As the shock waves of the global pandemic were upending how business was conducted around the world, many D&I executives feared that much of the progress achieved over the past decade could unravel as companies dealt with the unprecedented crisis,” said Susan Eandi, Partner and Head of Baker McKenzie’s Global Employment and Labor Law Practice Group in North America. “It turns out that for the vast majority of respondents, those fears never materialized. That’s a testament to the commitment of those leaders and their growing influence within their organizations during a time of historic social change in this country,” she added.

Interestingly, D&I appears to be an outside influence rather than one from within companies. The survey shows that when asked about catalysts that drive organizations to implement policies, 62% of people in the US said it comes from demands from customers. Globally, however, only 48% cited customer demand as a driver for change.

New policies are emerging beyond traditional D&I areas, such as:

• Neurodiversity. Three years ago, only 14% of US respondents said they had a neurodiversity policy in place to better interact with and manage employees on the autism spectrum. Today, 63% say they do.
• Flexible work. In the US, 46% of companies already had flex policies in place, beating the global average (which includes the US number) of 27% of companies. Now, however, only 7% of global companies have no such policy (same as the US).
• Miscarriage. In the last year alone, 43% of US companies implemented policies that accommodate grieving workers.
• Adoption. Three years ago, only 28% of US companies had policies around adoption. Today, 86% of companies have formal accommodations for their workforce.
• Domestic abuse. Eighty-two percent of the organizations surveyed said they had policies that address domestic abuse.
• Supplier diversity. Today, 88% of companies have supplier diversity policies in place. That’s up from only 14% just three years ago.
• Transgender identity. Forty-one percent of US respondents say they have instituted transgender identity policies at their company in the last 12 months.
• Menopause. Within the last year alone, 36% of US companies instituted menopause policies.

But, like anything that demands a shift in thinking, progress remains relatively slow. Sixty-nine percent of the US respondents said different legal requirements in multiple jurisdictions make it difficult to implement company policies consistently. Also, 60% of those respondents believe that different cultural expectations in some jurisdictions make it difficult to implement company policies consistently. However, any progress is progress, and the awareness of D&I issues are certainly permeating their way into corporate HR and executive decision-making.