Today’s organizations focus on providing inclusive products and services that can appeal to diverse customers. A key component of this is building a company workforce that reflects the diverse audience it serves, ensuring they’re better able to surpass this goal.

The good news is that many companies are transitioning to skills-based organizations, where talent management is based on skills development. Recent research from Udemy found that 67% of employees believe a skills-based approach will significantly improve fairness in the workplace, and 66% agree it will foster a more diverse and inclusive work environment. With the rise of skills-based organizations, we can build stronger, more equitable workforces, undoing years of boundaries put in place by traditional workplace “benchmarks” like college degrees.

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Yet, the last five years have been a roller-coaster ride for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), particularly in the workplace. DE&I’s charged nature has periodically engendered protests within companies, and DE&I has even been blamed for AI going wrong. In response to concerns about the potential risk DE&I introduces to the workplace and threats of lawsuits, we’ve even seen organizations and trade groups roll back their DE&I policies.

Despite this tumultuous few years for DE&I, this isn’t the time to back away. Instead of rolling back, organizations should lean into DE&I and belonging-centric skills development, which is more important than ever to innovation, fueling business performance, and engaging employees at every level of organizations who reflect the customers they serve.

Diversity still matters 

Despite the backlash and trade groups and other organizations straying away from DE&I as a result, businesses and their employees actually remain even more committed to DE&I efforts today:

  • A Littler survey found CEOs remain committed to DE&I, with most (57%) even growing their efforts over the past year. 
  • Udemy’s Quarterly Workplace Learning Index saw consumption of Diversity and Inclusion courses from Udemy Business customers increase by 12% in Q2 2024. 
  • Nearly 1in 4 (22%) Gen Z employees are looking for a commitment to DE&I from employers. 
While the continued need for DE&I investment speaks for itself, companies who are unsure about the risk vs. reward only need to look at the numbers: DE&I is also proven to impact bottom lines. McKinsey found companies that score in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive boards are 27% more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom quartile. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity on their executive boards are 13% more likely to outperform their peers in the bottom quartile.

When leaders invest in DE&I and continuously train their teams on best practices, it can pay dividends for business success, employee satisfaction, and corporate reputation.

How to invest in DE&I in the workplace

For companies, leaders, or executives investing in DE&I initiatives, here are three concrete steps to avoid pitfalls, maximize the benefits of DE&I upskilling, and build a workplace culture supportive of a diverse workforce:

  1. Align company values with DE&I principles. Assess your company mission, vision, and values to ensure DE&I is part of the organization's foundational principles. Consider involving employee resource groups (ERGs) as part of this assessment, who can align with leaders on any assumptions and biases and navigate authenticity in the workplace. Involving broad-based stakeholder groups, like these ERGs, assures they’re “bought-in” with a mission and vision designed to create more accessible and inclusive workplaces for all employees. 
  2. Offer space for learning and reflection on these DE&I values. For example, Udemy employees have monthly UDays, or meeting-free days dedicated to enabling employees to have space and time to explore something interesting to them, like diversity and inclusion best practices. By carving out similar time for learning and development, organizations help employees make space to learn how to integrate diversity and inclusion into their everyday tasks. 
  1. Upskill your people leaders. People managers have the power to set the tone for a more inclusive workplace equipped with the skills they’ve learned. Understand where your people leaders are in understanding how best to foster an environment of belonging and inclusion, then provide them with targeted upskilling opportunities to address any gaps in knowledge. Make it easier for managers to acquire skills in this area through required training, or curated learning paths tailored to specific skills gaps. This ensures they have a clear grasp on strategies they can embrace to encourage equity in hiring, management, and promotion. 
DE&I has many benefits, and it doesn’t have to be controversial. Though it has seen some ups and downs in an objectively polarized world, it is still necessary for business success. By sensibly and strategically advancing initiatives that reinforce DE&I principles in your workplace, you can boost productivity, spark innovation, and build a competitive advantage.

Madhavi Bhasin is Vice President of Global People Partners & Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Udemy.

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