What does a chief diversity and inclusion officer do?

The responsibility of a chief diversity and inclusion officer is to design and implement strategies that enable the program team to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within an organization. Mostly, this is done by establishing inclusive policies that promote diversity in the workplace and guarantee equitable opportunities for all workers. In my opinion, if organizations are to truly fulfill the modern workforce's need for a comprehensive leadership position and accomplish significant, high-caliber goals, they must have this vital role and position.

The roles that a CDIO plays as a supervisor are not all that different from some of the roles and tasks outlined for other managers, i.e., define and lay out projects, track and report on their progress, measure their success, etc. Good management skills are very warranted. The key distinction is that the projects or initiatives are all with the purpose of fostering diversity and inclusion, hence the person needs to have insight and knowledge into growing D&I in all aspects of the business (recruiting and hiring, workplace environment, career growth and promoting, etc.).

Besides the many important aspects mentioned here already, my thoughts are around metrics. While measuring the development of the diversity of an organization over time is rather straight forward, it will be harder to put a number on how inclusive that organization is, meaning how people behave and treat each other. One of the proposed tasks for this person could be to develop surveys to understand how people view the topic and, more importantly, how these views change over time.

I have been working on diversity & inclusion topics in our company for more than 2 years now, driven by an intrinsic motivation to help our organization with more awareness and ideas around inclusive behavior, non-violent communication and many other aspects. My take on qualification, besides what is stated here, is around the importance of authenticity. CDIOs, like any other person advocating for these issues, will not have a huge team and budget, they will have to rely on building a rapport within the organization and inspiring and leading people without direct authority. For that, I consider the social competence and emotional intelligence even higher than a formal education or degree.

I am struggling with the concept of "what does the company gain from it?", as much as this is a understandable consideration of the management when implementing such a role. My motivation for engagement in this area did not come from that place, it originated in the thought of doing the right thing in combination with personal experience in my professional and private life. There is a fine balance there and focusing too much on what companies gain from this investment carries the risk of being viewed as "greenwashing" your company on diversity and inclusion. I fully agree with the comment on bravery though, as the topic is less straight forward than a business aspect and requires challenging conversations and engagements at times.

Having experienced many interactions in the area of diversity & inclusion, safe spaces and non-violent communication, my take is that being able to lead without authority will be one of the key abilities of the person driving this. Being an inspiring leader that creates followship will help to make people listen, create awareness for the topic and ultimately encourage people to take action themselves.

Inclusion and diversity are two complementary words. Recognising differences is one thing. Bringing them together in a way that encourages them to work together towards common goals requires neutrality and empathy. Progress doesn't always go in the direction of change, which is necessary because of diversity. In fact, inclusion will always make it easier to understand diversity.

Having been in the topic for a bit more than 2 years now, my advice would be to be clear that the aim of this role, as well as any diversity & inclusion effort, is not trying to change people's beliefs. When it comes to certain diversity aspects, such as sexual orientation or gender identity, some persons in your organization might have very clear opinions and strong convictions that they fostered all their lives and consider their heritage or somehow connected to their religious beliefs. For this reason, the message would be: "I don't want to change your belief or what's important to you." It takes listening, emotional intelligence in the response and clear messaging to stay on course of developing awareness and good behaviors.

A CDIO’s job is “Sustaining Momentum and Long-Term Commitment”. For instance, diversity and inclusion efforts are not one-time projects but ongoing processes. Therefore a CDIO may encounter challenges in sustaining momentum and commitment from the organization over the long term. It requires embedding diversity and inclusion into the organization's core values, practices, and decision-making processes.

If you are responsible for inclusion, you are not the defender of certain categories, nor are you the one forcing change. You are the one who studies the most appropriate way of facilitating the coherent and peaceful composition of diverse opinions. Indeed, work is part of life. You don't obliterate it - you compose it.