The Case for Continuing to Invest in DEI

As we see some companies respond to today’s economic uncertainty by pulling back on their DEI efforts or, worse, laying off DEI teams, I wanted to share data from our own clients that highlight the incredible impact these teams are having.

In a blog post our team shared earlier today, you can learn about the incredible progress our clients made last year. A few key highlights:

• Companies meaningfully increased employee representation. One company saw a 4 percentage point increase in representation of employees from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, while another saw a 3 point increase in women in leadership and a 2 point increase in women in technical roles. These numbers (4, 3, 2) may seem small, but in the context of overall organizational size, hiring, and attrition rates, they are meaningful changes that impact the lives of many, many people.??
• Several companies improved their employees’ experience, with one seeing a 5 percentage point increase in people’s feeling of inclusion. At another organization, people’s confidence in the company’s commitment to DEI jumped from 75% to 94% as a result of their efforts.
• Across thousands of learners who participated in training, we saw a 43 point increase in people’s understanding of strategies they can use to foster inclusion and a 27 point increase in their understanding of what it means to be an ally.

We're so proud of what these organizations have accomplished and all the hard work that went into making it happen.?

Digging deeper, I was also struck by a few key data points that counter the narrative that “DEI training isn’t effective.” (To be clear - a lot of DEI training isn’t effective, and I agree with the conclusions drawn by researchers that training isn’t a panacea, and has to be part of a broader strategy focused on structural change.) For example, before training Paradigm facilitated for our clients, 87% of people said they were motivated to foster an inclusive culture. At first glance, this seems like great news! Who needs training when everyone already wants to be inclusive? But, only 40% of those people said they knew how to foster an inclusive culture. After training, 83% of people felt equipped to take action. The lesson? Without training on specific strategies and tactics, people might have good intentions but struggle to foster inclusive cultures.

Imagine if the companies who saw all of this impact put DEI on the backburner in 2021, or laid off the teams responsible for making this happen? They would have less diverse workforces, employees struggling to do their best work, and a workforce extremely motivated but ill-equipped to foster inclusion. Not to mention, dissatisfied employees? — the vast majority of people (72%) have said they want their employers to invest in DEI.?

If your organization is thinking about where DEI should fall on your priority list, remember that your investment — or lack thereof — will make a measurable difference in your employees’ lives and send a strong message to employees about what you do, or don’t, value.