Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Are we focusing on the wrong people?

The idea of diversity, equality and inclusion should be a joyous subject, a celebration of the richness of cultural identities, sexualities, and genders. This multiplicity of diversity all working together towards a common goal ‘should’ be a company’s ideal, but so often it has been seen with derision, strain, inadequacy, and as a tick box exercise.?In recent years ‘Diversity and Inclusion,’ has been at the forefront of every organisation’s lip’s and more so for the last 24 or so months, but why and what does it really mean to an organisation.?It’s as though suddenly people and companies have become aware of social injustice, prejudice, and sexism, when all along it had been sat there gathering dust in the corner of the room. So, the question arises why take note now, what are companies doing and where arguably does it go wrong?

The reality is we have a generation, born into social media ‘gen z’?who unlike those before them have had exposure to real world events as they happen, not from media sources but by the protagonists and victims of every day occurrences at work, in the street at the shops. Think about George Floyd, where the mobile footage was taken by 17 year old Darnella Frazier ?and subsequently?circulated around social media networks, and forwarded by youth even before the news networks picked up on its’ devastating effects.

The Gen Z, 7 to 22-year-olds have gone to multicultural, multi faith schools and sat beside friends that are third and fourth generation children from other cultural diasporas, who see themselves as British or American; but inevitably will be asked somewhere along the line ‘but where are you really from’, this happens still every day.?It has been the teenagers and 20 something year olds that have been vocal about changing the world and what they feel is acceptable, having been exposed to a less manufactured version of media reality. Look no further then Greta Thunberg on climate change and you will see the power of informed youth and how its changing group thinking. This 18-year-old carried more sway at COP26 conference than any world leader and why because she is resonating with a generation that will have to deal with this mess.

Organisations are becoming more aware that unless they share the same values as the people that are entering their organisations that they will have either ‘no’ or ‘the wrong’ plan for the future.

Companies are attempting to tackle these issues by having more diverse interview panels and cutting and pasting from other companies’ strategies. Admittedly there are on the surface some good initiatives to implement, such as working on programmes for returnees, diversity training, mentoring for emerging leaders, to name a few, but these are all aimed at the juniors in a company, with little follow ups and then as though this single seminar will transform the environment and motivate the employee to be super productive. The unfortunate thing is that often the entrenched beliefs, sit with the management, who perpetuate and accept out of date HR policies and processes, meanwhile the HR managers are expected to deliver what the leadership want and often are not allowed to exercise the real ideals and value they have. Intolerance comes in many shapes and sizes but one of the biggest unconscious bias’s is the belief that yours is the only way and the stock response is, ‘that’s not the way we do things.’ Change is not in the hands of the employees but the employers.

Surely the argument is, that the leadership creates the behaviours that everyone else follows. The consequences of their practices creates the cultural behaviour for harmony and change. What do you think? Is this an awareness that begins and should be lead by the leaders so they can manifest this ideology throughout the company? What would you do??

Article by Del Hossain, Managing Director @ Adrem Group - linkedin.com/in/delhossain