Measuring DEI is not DIY

Tania Domett looks at how organisations can support a diverse and inclusive workplace when the world is rapidly changing.

Most organisations already know they need to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) if they want to thrive. The evidence is clear, with four decades of academic and practitioner studies from across 20 countries all showing DEI improves employee engagement and satisfaction, resulting in less staff turnover, lower recruitment costs and increased productivity and innovation (among other benefits).

New Zealand’s situation

Rapid demographic shifts also provide a compelling reason for getting behind the DEI drive. For example, the number of New Zealanders working past the age of 65 has doubled in the past decade. One-in-four New Zealanders has a disability, which is likely to increase in step with our ageing population. And Māori and Pasifika populations are growing rapidly; by 2038, over 50 per cent of New Zealand’s population will be Māori, Pasifika and Asian.

These dramatic population shifts are affecting labour and consumer markets, and organisations need to ensure their workplaces are able to respond.

Social norms and expectations are also changing with movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and Pride, and the push for pay equity is changing the environment in which we live and work. Women are no longer content with lower-level, part-time work just because they’ve had a baby – they no longer want to pay the so-called ‘reproductive tax’. Increasingly, people with a disability – and that’s a great many of us – expect to have decent, meaningful employment. People now expect to be able to be openly gay or gender diverse in the workplace and for this part of their identity to not count against them. All employees now expect their workplaces to be inclusive of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age and disability.

Consumers, clients and investors are also demanding that organisations in Aotearoa show a commitment to DEI. NZX listing rules increasingly require more, with issuers needing to provide, at minimum, a breakdown of the gender composition of their directors and officers. To top it all off, the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging every organisation to operate differently and be inclusive in how it responds.

Multiple aspects of identity

A diverse workforce reflects the communities in which an organisation operates. The goal is to have demographic representation of multiple aspects of identity – for example, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age and disability – at all levels of the organisation, including senior levels.

An inclusive organisation is one that provides a work environment in which all demographic groups are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and are in a position where they can contribute fully to the organisation’s success.

Properly committing to and engaging with DEI in your organisation requires measuring demographic diversity at the level of the organisation as a whole, and by level of seniority. It also requires measuring levels of inclusion to find out: how far, and in what ways, your people are feeling included, which demographic groups feel less included than others, and what all your people would need to really thrive.

What gets measured gets managed, and it’s only by understanding the numbers that you’ll know where to best focus your efforts for improvement (and your investment). How you gather this information from your people is critical.

You can’t assume anything about an individual’s identity. Fifty-three per cent of disability is not easily noticeable (see Cogo’s Access 2020 Survey for Be. Lab). Not even gender and ethnicity can be assumed, and many diversity dimensions can change over time, for example, responsibility for dependants, disability, relationship status.

Objective measuring

People are highly unlikely to disclose personal and sensitive information – or provide honest feedback for measures of inclusion – directly to their employer. It’s inappropriate, or even illegal, for organisations to ask their employees specific questions about their identity, for example, their sexuality or whether they have dependants. And staff engagement surveys aren’t always a reliable measure of whether your people are happy or not and whether they feel included in the workplace.

Engaging with an external DEI research provider has proved essential for gathering the information organisations need to measure diversity and inclusion. Third-party providers can provide complete confidentiality and a safe environment for honest feedback, resulting in more employees feeling comfortable sharing private and sometimes highly personal information about their lives.

All organisations are different, and the priorities that emerge for each from the research results will also tend to be different. One thing is for sure: a one-size-fits-all approach to DEI investment doesn’t work, and selecting which ‘ticks’ you wish to achieve based on what other organisations are doing won’t necessarily be right for your people.

The type of information required to properly commit to DEI adds a level of complexity that needs external expertise. Many organisations are making their move on DEI, and those that are investing in informed, well-targeted strategies are reaping the benefits.

Tania Domett is the Founding Director of Cogo, a research agency with a strong reputation for insights research and evaluation. Cogo works with a range of clients across the private, public and non-governmental organisation sectors and is expert in DEI research.