THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

DIVERSITY IS BEING INVITED TO THE PARTY, INCLUSION IS BEING ASKED TO DANCE

BY BONANG MOHALE

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) needs to be defined in a way that has meaning and purpose within the South African context and that reflects the particular historical origins of inequality in this country. The definition must also give clear directions as to how a commitment to D&I can be translated into practical strategies, action plans and programmes. It is a planned and positive process and strategy aimed at transforming socio-economic environments which have excluded individuals from disadvantaged groups. In order for such disadvantaged individuals to gain access to opportunities, including developmental opportunities, based on their suitability. It requires the total eradication of all obstacles, subtle or overt, formal or informal, which hinder the empowerment of disadvantaged individuals. Part of the problem is that “diversity” and “inclusion” are so often lumped together that they are assumed to be the same thing. But that is just not the case. In the context of the workplace, diversity equals representation.

Without inclusion, however, the crucial connections that attract diverse talent, encourage their participation, foster innovation and lead to business growth will not happen.

Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Numerous studies show that diversity alone does not drive inclusion. In fact, without inclusion there is often a diversity backlash.

In 1971, the late Rev Leon Howard Sullivan Jr. (1922 - 2001) was elected to the Board of Directors at General Motors Corporation (GM), at that time, the largest employer in South Africa. Sullivan used his position within this corporation to oppose discrimination. To this end, in 1977 Sullivan created the Sullivan Principles, a code of conduct for corporations operating out of South Africa. The Sullivan Principles were designed to protect human rights and promote equal opportunity for workers in South Africa. This code of ethics was widely acknowledged for challenging racial discrimination in South Africa and helping dismantle apartheid. Later that same year, with help from the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, launched the Global Sullivan Principles campaign.

These expanded principles call for companies to play a larger role in the achievement of worldwide human rights, equality, economic fairness and social justice. Leaders have long recognised that a diverse workforce of women, black people, LGBT-QI individuals confers a competitive edge in terms of selling products or services to diverse end users. Yet a stark gap persists between recognising the leadership behaviours that unlock this capability and actually practicing them.

What is needed is inclusive leadership that will ensure that team members speak up and are heard, making it safe to propose novel ideas, empowering team members to make decisions, taking advice and implementing feedback, giving actionable feedback and sharing credit for team success. What also helps is networking by making your ‘net work for you’ and visibility as often, ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

For black people and women, the key to rising above a playing field that remains stubbornly uneven is sponsorship. A sponsor is a senior-level leader who elevates their protégé’s visibility within the corridors of power, advocates for key assignments and promotions for them and puts their reputation on the line for the protégé’s advancement. For those who feel marginalised by their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual identity or educational and economic background, sponsorship is particularly crucial in invigorating ambition and driving engagement. Having a sponsor increases the likelihood of being satisfied with the rate of career advancement. Conversely, lack of sponsorship increases someone’s likelihood of quitting within a year. So is career pathing and succession planning also important. Companies should start from the simple but fundamental understanding that there are different perspectives, each of them valuable, and work to explore and identify the range of barriers holding these individuals back. Organisations can then formulate plans and programmes that offer options and provide signposts that help women, LGBT people, and people of colour find the path that’s right for where they are in their lives and careers. In the 21st century, not to have a diverse team is absolutely unacceptable but to have a culture that is not inclusive is criminal. Diversity without inclusion is a story of missed opportunities, of employees so used to being overlooked that they no longer share ideas and insights. But diversity with inclusion provides a potent mix of talent attraction, retention and high engagement levels.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Goal 10 talks about the need to ‘reduce inequality within and among countries’. Reducing inequalities and ensuring no one is left behind are integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Inequality within and among countries is a persistent cause for concern. Despite some positive signs toward reducing inequality in some dimensions, such as reducing relative income inequality in some countries and preferential trade status benefiting lower-income countries, inequality still persists. COVID-19 has deepened already existing inequalities hitting the poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest. It has put a spotlight on economic inequalities and fragile social safety nets that leave vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of the crisis. At the same time, social, political and economic inequalities have amplified the impacts of the pandemic. On the economic front, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased global unemployment and dramatically slashed workers’ incomes.

SDG 5 talks about the need to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. Gender equality is a fundamental and inviolable human right and women’s and girls’ empowerment is essential to expand economic growth, promote social development and enhance business performance. The full incorporation of women’s capacities into labour forces would add percentage points to most national growth rates – double digits in many cases. Further, investing in women’s empowerment produces the double dividend of benefiting women and children, and is pivotal to the health and social development of families, communities and nations. COVID-19 also puts at risk the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women’s rights over the past decades. Across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their gender. Inequalities are also deepening for vulnerable populations in countries with weaker health systems and those facing existing humanitarian crises. Refugees and migrants, as well as indigenous peoples, older persons, people with disabilities and children are particularly at risk of being left behind. Hate speech targeting vulnerable groups is rising.

In June 1993, the Black Management Forum (BMF) set up an Affirmative Action Commission, consisting of twelve members to look at key aspects of affirmative action! This found expression in our Constitution as the Employment Equity Act. Chief among South Africa’s political success is the country’s Constitution, which was written in 1996. The three parties that made up the Government of National Unity (GNU), the ANC, National Party and the IFP, established the core principles on which the country’s future was to be built. The result of the negotiations was a Constitution that is today considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. It is perhaps best known for its second chapter, a Bill of Rights, in which the question of human rights are expounded upon over 35 sections. Mindful of the country’s recent undemocratic past, its authors included a further chapter establishing a number of related commissions and offices, such as the South African Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender Equality.

The GNU has long made a national transformation agenda one of its overarching policy priorities, aiming to address the societal imbalance left by the apartheid regime. Meanwhile, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR), Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), New Growth Path (NGP), National Development Programme (NDP) - 2030 and the more recent Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), all address the economic facet of the national process, by focusing on, among others, infrastructure investment, skills enhancement, support for SMEs and macroeconomic stabilisation, government has moved to tackle race and gender-related inequality in a much more direct fashion. Additionally, the B-BBEE of 2003, sets out the government policy of situating B-BBEE within the context of a broader national empowerment strategy. The broad objectives of the B-BBEE policy include an alteration to the racial and gender composition of ownership and management structures of existing and new enterprises as well as in skilled occupations, increased access to finance for black people and women, the employment of rural communities, the development of black South Africans as human capital through programmes such as coaching, mentorships, sponsorships, internships, and preferential procurement policies for black- and women-owned businesses. In practice, companies must comply with B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice (CoGP) principles of 2007.

Central to the issue of transformation is the emotive issue of land reform, including restitution, redistribution and development - as a primary means of production! At the end of the apartheid era, only 13% of commercial farmland was owned by black South Africans. Bringing black ownership of farmland up to 30% became one of the central policy pillars of the newly elected GNU in 1994. The White Paper on South African Land Policy of 1997 solidified this objective. In marked contrast to the confiscatory model adopted by Zimbabwe, the Act established a regime based on the principle of “willing seller, willing buyer” at the market price. However, by 2011, only 6 million hectares of a targeted total of 25m hectares had been bought by government and nearly 30% of the land which had been handed over to aspirant black farmers had been sold back to its original owners. To try and address this failure to implement the Act, we have now amended Section 25, Article 3 to be even more explicit on “Expropriation Without Compensation”.