Interview with Kate DiChristopher-Yuen, Managing Consultant, Notion Consulting
“Diversity Without Equity And Inclusion Isn’t Enough”
Posted on 08-19-2020, Read Time: Min
Share:
| “Hiring for diversity and inclusion training are a good start but they aren’t enough. Organizations need to inspire their leaders and employees to act and to make difficult conversations the norm. Leaders and managers need to be coached to initiate these conversations, trained to lean into the ‘messy’ process, and taught not to fear the inevitable missteps that will happen along the way,” says Kate DiChristopher-Yuen, Managing Consultant, Notion Consulting. |
Kate, in an interaction with HR.com, talks about the key elements of an effective D&I policy, how often do people not understand the meaning of diversity and inclusion, how important is it for the leadership to embrace D&I for the success of such efforts, among others.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: How often do people understand the meaning of diversity and inclusion?
Kate: People generally have a broad understanding of ‘DEI,’ however what often happens is that ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ and ‘inclusion’ are used interchangeably. When that happens, efforts lean more toward ‘diversity,’ at the expense of equity and inclusion. And diversity without equity and inclusion isn’t enough.
Q: What are the three elements of an effective D&I policy? How does it help companies?
It’s critical to build a holistic approach to DE&I that includes vision, leadership, talent and engagement. You can do this by:
- Creating a picture for what successful DE&I will look like, day to day.
- Articulating the specific individual behaviors you want to see, and rewarding them at every level of the organization.
- Creating a balanced scorecard to measure your progress against your goals.
- Considering each stage of the talent lifecycle: recruiting, onboarding, learning and development, rewards and incentives.
Q: How important is it for the leadership to embrace D&I for the success of such efforts?
Kate: It is essential to identify your DEI allies and influencers. Find those on the leadership team who want to rally around this movement and empower them to inspire a DEI mindset and model desired behaviors. Understand where other senior leaders are on this journey and meet them where they are. Provide these leaders with the education and tools necessary to drive leader accountability in cultivating an environment of equity and inclusion. Be sure to leverage others in the organization with a passion for DEI who can influence from other levels as well.
Q: Nike, Adidas, Facebook, several well-known companies are coming under the radar of racial discrimination. Why is racial discrimination still prevalent in workplaces despite so much effort and awareness?
Kate: Many organizations have yet to embed anti-racism in their values and culture. Hiring for diversity and inclusion training are a good start but they aren’t enough. Organizations need to inspire their leaders and employees to act and to make difficult conversations the norm. Leaders and managers need to be coached to initiate these conversations, trained to lean into the ‘messy’ process, and taught not to fear the inevitable missteps that will happen along the way. Organizations ultimately need to infuse diversity, equity and inclusion into their values, governance, talent, compensation and other practices. It’s critical that organizations create an environment that doesn’t allow for silence or inaction.
Q: We have also seen some senior-level departures during this period owing to lack to racial insensitivity. This shows even the leadership lack sensitivity and empathy on such matters. How can we address this issue?
Kate: As a start, organizations need to engage leaders and employees in meaningful dialogues about DEI, creating a forum for authenticity and honesty that drives learning, empathy and connection. By fostering an atmosphere in which employees feel open to sharing, individuals can talk about the experience and impact of being marginalized, and discuss what they and the organization can do to support each other and engage in purposeful change.
Q: What do you think is lacking in companies' current D&I policies? What should they be improving?
Kate: Organizations often miss the mark when it comes to measuring DEI progress. As organizations develop and evolve their strategy, they need to be clear on what success looks like and how they’ll measure progress along the way. A scorecard can be a simple, transparent mechanism to hold your organization accountable to achieving DEI objectives.
Q: What do you think can be the role of academia here?
Kate: Within their walls, universities need to issue the same ‘call to action’ that we’re seeing at the organizational level. Within that call to action, it’s important for universities to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in areas of study that have not traditionally resulted in a diverse class of graduates. We’ll all ultimately benefit from the result -- which is a more diverse pipeline of talent across every industry.
Beyond their walls, academia must continue to raise awareness about the history of inequality in our culture, in all its forms. And, through partnerships and original research, academia must make a concerted effort to help us all understand the ways in which racism persists in its modern forms, elevating the dialogue, adding nuance, and using data to shine a light on inequality.
Beyond their walls, academia must continue to raise awareness about the history of inequality in our culture, in all its forms. And, through partnerships and original research, academia must make a concerted effort to help us all understand the ways in which racism persists in its modern forms, elevating the dialogue, adding nuance, and using data to shine a light on inequality.
Q: When Adidas’ (former) HR head, Karen Parkin, stepped down, it brought to the fore the lack of female diversity in leading corporate positions. What is lacking in the current system and rules that is causing it? What needs to be done?
Kate: One of the biggest obstacles to advancement is that we still have so many workplaces that don’t recognize and support work-life integration. Women generally take on more in their personal life than male colleagues – child care, household tasks, etc. – and coupled with one or more maternity leaves, many organizations still press the ‘pause’ button on a women’s runway to promotion because of it. What organizations ultimately need is a performance review and promotion approach that focuses on outputs, results and organizational achievements, not the number of hours spent at the office.
Error: No such template "/CustomCode/topleader/category"!
