Business as it relates to DEI and Company Culture. The debate around DEI and changing company culture to align with the issues surrounding the topic persists unabated. This piece is written from a member of an ethnic group, addressing a misuse of a term that I consider does not take into consideration who ethnic groups really are.
It is pertinent to reference the event that brought about the debate, in the first instance. Due to the Black Lives Matter movement (in 2020), many companies have stated a commitment to make internal changes to their company culture and operations.
This article, in part, will address how companies interested in updating their mission, values, goals, and overall business models and operations can go through this process in a meaningful, seamless way so that their new company vision can be realised as quickly as possible.
Changing Company Culture to Align with Race-related Commitments
Referencing the UK’s position, many companies have said they are committed and will make these changes … but how? It is hoped the information provided here will contribute to how the changes can be made and more effectively.
Highlights:
– Where we are now, statistically
– How Race relations policy has affected DEI
Some of the issues organisations must deal with in order to reach their DEI goals
Where we are now statistically:
- It has been found that by embracing diversity and inclusion in the workplace increases performance by 35%.
- Top barriers to DEIB effectiveness at leadership levels are found to be 44%.
- Respondents who say their organisations are an expert or advanced stage based on HR Research Institute is found to be 15%.
- 80% of organisations measure DEIB in some way, but 55% use only basic workforce data.
- Just 32% believe that equitable pay is among their executive top 5 priorities.
(Source: The Future of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging 2023 – key findings)
According to Business You.Gov
Two out of five Britons say their current place of work values workplace diversity and inclusion. “Three-fifths of this group – UK adults who indicate that their previous and/or current workplace values diversity – say that their workplace has active DEI policies or initiatives (61%).”Ethnicity-facts-figures.service.com
This data measures the number and percentages of people in England, Scotland and Wales who are employed, i.e. people employed in paid work as an employee or self-employed.
Reports that the data show: 77% of which people were employed in 2022, compared with 69% of people from all other ethnic groups combined, the difference in the employment rates for white people and people from all other ethnic groups combined went down from 16 percentage points in 2004 to 8 percentage points in 2022.
The report concluded that the highest overall employment rates were in the South East, South West, (all 78%) – the lowest were in the North East (71%). (Date: 28 Nov 2023).
Questions:
- Generally, what are the biggest challenges to changing a company’s culture or foundation?
- How can a company making a major change like this make sure it succeeds in meeting this challenge?
Changing Company Culture to Align with Race-related Commitments
Where we are today discussing the DEI issues is a direct result, whether we want to admit it or not, of the George Floyd event in the United States in May 2020.
Writing from a UK perspective, and a member of a minority ethnic group, I will address the term BAME, used in the UK and applied to Black and other ethnic groups. I would like to address how this term does not service the people to whom it refers on the issues surrounding DEI in the workplace.
If companies are to make internal changes to their company culture and operations, they need to recognise that the individuals included in this term have different experiences, and by extension, different cultures.
- If a company has stated a commitment to change in regard to race-related representation, sponsorships/partnerships, etc. what should it do next?
- Where should a company start with the transition into a more racially aware and inclusive company?
Companies in the UK are supposedly guided by our Race Relations Act, yet their HR policy on diversity and inclusion are not entirely robustly practiced.
In my experience, the treatment of ethnic groups is not fairly accepted because they are lumped together within companies’ HR policies, in particular, and as a result, Diversity and Inclusion became a tick-box exercise, especially when these issues were first raised (see where are we now statistically).
For example, the experience of an African, an Asian and a Caribbean employee are perceived as belonging to the BAME group with no more thought of the differences in their experiences, and how they could be treated as individual groups on that basis. This then feeds into the implementing of policies set to not distinguish between groups, and is not made in terms of recognising cultural differences and experiences.
Therefore, the term BAME could be said to be an inaccurate term, as it does not distinguish that there are clear differences between groups.
That said, how can any company inculcate into their ‘company cultures’ and operations the needs of some many differences? Is it possible?
- How can a company ensure it remains focused on this goal versus letting this become just another “good idea” or “something to do someday?”
Race-related representation in the UK has been an exercise that has been widely attempted. Its success can be said to have had limited effect.
Companies must start by guarding against racial bias. That is, there should be recognition of the differences within each racial group, and positively guard against the temptation to lump all racial groups under the BAME umbrella, but instead seek to address the difference which exist in each group and create a company culture accordingly.
This could be perceived as a huge undertaking, but it will equally have a huge pay-off for companies that undertake this practise.
Partnerships working together could help to stem the tide (shorten the timescales) of how long the changes can be implemented, particularly so in getting the message out and interpreting the commitment to individual groups, on what the benefits to them could be.
A company can ensure it remains focused on the process of updating its mission, values, goals, and overall business models and operations by including in their HR policy, Mission Statement and day to day operations, an ‘openness’ in their treatment of staff/employees who are not from the indigenous population, recognising their differences and thereby pursue the implementation of these with robust actions.
The biggest challenge to changing a company’s culture is changing the mindset of the business owner and staff/employees. This is particularly so when the employment, or treatment of, ethnic groups were never included in their future planning.
Companies’ planning must be revised to include policies that are actionable and that can be implemented without undue difficulties, despite the opposition from staff/employees that could entail, which is the second, but significant challenge the company would face.
Even though ‘Black Lives Matter’ perceptions have highlighted the changes required, and even though there are companies, understandably, that want to be allies and champions in this regard, it will be sometime before the commitment made by them, are able to bring the change that they may want to achieve. There is yet much to be done!
