What the ideal workforce looks like and how to achieve it

In March 2022 the Department of Justice published its first equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy. In it the department proposed that EDI is a fundamental building block in achieving its mission of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland. The strategy provides a focus for increasing Ireland’s capacity to deliver on this work, while supporting the organisation to meet other, equally important requirements set out in equality legislation and human rights standards.

In a foreword Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was delighted to present the department’s first EDI strategy.

“Equality, diversity and inclusion is first and foremost a matter of fairness,” Ms McEntee said. “Everyone has the right to be respected in their place of work and to have equal opportunities to thrive and excel. Working to create this environment is simply the right thing to do. But we also know that equality, diversity and inclusion make for a more dynamic and innovative workplace where new ideas and new ways of thinking can flourish.

“I believe this work on the EDI strategy will be central to our mission of working for a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland.”

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Priyanka Jaiswal, director of people, proposition and reward at telecommunications and internet service provider Three, echoes this sentiment. She maintains that an ideal workforce is one in which EDI is effectively incorporated. The aim, she says, is to create an environment that is representative, inclusive and equitable for all individuals, who are not limited by their gender, ethnicity or background and who have equal opportunities to succeed.

While there is no single template for what the staffing make-up of an organisation should be, the key is that it is representative of the customer base the organisation is serving and the society in which it operates, says Jaiswal.

“And at the next level, diversity needs to look beyond just single employee groups, but also at the intersectionality of these groups,” she adds. “It’s well documented there are more things in common between people than that what divides them. For example, an inclusive workplace for women has similar elements to an inclusive workplace for parents and carers of elderly parents.”

Part of the solution to creating inclusive workplaces is to use inclusive recruitment, where hiring practices consider a diverse pool of candidates and minimise biases in the selection process.

“We have introduced 50:50 targets at all stages of recruitment process,” says Jaiswal. “We have also introduced equity in pay and progression. This ensures pay equity and provides equal opportunities for career development and advancement for all employees.

“We track and report at business and remuneration committee level regularly the impact of pay decisions for new hires, promotions and end-of-year pay reviews. We have also introduced diversity principles and guidelines for any organisation changes.”

Dr Maeve Houlihan, associate dean and director of UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business, points to the importance of research and how education can bring about change.

“Research particularly shows the importance of clusters – ensuring that difference is represented in many rather than a few,” she says. “For too long, gender representation on boards, for example, meant [there was just] one woman. We know that in order to safely disagree or bring fresh perspectives diversity cannot reside in individuals alone.

Houlihan, adds: “A joyful, powerful change in Ireland is that schools and college classrooms are now truly diverse places and the conversation and ideas in the room have been greatly enriched by this.”

Another area of positive workplace change lies in providing flexible working arrangements. Often employees have diverse needs, including those associated with parenting and caregiving, while people with disabilities can also require flexibility regarding their attendance at work.

Most companies have implemented zero-tolerance policies against bullying and harassment. Three, for example, has also put in place strict policies to address and prevent discrimination, harassment and microaggressions for their employees – especially their customer-facing employee groups. This is all backed up with mandatory training and inclusive leadership training.

Some requirements for EDI protection can be less obvious. Dan Harris, chief executive and founder of Neurodiversity in Business in the UK, a charitable organisation he set up to try to ensure future support for his non-verbal, autistic 10-year-old son Josh.

“I felt we were light years away from a society that would accept him and, working in the corporate world, I believed that businesses could actually lead in this regard,” he says.

Harris is hoping to establish best practices for business to adopt in working with neurodiverse employees – both to attract and to retain people from this section of the population. In the UK 20 per cent of the workforce is neurodiverse and yet there is little in place by way of support for this cohort.

“While we have these figures, we also know that a significant number of neural diverse people are either not diagnosed or unwilling to disclose their condition to their employee for fear of sanctions,” says Harris.

His advice for businesses is that they listen, then listen again.

He also believes employers ought to show a little humility. “Be open, honest and ready to take on board suggestions,” says Harris. “Don’t think you know what is wanted.”

Having said that, he adds: “My last piece of advice is to be ambitious. We don’t want tokenistic efforts – we want companies to really buy in to committing to welcoming diversity in all its different forms.”

The idea is that a diverse workforce is better equipped to design products and consider propositions by bringing in new and different approaches that can result in better decisions and innovation.

“Finally,” Jaiswal says, “we believe that employees are more productive, motivated and reach their full potential if they feel they are supported at workplace and have a sense of belonging.”