Diversity and inclusion: How can firms make progress in a pandemic?

During lockdown, while many companies were focused on survival, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) could easily have taken a back seat but in many cases it was the companies that already had a strong EDI policy in place that responded quickly to the crisis.

“If you already had agile working and inclusive leadership, then the change was obviously easier,” says Gillian Harford, country executive of the 30% Club Ireland.

“We’ve seen that responding to lockdown requirements has opened up new opportunities for organisations to recruit talent in different ways, in different geographies and across different segments of the community – which improves scope for engaging with minority groups,” she says.

While many organisations have budget constraints that had an impact on EDI activity regarding events and social gatherings, those that invested in supporting employees to bring the best of themselves to work each day do well at ensuring productivity and personal wellbeing in remote work settings, Harford says.

Take Citibank as an example. For it, diversity and inclusion have become an even greater focus now.

“This is not the time to take our eye off the ball. We consider it a vital element to our future success – we are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce built on the foundation that all employees treat one another with respect and dignity and are comfortable coming to work each day,” says Cecilia Ronan, chief executive of Citibank Europe PLC, and Citi country officer for Ireland.

“We owe it to our employees to maintain focus on this, and in addition to that, the breadth of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives of our employees is what enables our success as a business. This is not a ‘nice to have’, it is a business imperative.

“Our business leaders at all levels are directly involved in and held accountable for our collective progress in advancing diversity and inclusion across the firm. We have increased the level of transparency around these efforts, which underscores our commitment to drive change across our firm,” she says.

Clear priorities

At the outset of the pandemic, CPL recruitment was very clear that its number one priority was to invest in appropriate structures to support the health and wellbeing of its people, and of equal importance was to retain talent, protect jobs and keep their staff connected to the business.

Before Covid-19, EDI was firmly placed as an organisational priority for CPL, and it has made a significant investment in its EDI programmes, driving an inclusive leadership culture and making good progress.

“Our organisation transitioned to full remote working overnight and although our technology infrastructure allowed us to do that seamlessly, we had to step up quickly to how we supported our people, and I honestly think we have done a really good job but we have to be honest and recognise that Covid has changed the workplace, and how we respond to those changes is crucial for our future success,” says Sharon Vize, HR director at CPL.

“It is more important than ever at CPL, that we as leaders really step up and practise inclusive leadership. We remain committed to building an inclusive culture and we encourage our leaders to be empathic, compassionate and to recognise team members who may be feeling vulnerable. We have to remember that inclusion starts with every person in your organisation bringing their best self to work. I believe that when you have a leader who leads with an overall emphasis on being compassionate, you will more than likely create an environment where people feel more comfortable and show their authentic self. This will ultimately lead to creating a culture whereby people will collaborate, innovate, and deliver in a meaningful way,” she says.

“The best way for companies to stay focused on EDI is to keep talking about it and making sure it is part of everyday conversations on progress, and continued focus on measuring progress is critical,” Harford says.

“Companies must keep a watch on balance in recruitment, on performance ratings and career and salary progression. They should reward leaders who support their teams in a more inclusive and agile way and who ensure that any short-term business decisions taken as part of the current focus on business survival don’t unintentionally disadvantage any particular groups of employees in the short or longer term,” she says.

Significant momentum

There is the risk that the significant momentum achieved in Ireland over more recent years could be lost with female-dominated sectors being hardest hit with regard to job losses.

“For example, some care-givers are stepping back from full-time roles to combine part-time work with their additional caring responsibilities. There is a potential career divide between those who can be more available to attend for work versus those who have a need to continue remote working – and the related perception of being less available for career opportunities. We’ve also seen the toll on individuals in terms of stress and mental-health challenges, which can be exacerbated by the feeling of not belonging, or the loss of support from a positive physical work environment,” Harford adds.

Companies can design EDI strategies that are resilient to disruption. The most successful approach is to see it as an integral part of business planning rather than as a separate initiative.

“This can include looking at all people practices through a diversity lens and extending this to customer and supply chain strategies. Focusing on attracting and retaining key talent is core to surviving and thriving in a period of disruption, and having diverse voices around the decision-making table ensures that the EDI strategy remains current and to the forefront,” she says.

Citi has created clear measures of senior-level accountability around their representation efforts. For example, gender goals are documented in score cards and performance measures, and progress is tracked and monitored at the most senior levels.

“We are pleased to see that we continue to make sustained progress against our gender goals,” says Ronan. “As at the end of June 2020, we reached 23.4 per cent female at director and managing director level across EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa]. That’s an increase of over 4 per cent from our 19 per cent starting point in 2017. We are on track to meet our 30 per cent goal by 2025. The representation goals are not an end state; they are a starting point to drive progress and help us in our efforts to recruit, retain and promote diverse talent.”

Companies that don’t stay focused on this will lose out in multiple ways.

“The business case for diversity and inclusion is overwhelming,” she says. “Harness the power of diverse thoughts and you will gain hugely in terms of innovation and creativity, and better decision-making. Companies that don’t pay attention to this will miss out on business opportunities. In addition to this, they will miss out on recruitment and retention of the best and brightest talent.”