How diversity and inclusion helps business become better

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are key topics of conversation across all areas of life, especially in corporate cultures. Companies have or are developing policies to ensure that everyone feels included and accommodated, but what does this mean in reality? How does a lack of diversity and inclusion impact businesses – and what can be done about it?

Getting diverse

“Over 400 of our people are from over 50 countries so we already have people from more places than ever before,” says Karina Howley, head of corporate citizenship and diversity at KPMG.

“But of course, ethnicity and nationality are only two drivers of diversity. We have had a major LGBTQ+ programme for several years with a very well-supported Pride programme. This has included platforms including a publicly-shared video series for our people to talk about themselves and their journey in bringing their true selves to the workplace. and it has been hugely well received.

“However, these initiatives need sponsors and a formalised way of capturing people’s opinions and ideas, so from gender to ethnicity and a range of other themes we continually run focus and discussion groups about how to make it real.”

Rhonda Doyle, director of operations services and projects in Ireland, Schneider Electric, says diversity, equity, and inclusion remain a core priority across all parts of the business. “From our recruitment practices to our continued efforts to develop strong talent rising through the business ranks, D&I plays a vital role in the organisation’s continued success.”

Benefits of diversity

Successful inclusion, diversity and equality strategies make for a more interesting and attractive environment, says Howley. “For example, while the last two and a bit years have turned the world of work upside down, some things don’t change as much as maybe we think they do.” Sociability is just part and parcel of what it is to be human, so working in a place with a varied workforce helps makes an organisation attractive, she says. “In terms of retaining people, naturally other factors matter but an inclusive environment is essential if people are to feel they ‘belong’ and are valued.”

Challenges to face

“One of the biggest and I believe universal challenges is recognising that diversity has quite literally many faces,” says Howley. The themes of gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity for example are very visible and for good reason. Making sure that diversity of background, experience and a host of other diversity themes get the attention they deserve is also important.

“Companies have to make a real effort to reach out to people, to provide a forum for discussion and to have clear pathways for actionable solutions if they want to make a real impact.”

“Having our bold recruitment targets in place is a great start but hiring more diverse and inclusive candidates for STEM roles is still a real challenge,” says Doyle. “We are increasing the number of women we employ at all levels of the organisation.

“However, the reality is that women still only make up around a quarter of the current tech workforce, and female talent is more difficult to find in our sector. This, coupled with the historical gender and diversity imbalance of the workforce, inevitably makes balancing out diversity across the business a longer-term goal. Our progress in increasing female retention is a welcome step towards addressing this balance, and we’ll continue to diversify recruitment strategies across the board.”

Implementing the right measures

Doyle says that to implement the correct measures companies need to ensure they have data when it comes to pay, separating variables such as race, gender, sexual orientation or physical ability, and take action to address any imbalances. “Understanding how D&I is weaved into company culture and what can be done to improve this is vital.”

“There’s always more to be done,” says Howley. “As Ireland becomes more diverse we’ll continue to see more diverse teams across the entire economy. Some of the change I’ve seen both internally and externally has happened organically as different people join the business, but the role of enlightened leadership can’t be underestimated – it helps create and support an environment for constant change for the better.”