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No Elon, DEI must not DIE, and here’s how we can make it stick

John Vlismas
By John Vlismas
25 Aug 2024
Facebook
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We know that diversity wins in business as in life, but why is it such a struggle to create truly diverse and inclusive workplaces? New research digs deep to explore how leaders in South Africa can bring about real change.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) seems to have become something of a political lightning rod in the US political and culture wars. Last December, Elon Musk posted on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), that “DEI must DIE”, and this week, motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson became the latest manufacturer to drop DEI initiatives amid sustained pressure from anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the universe, DEI is recognised as something of a secret elixir to building successful and sustainable organisations – benefiting everything from talent attraction and retention to bottom-line profits, with ample data and research to back this up.

Just as genetic diversity is crucial for the planet’s survival, so diversity is a winning strategy in business because it strengthens the ability of individuals and groups to resist diseases, disruption and other stresses. In other words, resilience.

Diversity is especially important in a globalised world where business is conducted across borders, among divergent cultures and peoples. It’s encouraging, therefore, that despite pockets of backlash in the US, there’s been a burgeoning interest in DEI across the world.

But – and it’s a big but – even the most well-intentioned diversity efforts can founder unless the delicate relationship between perception, commitment, identity and trust is maintained. And this can further fuel the backlash.

What this really tells us is that change is hard. Upending and overhauling entrenched systems is painful and requires commitment and nerve. Fortunately, there are organisations that are blazing a trail to show us the way.

Winning ways: what’s working


There is no one-size-fits-all approach to diversity, but what sets high-diversity companies apart from their peers is the ability to manage a wide range of talent without drowning out minority voices, says Vivian Hunt, a senior partner at McKinsey and one of the authors of the seminal report Diversity wins: How inclusion matters.

In 2023, the World Economic Forum’s Global DEI Lighthouse highlighted effective approaches to supporting DEI taken by eight global multinationals, including diversity of socioeconomic status, diversity of thought, cultural diversity, and societal and gender diversity.

UK-headquartered EY, for example, established Neuro-Diverse Centres of Excellence in eight countries to support employees with dyslexia, autism, ADHD and other inherent cognitive differences and reports a 92% retention rate for neurodivergent employees hired through the programme.

PwC UK has a five-year plan to help individuals from poorer backgrounds to develop the skills necessary to build a career at the firm through workplace skills training, and mining and manufacturing giant Tata Steel set a target of achieving 25% diverse employees by 2025, challenging barriers across gender and diversity dimensions such as sexuality, gender and caste.

As a result, by 2022, the company recorded an 8.6% increase in women-identifying managers and a 95% hike in applications by women for engineering scholarships. The company also became the first in India to pilot a programme for employing transgender women.

While each case study highlighted a different approach and differing outcomes, what they had in common was a focus on boosting equity. Equity is the part of the DEI trilogy that is the least understood and the hardest to achieve, because it requires organisations to change existing patterns and processes; dismantle systemic barriers; and identify bias and privileges that skew the playing field. The other key element was intentionality.

Intentionally creating a diverse culture that promotes equity


Our research at Henley Business School suggests that organisations that are intentional about getting a few things right – focusing on trust, personal agency, positive approaches to change and strong leadership – can boost their chances of success.

Trust is foundational. And unfortunately in South Africa, it is also a bit thin on the ground. In traditionally white corporate culture, black managers tend to have little faith in diversity initiatives – a hangover from the apartheid system where white people had all the agency and black people had none.

There is a disconnect between what is touted as “company culture” and how that is perceived by those who feel like outsiders, causing a breakdown of trust on the part of those whose lived experience outside the dominant culture is vastly different.

It follows that it’s necessary to focus on building personal agency in the organisation. That means giving all employees an effective voice and not just those from identifiable groups. Hand-in-hand with this must be a willingness to acknowledge the elephants in the room, which could include white fragility alongside black scepticism and also the psychological impact of code-switching or double consciousness when individuals feel they have to bend themselves to fit into a dominant corporate culture.

How companies respect personal identity rather than subvert identity to fit into the corporate model or push employees into a state of double consciousness is critical.

Third, leaders can look to harness positive approaches to overcome resistance to change. For example, one of the most powerful ways to shift to a corporate culture in which all stakeholders feel recognised is by countering refusal to change with an openness to embracing mutual vulnerability.

Understanding the interplay between trust, identity, and perception – and how they impact on commitment – is equally significant. Partly this means acknowledging that one individual’s way of gaining knowledge about the world may differ from your own.

By paying attention to the signals being received by others, it is possible to open up a portal for connection, which provides the space needed to create new rules and break down comfort zones.

And lastly, it comes down to leadership quality. It takes a special type of leader capable of managing heterogenous teams comprising individuals from different backgrounds, walks of life, interests, racial and ethnic backgrounds and genders.

Such leaders also need to be willing to hear hard truths and give individuals the space to flourish while challenging the status quo. For this, they need to focus on developing their DQ (Diversity Intelligence) to truly appreciate and value diversity. 

Don’t give up


Today’s organisations find themselves in a bind, stuck between the desire to improve their business’s DEI to attract and retain talent but uncertain about how to build the sort of genuine diversity-embracing culture that lives up to DEI rhetoric without alienating under-represented (or entrenched) groups by further eroding trust.

It can seem overwhelming, especially amid the news of negative developments in the US, but diversity leaders can also take heart in the knowledge that building a diverse culture is an evolving process that must be fluid and relies on others.

There will be gains and there will be regressions. This is partly because human beings, when put under pressure, tend to revert to their strongest social categorisations, such as language and race, which is one of the strongest identities.

But having a strong intention and a clear roadmap can help organisations stay on track. DM

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