In countless boardrooms and executive offices, leaders are feeling a sense of urgency around their company’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. These leaders want to do the right thing for their employees — and they’re feeling additional pressure from investors, regulators, and customers.
To make progress, leaders must understand employees’ core DEIB needs — and where alignment is lacking. Below, I explain our findings and offer advice on what actions leaders can take to turn the tide.1. Employers say they’re making DEIB changes — but employees don’t see meaningful progress. This is a significant area of opportunity for leaders, who think they focus on employee strengths far more effectively than employees feel they do. Almost half of HR leaders say they are committed to building the strengths of each employee, but only 29% of employees agree.There is a dramatic divide between leaders and employees when it comes to their confidence that the company will do the ethical thing.
The thing about DEI is that their definition of diversity is narrow, focuses on diversity of skin pigment rather than diversity of content and substance.