What is DE&I and Why is it Important

DE&I

You will have all heard the acronym D&I, which we all know stands for Diversity and Inclusion. However, over the past couple of years D&I has evolved into DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion). DE&I is increasingly being embedded into many organisations' cultures although more needs to be done to ensure that every organisation adopts this term, and recruiters will always be a fundamental part of ensuring that this happens.

Why is DE&I Important 

We can track discrimination throughout history, whether it be because of ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, even education and wealth, etc. DE&I in the workplace allows us to break down those barriers and helps towards ensuring that everyone gets a fair and equal chance to live the life we all deserve, without the fear of being held back and being penalised because of who we are.

DE&I in the workplace's sole purpose is to challenge our own biases, whether that is conscious or unconscious bias, to ensure that we create a more welcoming environment for everyone and achieve conscious inclusion. Think of it this way, we have all heard the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, this is the same thought process that DE&I aims to promote when it comes to those we employ and the culture we promote. It is incredibly important for every organisation to fully understand the meaning of DE&I and how it will have a positive impact on any organisation going forward.

The Meaning of DE&I

Unfortunately, as DE&I is the common phrase, a lot of people or organisations do not actually know what each letter refers to and what they mean, how they fit together and how they are used to form an organisation's culture. Below is a breakdown of DE&I and their meanings:

Diversity – includes all the elements of individual characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, education etc.

Equity – In short, equity means fairness, especially when it comes to processes and procedures at work. Promoting equity at work, allows everyone to be treated fairly and have the same access and opportunities to ensure that they can be their best selves at work.

Inclusion – Creating environments so that everyone feels welcomed, supported, valued and respected. Creating environments where everyone embraces differences and respect through words and actions.

Unfortunately, a lot of organisations are getting this wrong and that is where we can help our clients make a positive impact when it comes to improving their culture and way of working.

Why Doesn’t Every Company Get DE&I Right?

Quite simply, DE&I isn’t fully understood and, in most cases, never invested in or allocated adequate resources.

To ensure a DE&I culture, organisations need to truly live, breathe, and believe in creating a better work culture for everyone and this just isn’t the case at every organisation, unfortunately.

Organisations need to understand WHY DE&I is important and how having a diverse workforce and all-inclusive culture can positively impact the organisation going forward. For this to happen, adequate money and resource need to be invested.

Also, diversity often ends up being a tick box for a lot of organisations - compounded by a belief that simply hiring a diverse workforce means that the culture will naturally form into an all-inclusive one.

Yes, you need a diverse workforce, but without attention paid to building equity and inclusion, you will never lasting culture. For example, a new employee may assess your business as somewhere where they are made to feel like an outsider, they will leave the organisation to find somewhere that is supportive to all their staff. Companies that do not accommodate diversity, equity and inclusion will be left behind.

How Can Recruiters Make A Positive Impact On DE&I

Recruiters are at the forefront when it comes to creating an all-inclusive organisation. The positive impact we can have on totally changing an organisations culture is immense and this can be done in so many ways.

 As in most organisations, the talent acquisition teams are the brand ambassadors, we promote our company on platforms such as LinkedIn, we write the job ads, we are the team that talks up the company and culture within the organisation that we work for to potential employees, the list is endless.

To ensure that we are making a positive impact on our organisations DE&I initiative, we need to make sure we are fully immersed in what makes a great culture, that we are breaking down any barriers and unconscious biases from within. We can do this by finding ways to eradicate unconscious bias when it comes to submitting CVs, working with hiring managers to improve interview techniques and thought processes when it comes to making decisions in interviews, looking at ways of writing job adverts to make them more inclusive to external candidates.

(Originally written by Mike Leigh)