From Intent to Action: Holding Corporations Accountable for Their DEI Commitments
Having the intent to do something versus actually doing it often separates those who are successful in meeting their goals. Intent alone isn’t enough to create real change. That’s why it’s important for us to hold corporations accountable for their commitments, especially those related to DEI.
DEI stands for diversity, equality and inclusion. Having one without the other two can hold you back from making your goals a reality; having all three is essential for success. According to Deloitte Australia, inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments. Now more than consumers are expecting companies to take a stand on social issues, but it doesn’t—or rather—shouldn’t stop there. It’s up to us as leaders and consumers to hold corporations to their words that they will take action.
To get different perspectives on why and how we should hold corporations accountable for their DEI commitments, I (virtually) met with journalists who specialize in covering topics related to DEI for a Consciously Unbiased LinkedIn Live conversation.
We talked about why it’s important to recognize the obstacles that DEI efforts face, why it’s our responsibility to leverage the power we have to influence positive change, and the start of holding companies accountable today. Here are some key takeaways.
DEI Efforts Often Lack The Support To Drive Change
“We find that in organizations, most people who do DEI [as a] side hustle—it’s not their main job. Because of that, they don’t have the support they need or have [a seat] the decision-making table or have a budget, et cetera. That means there’s not a lot of buy-in when it comes to doing some of the things that they really want to do,” says Cheryl Cole, Editor at DiversityQ.
Leverage Your Power To Support DEI
“Are you paying attention to the makeup of your camera department? Of your lighting department? They don’t all need to be white dudes. So whether or not you have an inclusion rider, if you are a director or the star, where do you have that pull or leverage to [drive change]? You are within your rights—and some people might even say, within your responsibility—to ask those questions and to push,” says Rebecca Sun, Senior Editor, Diversity and Inclusion at The Hollywood Reporter.
The Start of Holding Corporations Accountable
“Now California requires a certain level of gender and race on boards. And NASDAQ is saying, you don’t have to have a diverse board, but you have to tell us whether you do or not—and explain if you don’t, why you don’t. And Goldman Sachs won’t take anyone public who doesn’t have a diverse board. There are initiatives underway and they are starting to make a difference, but we’re still just in the beginning,” says Jeff Green, Managing Diversity Reporter at Bloomberg.
I believe many organizations may be selling themselves short by not pushing for diversity and for not seeing the true value in it. I always tell clients if I was chartered to start a new business unit within my organization, and showed only 2% year-over-year growth, then I’d probably fire myself. When you have diversity initiatives, you have to think of it as a business initiative and say, ‘Let’s measure this as a real goal that’s achievable, but at the same time let’s make it one that pushes us.’ There is a place for both purpose and profit in the business world, and workplaces where all employees feel like they belong are better workplaces for us all.
