Two years ago, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) experienced a massive cultural moment, but it didn’t last. A new report reveals why and assesses the current landscape.

In the wake of the protests following the release of the video of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, companies all around the world made strong, public commitments to racial equality. But momentum has stalled since that galvanising moment. Why? This is the question explored in a new report published by Culture Amp, Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report: Understanding the DEI landscape. Have companies lived up to their commitments?

Unfortunately, the short answer is “no”. But there is hope. 

The report draws on data from over 2000 global organisations (including Australia) to track how employers’ and employees’ opinions and actions towards DEI have shifted since 2020, and outlines which DEI strategies have proven most effective.

“In the report, you’ll see that there was a huge spike in the number of inclusion related questions asked in employee engagement surveys after George Floyd’s death,” says Aubrey Blanche, Global Senior Director of Equitable Design, Product and People at Culture Amp.

However, such questions have since dropped to pre-summer 2020 levels in APAC, says Blanche.

The report leverages two sources of data: anonymised information from the 5000 organisations that use its employee experience platform and an independently conducted survey of global HR and DEI professionals. 

“By uniting this data, we were able to say not only what practices are common and what people are doing, but how that relates to diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes,” says Blanche.

Fact or fiction?

The trend described above is disheartening, but there has long been a gap between words and deeds when it comes to diversity initiatives. The size of this gap was the report’s least surprising finding, says Blanche.

“Eighty-six per cent of practitioners said they felt that their companies were building diverse and inclusive teams, and 81 per cent said they believed DEI was valuable. But only 34 per cent of organisations said they had adequate resourcing for this work. 

“We also found that only 49 per cent of respondents had a strategic diversity plan in place.”

In other words, the vast majority of people felt their company was improving, but less than half of companies had concrete plans to improve.

“That tells me that there might be quite a bit more fiction than fact in feelings about the success of those initiatives,” says Blanche.

Rejecting the cynical view

A sceptic would argue that companies are content to say one thing and do another. The more optimistic view is that DEI values are sincerely held, but companies don’t know how to make beliefs a reality.

Blanche says the truth is somewhere in between, but the findings suggest the optimistic interpretation is more accurate.

“What we see in many cases is that companies lack specialised expertise. The research shows only 40 per cent of companies had DEI-specific roles, the majority of those worked in a team of one, and eight out of 10 were hired in the last 18 months.”

Most worryingly, only 31 per cent of respondents said they were actively tracking their DEI initiatives.

“In what other place in the business would any leaders tolerate that lack of accountability, lack of data and lack of rigour in 2022?” asks Blanche. “That’s why I’m optimistic. Because while dealing with these issues is incredibly complex, the next steps forward are actually quite simple.”

Doing what works

To learn which specific initiatives have proven the most successful, and the data that backs this up, you can download Culture Amp’s report. 

In the meantime, Blanche has some broad advice.

“One of the most important things companies can do is collect data, because you can’t build a strategic plan if you don’t have that. Culture Amp is in a unique position to help. We provide a validated DEI survey, guidance on the demographics you should collect, and a lot of other resources, so a lot of the complex work is done for you.”

Diversity is multifaceted by its very nature. What will work for one underrepresented or marginalised group won’t always work for another. That’s why a common question leaders have about large-scale DEI culture change is, ‘Where do we start?’ 

Blanche has an answer to this. In addition to her role Culture Amp, she works as a DEI consultant, and tells all her clients the same thing.

“Tackle racism first, because when you tackle racism, you’re building systems that support the most marginalised. The design principle I use in my work in the US is, ‘If you can build a workplace where Black women can thrive, other people will also be able to be successful.’ 

“If you just build a workplace where White women can thrive, you’re leaving behind women of colour, you’re leaving behind people living with a disability, you’re leaving behind non-binary people. The benefits of solving racism lead to solutions that work better for everyone, whereas the benefits of solving for gender often only accrue to the most privileged within that group.”

The Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report: Understanding the DEI landscape can help HR professionals make a business case for DEI, and help organisations make smart investments that will meaningfully improve employee experience. Download it here.