World of Work round table series

The experts were unanimous that diversity must be more than a box-ticking exercise for firms and that diverse organisations are fundamentally better businesses, making better decisions and providing more opportunities for innovation and growth.

But diversity campaigner and director at global advertising agency TBWA, Farhat Zaheer, warned against relying solely on the business case for diversity, arguing that social responsibility must be the real justification for more diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Rachel Credidio, group people and transformation director at Aster, said it was very positive to see businesses being held to account more and more by their employees and customers.

While the panel did report historical challenges when promoting a diversity agenda within businesses, which forced them to lean on the business case when securing buy in from senior management, they said times had now changed.

But the biggest advocates for diversity might not always be who you would expect.

Louise Stewart, senior counsel at communications and market research agency Cicero, said: “I’ve worked in businesses that are dominated by white males of a certain age group, and I was surprised when a senior woman privately questioned our work to highlight women’s achievements because ‘no one gave me a leg up in life’. Some of the men were much more supportive.”

Farhat added that it’s important to respect, support and listen to people who are making positive efforts to change.

She said: “There’s a vulnerability to those who are on the journey of educating themselves about diversity too.

“Those who stand up to talk about their journey to deal with their internal bias are a really important part of the jigsaw.”

Pippa Marler, diversity and inclusion lead at law firm Weightmans, said her firm’s diversity strategy had begun with efforts to improve inclusivity.

She said: “Data is one of the most important things you can use for any Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) project.

 “You might not realise it, but look at your data and, depending on your size, you’ll undoubtedly find out you do have people in your organisation who are living with hidden disabilities that affect their ability to do their job, for example, or people who don’t recognise the gender they were assigned at birth.

“There will be people who are not out as their true selves for fear of that limiting their progression.

“They are there even if you don’t know they are there.”

Armed with that data, Weightmans was then able to enhance its inclusivity, setting up an LGBTQ network, hosting activities for Black History Month and installing gender neutral bathrooms.

But the panel also warned that the road to diversity may not be smooth and stressed how important it is to get people comfortable having difficult conversations.

Rachel said: “Organisations say they want diversity but are then surprised when it leads to some challenging conversations.

“Actually, what we want is challenge and diversity of thought.

“So, what are the tools that can help with that? We’ve rolled out restorative practice across the whole organisation to ensure everyone has their voice heard.”

“And we’re developing our leadership capability to ensure inclusive leadership is our default style and supports our fair and inclusive culture - this includes everything from the way we recruit to how we encourage employee voice.”

Rachel also hailed the potential of remote working to improve diversity, which means firms can recruit from a larger pool of people, giving them access to a more diverse selection of applicants.

Flexible working practices also support colleagues with caring commitments, who might otherwise be excluded from the world of work.

Anne McBride, professor of employment relations at Alliance Manchester Business School, said that organisations must work to help ensure diversity in their partners, customers and supply chains too.

This could be done by adding diversity commitments to the contractual process, but firms could also offer to work together with partners to influence improvements in their organisations.

The panel agreed that efforts to tackle diversity in businesses must ultimately start in schools and it is incumbent on organisations to help open doors for those whose aspirations and opportunities may be limited.

Initiatives like going into schools to host workshops and offering internships can help inspire young people from all backgrounds and broaden their horizons, opening their eyes to career opportunities they may never have considered.

But it is important to do this before young people have already made decisions about their GCSEs and A-levels.

Farhat said the ultimate aim for firms is to create a culture of belonging.

She said: “That’s when you can come to the table and feel that your voice is validated even though you might be in the minority.

“That’s really important if a business is going to embrace and profit from the full joy and wealth of having a diverse group of people.”