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Improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the workplace is a top priority for many companies today. However, common obstacles can prevent companies from enhancing their DEI initiatives.
Here, Forbes Human Resources Council members explore 20 strategies for leadership teams to overcome these challenges and garner support from others within the organization. Additionally, they discuss the pivotal role that the board can play in governing inclusively across the company, offering insights into how a unified approach at all levels can drive meaningful change and promote a more equitable and inclusive workplace.
1. Fostering An Increase Of Female Employee Representation
The biggest barrier for DEI in the Middle East is the representation of female employees. This region has a high level of expatriates who travel for opportunities and their spouses follow them here; however, they don’t receive available job opportunities immediately and they struggle a lot. Bringing more females into the workplace is a solution. - Reema Akhtar, Seer Solutions
2. Changing Policies To Support DEI
Teams have a hard time changing policies to support DEI when they don't have a full understanding of what it is. Training and development is an important part of creating strong policy and practice. Learning takes time and investment and delivering it to scale is not always easy. The need for scale can thwart efforts to grow in DEI because learning is not always fast or easy. - Dr. Lisa Toppin, Input to Action
3. Implementing Unbiased Recruitment Tools
Overcome workplace DEI barriers by implementing unbiased recruitment tools, educating employees on the importance of DEI and fostering an inclusive culture. The board ensures policies are equitable, sets DEI goals and holds leadership accountable, ensuring persistent, company-wide commitment to inclusivity. - Bill Fanning, TAtech
4. Promoting Open Forums To Address Vast Perspectives
As a leader, I address a vast array of team perspectives on DEI by promoting open discussions and educating and involving employees. The board plays a role in setting the right tone, aligning strategies and ensuring accountability for inclusivity. - Adithyan RK, Hyring.com
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5. Providing Easier Access To Mentors And Sponsors
Without a mentoring program, it becomes hard for employees from marginalized groups to develop their networks and get career guidance. Leadership teams, especially in HR and learning and development, need to lean on mentoring programs that effectively match employees with mentors within the organization. - Matthew Reeves, Together Software
6. Expanding The Talent Pool
The limited availability of a talent pool with skill sets relevant to your business in one region and an abundant supply in the other causes a skew in the diversity of the workforce. This can be overcome by internal upskilling programs, graduate entry schemes and more where the talent is groomed as per business requirements. Focusing on generic roles for improving diversity ratios is another option. - Subhash Chandar, Laminaar Aviation Infotech
7. Encouraging Understanding To Cultivate Employee Equity
The opportunities a person is offered regardless of circumstance—across performance management, promotions and attrition—are difficult to achieve. It requires intentionality to promote justice, fairness and impartiality within your company. By fostering understanding among employees, mid-level managers and leaders, you will eliminate barriers and level the playing field. - Antoine Andrews, SurveyMonkey
8. Defining Diversity For Your Company
An often-overlooked barrier is defining what diversity is in the context of your company. Workshopping this, truly understanding what you are overcoming and agreeing on what it takes to transition into that inclusive and equitable firm is foundational for overcoming. Then it becomes a project with governance and metrics to achieve. It all begins with truly defining the issues you face. - Julie Hankins, NNIT
9. Training Managers To Recognize (And Erase) Their Biases
I have worked with several companies that have had policies in place for years, yet the DEI initiatives have failed to take root. The issue isn't the policy, it's the culture of the L1 and L2 managers that hasn't changed. Leadership needs to hold people accountable to provide training to managers so they understand their biases and the old norms they have adopted need to change with the times. - Gordon Pelosse, CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association
10. Demonstrating Diverse Leadership Progression On Measured Results
For leadership and boards to make a difference, they must treat DEI like any other business initiative: by setting clear objectives, measuring results, and iterating based on outcomes. Highlighting visits to HBCUs without showing diverse leadership progression misses the point. Instead, demonstrate value by showcasing tangible outcomes, like the retention and performance of diverse hires. - Kyle Samuels, Creative Talent Endeavors
11. Proactively Making An Effort To Change
Change requires proactive effort. Leadership teams must actively communicate DEI's business and moral imperatives, ensuring all levels understand its importance. Board members can set clear expectations and provide accountability, promoting inclusivity as a policy and an integral component of our corporate culture. - Joseph Soares, IBPROM Corp.
12. Anticipating The Need To Proactively Build A Diverse Pipeline
It's not a good excuse, but having a small team with fewer resources can admittedly make it hard to be the most diversity-focused. We aim to post to multiple sites and maintain a diverse pipeline, but when we are hiring urgently for a role, it's usually because the team is drowning. Unfortunately, this leads to a more expedited process instead of investing time in scouting more diverse talent. - Kaitlyn Knopp, Pequity
13. Focusing On A 'Culture Fit' Hire
If your hiring practices have traditionally focused on culture fit, they need to change, and you must reframe your thinking. This can be a challenge, so coaching managers and the board on the benefits of culture “add”—people who are not “like us” but bring new perspectives to the organization. Efforts to diversify the board itself can be part of these initiatives, too! - Lisa Shuster, iHire
14. Hiring A Dedicated HR Team To Initiate DEI Efforts
One of the primary barriers for our company has been our size. Being a smaller company without a dedicated HR team has made it challenging to initiate and maintain DEI efforts. To overcome this, leadership can actively seek training and resources on these topics and then share that knowledge with the broader team. - Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.
15. Aligning With Supportive Allies Across The Company
Diversity and inclusion can often be siloed under HR, leaving allies and leaders unclear on how to support important initiatives that support all parts of the employee lifecycle. To be successful, DEI strategies require support across the organization, from entry-level roles to the C-suite. The board can and should assess the organization's current state by understanding people’s lived experiences. - Jennifer Rozon, McLean & Company
16. Eliminating Overrepresentation In Key Positions Vs. 'Fixing' Diverse Folks
The shift must focus on DEI as a business priority, not just an HR function. Often, we need to unpack and reconfigure how we recruit, retain and advance employees. We must move away from thinking about underrepresentation and focus on how we got to overrepresentation in positions. Diverse folks aren't broken and don't need "fixing." - Chandran Fernando, Matrix360 Inc.
17. Avoiding The Resistance To Change
Resistance to change due to ingrained biases is a significant barrier. Leadership can conduct bias training, create inclusive policies and encourage open discussions. Boards play a vital role by endorsing these initiatives, setting diversity targets and fostering a culture of acceptance, ensuring comprehensive DEI policies are implemented effectively across the company. - Kelsey Griffis, InfoTrack US
18. Hiring Leaders Committed To Enhancing DEI In The Workplace
To enhance DEI in the workplace, start with leader commitment. Then focus on diverse hiring, inclusion policies and transparent communication. Create a culture of curiosity, belonging and continuous learning. - MJ Vigil, DispatchHealth
19. Expanding Our Thoughts And Personal Expectations
I have watched others (and myself)—who are not from the BIPOC community—struggle with this as we learn more and expand our thoughts and expectations of ourselves. This must be addressed in each of us individually before we can move forward to break down the systems of oppression that have benefited us for generations and generations. Intentions do not erase impacts. - Brandy Marshall, Franklin Pierce School District
20. Moving Past Thinking Of DEI As A 'To-Do' Item
Move past thinking of DEI as a compliance-driven HR "to-do" designed only to fix representation numbers. It is a strategic imperative with business benefits. Yet, we see slow progress in advancing its maturity and high chief diversity officer turnover. Why? Because too many boards and senior leadership teams ignore the business-case data, don't dedicate funding and then wonder why engagement scores are low and cultures toxic. - Laci Loew, XpertHR (a division of LexisNexis Risk Solutions)
