4 minute read
• DIVERSITY ISN’T ABOUT SPECIAL TREATMENT, BUT ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY
IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE OUT OF MORE DIVERSITY, YOU’RE UNLIKELY TO GET VERY FAR WITHOUT A SHIFT IN CULTURE. “IT’S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE MEETINGS YOU ORGANIZE, BUT ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT DIVERSITY,” SAYS GARTNER’S BETTINA TRATZ-RYAN. GARTNER CONTINUOUSLY HOLDS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS AND PUBLISHES AN ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT EACH YEAR TO MEASURE PROGRESS. “WHAT’S YOUR SUCCESS RATIO?”
By: Anne van den Berg
BETTINA TRATZ-RYAN
“If you want to improve your company’s gender balance just to hit a quota or because you think it will look good on your Corporate Social Investment (CSI) or Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) report, you won’t get the talent you need. Only a cultural shift that creates a holistic and diverse work culture will help you attract and retain a diverse workforce, and open up a talent pool for organizations,” says Bettina Tratz-Ryan, VP of Research at Gartner.
PROVIDING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
“If you want to build an inclusive workforce by supporting women or any other group, you need to proactively bridge the qualification gap – the gap that prevents various groups in your organization from progressing. You can do this by ramping up internships, giving groups equal opportunities, and training employees. And you need to be proactive about it, as so many statistics show that women feel less confident, even though they may have the right qualifications for a role.”
To give everyone the same opportunities, you don’t need to give women or other groups special treatment or to put them in the highest position straight away. It’s simply about giving them equal opportunities. You can do this by looking at accountability within your own organization, according to Tratz-Ryan. “If you want to grow, you need to know the success ratio of the support you give to women in the organization.”
Gartner looks at the employment value proposition (EVP), which shows that people want to be seen as people, not just as employees. IT leaders and CIOs need to build a human employment deal that focuses on a person as a whole, providing an individual, personalized work experience around people and not just around the employee. This approach enriches each EDI initiative. It goes beyond quotas and drives a new working culture that allows women to have equal opportunities in a work environment where they can use their unique talents.
EDI POLICY CREATES COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
A sound, company-wide management structure across all EDI activities demonstrates commitment to and accountability in achieving goals and developing an inclusive and equal work environment. Accountability can be measured by looking at how quickly women develop and how they move up on the corporate ladder, for example.
The methodology for developing this measurement system often requires sensitive data, and many organizations lack the management structure and overview to implement the proper methods. This lack of accountability can have the opposite effect on how attractive an organization is to the talent and employee pool. Accountability is a communication tool that allows organizations to discuss their EDI strategy with their customers and partners and win big in the talent war. This makes it the backbone of your organization’s cultural strategy.”
A GENUINE CONVERSATION
To talk about diversity and promote it, it’s important to embrace soft skills that women often bring. “When we talk about diversity, it’s less a logical, bilateral discussion. It’s not a dialogue, it’s a genuine conversation, and for that you need to tune into what you feel. Only then can you build trust, have empathy and make others feel at ease.”
It’s also important to involve male allies in the organization and support them in creating a diverse environment. Our research shows that employment value proposition can really help institutionalize these soft skills and human needs in a corporate culture.
For example, the pandemic highlighted the fact that the discussion on gender equality still needs to be had. In the corporate world, 50% of peopled were hybrid working or even working fully remotely. It’s all the more important to listen to your feelings when you work remotely, because you need to communicate faster to make sure that you not only don’t duplicate efforts, but also create engagement and resolve conflicts.”
MORE FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE
“Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve seen swathes of women no longer feeling as settled in the corporate world, because the line between personal and work has become more blurred. This is more difficult for more emotionally sensitive people like women to leave work behind, even more so if you, as a woman, perhaps also fulfil the traditional roles in your home,” says Tratz-Ryan.
To re-engage women affected by this during the pandemic, organizations must give them the opportunity to develop and prove themselves. But the first step is to rewrite the way the vacancy is advertised: “Many female applicants already have their chances reduced at the first hurdle because the vacancy isn’t written for them. That’s where cultural shift begins.”
