You’re probably familiar with the term “greenwashing” from the environmental movement – where people say they’re doing environmentally productive things but are not. The same thing has happened in many instances with diversity initiatives, but I think there’s even less of a focus from businesses on actually doing something about it.

I have a background in talent and over the years have worked closely with leaders within various organisations. Because I am passionate about diversity and inclusion in all its different senses, I noticed that the higher up you go in the classically corporate hierarchy, the lower the aspects of diversity become. When it comes to leadership, if you continue going all the way up and you get to the CEO minus-two level, you realise that there is far less visible and invisible diversity.

I also noticed wonderful organisations focusing on single facets of diversity. It’s always good to see businesses moving in the right direction, but diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity needs to be looked at holistically, covering everything that makes up a person.

The ten facets of diversity
A holistic view of diversity goes beyond gender and ethnicity and looks at these factors as well as sexual orientation and disability (visible and invisible), age, generation, parenthood and caring responsibilities, mental health and wellness, socioeconomic status and religion or beliefs. Each of these facets represent populations that also face discrimination and barriers in their lives.

The problem is that companies often don’t take a holistic view of their employees. A human being’s identity is made up of different, intersecting aspects. An employee might be a 42-year-old, Black, transgender woman with two school-age children. Each of those factors is important in understanding the complete flesh-and-blood person and how those intersecting identities relate to the organisation and wider society.

And not only are employees made up of these different facets of diversity – so are an organisations customers, suppliers, and investors. Yet it seems hardly anyone is taking the time to understand and develop a workplace where all can thrive.

What can organisations do to improve?
Through our work at The McKenzie Delis Foundation, I’m pleased to say that some of the biggest companies in the UK are increasingly recognising the economic value that a holistic inclusion strategy can bring, which was highlighted in our 2020 review.

We’ve recently launched our 2021 review, with the backing of Lord Simon Woolley, OBE, Former Chair at Race Disparity Unit Advisory Group at 10 Downing St and Bina Mehta, the Chair of KPMG UK, and through the process we’ve already seen some good examples of companies adopting practices to improve inclusion in their workforce.

One of the oldest pieces of management advice is ‘what gets measured gets done’. We’re seeing this approach to ring true from the companies that have taken part in our Review. They are actively tracking their progress to demonstrate if, and how, they are moving the needle, and are able to identify areas they need to put more focus on.

While other lists focus on a single facet of diversity, such as gender or ethnicity, the 2021 McKenzie-Delis Review on Diversity and Inclusion is the first review of its kind to take a holistic approach to diversity and inclusion by providing a comprehensive review of how employers are addressing and prioritising their efforts across 10 facets of workplace diversity and inclusion.

Companies that choose to track and measure holistic diversity show a commitment to a better workplace without bias. Taking diversity and inclusion tracking and measurement seriously, as they do every other aspect of their business, will see their reputation benefit among current and prospective employees, customers and shareholders, and will set them apart as true vanguards in the space.

The business case for diversity
The business case for inclusion and diversity is stronger than ever. According to the 2020 McKinsey report, companies with more diverse executive teams are now more likely than ever to outperform their less diverse peers on profitability, by up to 35% in some cases. If a business was told they could increase their profitability by even a fraction of that, for any other reason other than diversity, they would do it. Organisations are literally throwing away money by ignoring the problem, and not encompassing diversity and inclusion as part of their business strategy.

It is vital that these disparities are addressed as organisations look to bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic. By fostering a diverse environment, employers can better access and retain new talent pools and bring in different expertise and perspectives into the workplace. This can help organisations be more innovative and agile while promoting a diverse approach to problem solving and future-proofing.