Challenges Faced by Diversity Leaders
Across organizations of all sizes, it is becoming increasingly common to have someone specifically focused on improving diversity, creating a more inclusive work environment and monitoring employee satisfaction.
While the titles and ranks vary from director level positions to Head of Diversity or Chief Diversity Officer, demand for these roles has increased significantly in just the last few years. According to data from Indeed, between 2017 and 2018 postings for Diversity & Inclusion positions increased by 18%.
Almost half of the companies included on the S&P 500 index currently have a chief diversity officer or equivalent; however, 63% of those were hired or promoted into their role in the past three years.
Creating this position sends a strong message, symbolizing the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. But the impact that these D&I professionals are expected to achieve also requires time, resources and the ability to enact change.
D&I leaders face so many challenges that it makes one wonder whether they are being empowered to do their work, or simply being set up to fail. Let’s look at some of the main challenges commonly faced by D&I leaders.
Changing a Well-Established Culture
With so many of the D&I positions being created over the last few years, it’s not unusual for these individuals to be tasked with shifting a culture that has existed for many years. This process is further complicated by the fact that team members who are satisfied in their job as it is, may resist change that is being created by a D&I leader who is relatively new to the team.
While many of the D&I roles that are being created are within large organizations, it is significantly easier to create an inclusive organization when it is made a priority in the early days of company growth.
Overwhelmed by Conflicting Priorities
If you were to ask a group of D&I leaders what they do, you could easily find yourself staring at a long list of inconsistent responsibilities and challenges that touch every aspect of a business. From recruiting, retention and employee engagement to research, sales communications and supplier diversity. Not only is the role inconsistent across organizations, each individual is strategically prioritizing and balancing the initiatives that allow them to make the greatest impact at that time.
Lack of Power and Influence
Creating a more diverse and inclusive culture, almost always requires changes in processes, policies and procedures. If D&I leaders aren’t provided the power and ability to influence changes across the organization, their potential impact is dramatically decreased.
“The fact is, even in a highly supportive organization, the D&I [leader] has very little formal power over the processes and systems that they are charged with modifying.” — Aubrey Blanche
Lack of Budget and Resources
Beyond formal power and authority, leadership must also commit to investing in the tools and resources needed to determine the unique challenges that exist within the organization, support employee engagement and drive cultural and procedural changes. This might include tools to de-bias candidate selection or to measure and track employee inclusion, or hiring external vendors to conduct various types of D&I assessment and training.
Lack of Support from Leadership
Senior leadership sets the tone for company culture, defines core values and is a top influencing factor of employee happiness. A CEO’s priorities, behaviors and communication style can dictate the way employees approach problems, their own work, and other team members. Without buy-in from leadership, it can be difficult to encourage managers and other team members to change behavior and prioritize inclusion.
Need to Build the Business Case
A growing amount of research supports the business case for diversity and inclusion, but D&I leaders still find themselves having to organize qualitative and quantitative information that demonstrates the potential impact and desired outcome for each initiative they take on. This challenge is particularly relevant in organizations where D&I leaders don’t have the power to enact change or lack leadership support.
Lack of Data and Metrics
Data helps D&I leaders make timely, informed decisions. Unfortunately, organizations routinely encounter resistance to surveys and other data collecting tools. Some claim the cost is prohibitive while others express concern around survey fatigue. But a more disturbing justification, is simply the fear of knowing or acknowledging specific problems that exist within the organization. Data and metrics can help D&I leaders navigate complex organizational, procedural and cultural changes; however, executives have to be willing to capture the information and acknowledge where the biggest concerns and issues exist.
Sporadic Prioritization
Often we see D&I treated like a series of special projects, rather than a core value or strategy within an organization. As an example, consider if your company leverages Black History Month as a marketing opportunity or organizes special events in March for Women’s History Month. On their own, these activities are not necessarily problematic, but sporadic prioritization is often driven by opportunities, rather than core values. In order to see meaningful change you need to be able to focus on D&I initiatives all year, for years to come.
It’s not enough to just create a D&I leadership position. If we truly want to build more diverse and inclusive organizations, we need to provide D&I leaders the support, power, resources and data they need to navigate these complex, human challenges.
If you’d like to learn more about Aleria and how our Inclusion Assessment can help your team identify and focus on the the biggest risks and opportunities within your organization, let us know.
