HAVE YOU HAD ANY RECURRING CHALLENGES WHEN MOVING TO IMPLEMENT THESE INITIATIVES ?
HOW CAN RECRUITERS ENSURE THAT THEY ARE SUPPORTING A DIVERSE CULTURE WITHOUT THE RISK OF TOKENISING INDIVIDUALS ?
CSR
62
“ We still see an overemphasis on gender parity and other simplistic metrics that , while wellintentioned , don ’ t actually achieve the diversity of thought and inclusive workplaces we need ”
— Rosanna Duncan , Chief Diversity Officer , Palladium
HAVE YOU HAD ANY RECURRING CHALLENGES WHEN MOVING TO IMPLEMENT THESE INITIATIVES ?
Accountability is always a challenge . It ’ s easy for any organisation to assume that once a Chief Diversity Officer is in place , that person will be responsible for ‘ solving ’ D & I . But my role is to equip , enable , and lead the organisation on its D & I journey . Acknowledging that takes time and reinforcement , but pays dividends .
The other challenge that has to be overcome is transparency . It ’ s not always comfortable to get up in front of our people and report on progress , particularly when more work is needed to achieve our goals . But doing so is crucial for buy-in and to send a clear message about how much this matters to the organisation . Once leaders are willing to do that , they almost always agree that it was worth the effort .
HOW CAN RECRUITERS ENSURE THAT THEY ARE SUPPORTING A DIVERSE CULTURE WITHOUT THE RISK OF TOKENISING INDIVIDUALS ?
Decisions should always be made based on the best person for the job . However , we need to question what we see as the ideal candidate and challenge ourselves on this . We need to check that we are not recruiting an image of ourselves or using criteria that will always bring us the same hires from the same pool of candidates .
I believe strongly in the importance of addressing intersectionality . When we consider diversity and inclusion issues we need to look beyond gender and examine other characteristics that intersect , including race , socioeconomic background , age and disability status . Neither men nor women are a homogenous group , and if we fail to see this , we won ’ t be able to move towards real equality for all .
APRIL 2020