Six out of 10 ( 61 %) female respondents were in ‘ senior management ’ and ‘ board ’ job grades but rated their DEI experience significantly lower than male respondents ( 21 %).
Dunn added ; “ Dispersed power and greater ownership of roles at all levels is rooted in an authentic DEI strategy , which in turn strengthens our industry ’ s infrastructure and positions us to compete on a global scale . Bottom line , the events industry propels the global economy , through thoughtful high impact events . It ’ s time for us to apply the same commitment , resources and metrics at an accelerated pace to intertwine DEI principles in all that we do .
“ Our task force is committed to addressing these survey findings with actionable and measurable solutions . The journey won ’ t be easy , but nothing worth having ever is .”
The benchmarking study is phase one of EIC ’ s Equity Acceleration Plan . Phase two includes a leadership workshop to review the study and shape resources and deliverables for the benefit of EIC membership .
Comments from some survey
“ Representation of gender alone is not an assurance of cultural change ”
respondents highlighted the urgent need to bridge the gap between leaders ’ perception and employee needs and expectations .
“ Me and my colleagues are afraid to speak up . We get penalised , get shut down at the best , be subjected to mobbing at the worst for it ,” said one respondent .
Another key aspect of improving DEI is ‘ allyship ’. The EIC says creating space for constructive dialogue , ensuring that voices of the lesser represented communities are heard and standing up for bias at work , are just some of the ways to enable meaningful allyship .
Tina Wehmeir , EIC Task Force co-chair and AMC Institute president and CEO , said the next phase of the council ’ s work will focus on the first two dimensions of the DEI experience : ownership and accountability / power of influence .
“ To create a sustainable environment of change , we must foster a sense of ownership among everyone ,” says Wehmeir .
She says accountability and power of influence is a particularly critical area based on its survey , finding that minority groups showed higher levels of dissatisfaction in larger organisations .
“ This further illustrates the need for organisational leadership to connect DEI principals to actual outcomes . It also reaffirms the importance of assembling the men and women of the EIC Task Force . They are change agents .”
The view of Breden , Wehmeir , Dunn , Calvert is that now is the time for discernible actions , not just discourse .
They conclude : “ Discrimination has no place in the global business events industry , aspirations must be matched with action , and fostering a diverse workforce and event environments leads to stronger communities and outcomes .” EN
The full 2022 Equity Benchmarking Study can be found on the Events Industry Council website . The global survey was conducted by Tharoor Associates and Culturelytics from September 2021 to January 2022 .
December — 13