AJ9E48D8AGX8cGhX6

PatriciaGestoso·May 08, 2022

Posted in:Elpha London Favors Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Misc Society & Culture Tech

Hello Elpha's!

For a C-Level programme I’m pursuing, I need to choose a company that excels in the DEI agenda and gather information about what precisely they do better than the others.

The findings of this course cohort will help build a Gender Diversity Toolkit that will be presented by the NGO European Women on Boards to the European Commission and companies across Europe.

But why restrict it to one company when this information can have so much impact?

I’d love to get the insights of this community on what companies that excel in the DEI agenda do differently.

If you’d like to contribute, please consider answering this 6-question survey

https://forms.gle/AJ9E48D8AGX8cGhX6

As a thank you note for your help, I’m happy to share with you my key insights from this assignment!

Iynna·May 08, 2022

So interesting and would be curious to see the results! I heard great things about Salesforce, and here's a link that might be helpful https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/inspiration-for-ramping-up-diversity-inclusion-efforts/Lastly, we, at Elpha, also ran our own research and came up with a list of companies that had the best workplace for women https://elpha.com/resources/workplaces-for-women-top-10 - I know you are looking at more demographics but to the extent that it's helpful you should take a look :-)

PatriciaGestoso·May 12, 2022

@iynna - Thanks so much for the report! Is there a possibility to get more granularity on - The respondents' location? E.g. US vs EMEA? - There is a ranking of the top 10 companies. Are any commonalities among them? And thanks a million for the link to Salesforce DEI efforts! I've also heard fantastic things from them. For example, every time they acquire a company, they do an audit of their gender pay gap and correct it. This started when their CEO learn about their gender pay gap and rather than try to rationalize it, they put $3 M to fix it. That's leadership!https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/the-ceo-of-salesforce-found-out-female-employees-are-paid-less-than-men-his-response-is-a-priceless-leadership-lesson.htmlTo be transparent, I haven't got even one reply to my survey...

Iynna·May 12, 2022

Thanks Patricia! It was most likely skewed more towards US since the vast majority of our members are located in the US but this is certainly something to look more into!As for the ranking itself - yes elements around representation (ie. seeing women leaders), culture of openness and creativity (e.g being able to voice opinions 1-1 but also in meetings), opportunity to network across the company with both men and women (ie. perhaps signal the idea that we are equal), feeling valued (e.g recognition of achievements through words, salary increase etc) all played an important role in placing these companies at the top!

PatriciaGestoso·May 13, 2022

Thanks for the additional details @iynna. It's very helpful!

lourdeslouis·May 09, 2022

In your research did you find what motivates a company to get behind DEI, what gets a CEO buy-in for new and improved DEI strategies and how they budget for it in their financials? Would love to get more insight into your research. I have recently co-founded a company to develop comprehensive DEI solutions and trying to gather Market insights. Would also appreciate any tips or advice on how to get about this research. Thank you.

Iynna·May 10, 2022

Here are some takeaways and insights on the methodology we used - could help as a starting point.https://elpha.com/resources/workplaces-for-women-insights

lourdeslouis·May 12, 2022

Thank you @iynna. I will check this out

cadran·May 11, 2022

Hi! We actually did not dig into that topic in the report – but I think it's super interesting. I suspect the motivations are different for every CEO and some of it's based on their background, experiences, and ability to empathize. I also suspect that for many, it's a purely business decision about team performance and recruiting talent.

PatriciaGestoso·May 12, 2022

I agree that it'd be great to have information about this. As I mentioned above, when I launched my business of inclusion strategy was to survey some execs about how they leverage DEI in their business. I got 50 answers that I classified into 4 bucketsStage #1: What’s the value of diversity and inclusion? This category aggregated the respondents that asked for proof that D&I delivers value.Stage #2: Where do we start from? Other respondents appeared to see the value of D&I but they were at loss about how to get the ball rolling.Stage #3: How can we ensure we do it right? A group of respondents manifested their concern about missing key aspects of their workplace D&I strategy.Stage #4: We’re good! This category groups those business leaders that replied with comments such as “we don’t need it”, “we’re good”, “that doesn’t apply to my business” or “we hire for skills”. This resonates with some of the feedback I receive when discussing the topic with sole traders, start-up founders, and in general small and medium companies.You can read the full article I wrote at https://patriciagestoso.com/2021/09/18/scale-with-diversity-and-inclusion-in-business-operations/

lourdeslouis·May 12, 2022

Thank you for your input Patricia. Totally appreciate it. I loved this insight of looking at D&I as a business value. The Mckinsey reports draw a parallel to diverse workforce to increased innovation. But when you highlight that D&I is part of every business function, it helps to understand its value better.

PatriciaGestoso·May 13, 2022

I'm glad it was useful!

lourdeslouis·May 12, 2022

I agree with you. Those who are ready to invest in DEI are already supporters. And the ones who need it, don't see their value. I am trying to understand what will motivate them to come to the table. Right now I want to find evidence that when leadership says they want DEI, is it more of posturing or are they really interested to get behind it?

PatriciaGestoso·May 12, 2022

One of the first things I did when I launched my business of inclusion strategy was to survey some execs about how they leverage DEI in their business. I got 50 answers that I classified into 4 bucketsStage #1: What’s the value of diversity and inclusion? This category aggregated the respondents that asked for proof that D&I delivers value.Stage #2: Where do we start from? Other respondents appeared to see the value of D&I but they were at loss about how to get the ball rolling.Stage #3: How can we ensure we do it right? A group of respondents manifested their concern about missing key aspects of their workplace D&I strategy.Stage #4: We’re good! This category groups those business leaders that replied with comments such as “we don’t need it”, “we’re good”, “that doesn’t apply to my business” or “we hire for skills”. This resonates with some of the feedback I receive when discussing the topic with sole traders, start-up founders, and in general small and medium companies.You can read the full article I wrote at https://patriciagestoso.com/2021/09/18/scale-with-diversity-and-inclusion-in-business-operations/