Getting DEI right

Professor Geeta Nargund at The Pipeline offers a guide for businesses seeking gender parity in leadership roles

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) has been coming under fire in some quarters. Media reports indicate that in some businesses DEI initiatives are being rolled back or even withdrawn altogether. 

Rather than casting doubt over the value of DEI, these developments most likely point to a lack of awareness of the commercial benefits that DEI initiatives – including promoting gender parity - can deliver, as well as to the ineffective implementation of these initiatives. 

Some stubborn realities remain: women are paid less than men and they are still severely under-represented on executive boards. For example, from 2023 to 2024, on average, 78% of employers paid men more than they paid women.

Furthermore, The Pipeline’s 2023 Women Count report found that only 9% of FTSE350 companies have a female CEO. It is unacceptable to ignore these inequalities, and organisations need to explore ways to help all their employees fulfil their potential.  

In our experience, most employers aspire to create a more diverse, fairer workplace, including more gender parity at leadership level. The challenge is delivering long-lasting change and benefits to both the organisation and its people. Willingness to change is only part of the task - execution is key. 

The commercial case for gender parity

Gender parity within business is good for the bottom line, and it’s important to communicate this across the team. In fact, a growing body of evidence has found a link between having three or more women on boards with strong company performance – and research from MSCI revealed that global companies with a strong female leadership enjoyed stronger return on equity at 10% compared to what those without a female leadership established (7%). 

On top of this, businesses with more diverse workforces are more appealing to prospective talent. A YouGov survey found that two-thirds of respondents valued diversity when seeking employment. Implementing DEI processes – and in turn, promoting female representation on boards – should therefore be front of mind for companies in their attraction and retention policies. 

A strategic approach to DEI

It is vital that the reasoning that underpins diversity initiatives is communicated both at a leadership level and across the workforce. This way the rationale behind any new measures is clearly understood, leaving no room for misconception. 

Each organisation is unique, but a useful way of approaching DEI initiatives can be broken down into the following steps:

Reviewing existing processes

Businesses should take stock of where they are to understand what support structures are already in place - offering the space to acknowledge and dismantle any obstacles that women face. 

One obvious barrier to remove is the ‘woman tax’: where women are handed additional responsibilities outside of their core role. The same expectation is not placed on their male colleagues. It is also important that women acquire relevant experience that will empower them to move into to executive positions.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The latest Women Count report showed that just 18% of women held CFO roles – a precursor to many CEO positions. Employers should look to deconstruct obstacles like these when reviewing their existing processes to ensure all practices are as equitable as possible.

Another key consideration is a company’s talent reviews. These are key in reviewing an employee’s progress but without thoughtful examination they can allow for biases which hold women back. Research has found that women are often given both lower “potential” ratings than men and higher performance ratings.

Addressing this, such as by conducting unconscious bias training and reviewing criteria for “potential” is key in supporting gender equity. 

Confronting cultural practices

When reviewing their processes, businesses should also reflect on their workplace culture. 47% of those surveyed in the Women Count report listed ‘work environment and culture’ as one of the biggest obstacles to women’s development in executive positions.

Visible female role models – whether through sponsorship or networking events – are vital in creating an environment where women are supported to succeed and offer an alternative to male-dominated spaces. 

Setting goals 

Setting goals that businesses can aim for is useful but should be tackled with care. Ensuring succession plans are fit for purpose is one way of doing this. 

Succession plans offer businesses with a roadmap that underpins professional development, and when introducing new plans or updating existing ones, it is vital that progress is measurable. By tracking the development of female talent against targets, organisations can evaluate how effective each roadmap is.

Support strategies should be tailored to the individual to have maximum effect. A personalised approach to career progression signals that businesses recognise the diverse nature of the female workforce – which is inherently intersectional and multi-generational and includes women with differing career priorities.

When initiatives like succession plans are implemented comprehensively and effectively, organisations show that they value the success of their female talent and avoid DEI programmes being read as a box ticking exercise. 

A continual conversation 

Improving DEI programmes will involve ongoing conversations between talent and leadership to ensure everything is running smoothly and that women feel supported throughout the process. 

For example, pairing up women with ‘sponsors’ can be a crucial part of this. Sponsors are usually senior employees who fulfil a mentoring role, setting out career development goals.  Sponsors are also responsible for supporting women in executive spaces and ensuring their voice is heard.

43% of women surveyed in the Women Count report identified ‘leadership and development’ initiatives as an important step that businesses can take to advance women’s careers. Initiatives like sponsorship and succession planning are vital in giving women the opportunity to have ongoing discussions about their career development and growing a strong pipeline of female talent that is ready to move into executive positions.

An end to performative DEI

Effective DEI measures are comprehensive rather than performative. Initiatives are tailored to the individual and executives from across the organisation are involved in advocating for female employees.

By measuring targets, bosses can assess how meaningful programmes are and adapt them accordingly. Furthermore, dismantling barriers and designing a pathway to leadership roles allows meritocracy to shine through.

Investment takes time but it will pay off - because when women succeed the business wins too. 

Professor Geeta Nargund is Chair at The Pipeline

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and BrianAJackson