I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue, but a bath bomb prompted me to write.
There’s been a lot of talk about DEI lately and characterising it as waste of money and effort, and anti-merit.
What those conversations have failed to include is a discussion about the difference between effective evidence-based action and merely performative gestures. It’s also missing consideration of the impact – both economically and personally – of dismantling those employment practices that both improve fairness in workplaces and boost business performance.
Each year employers with 100 or more employees report information to WGEA on the actions they are taking to improve gender equality in their workplace. They also report data that enables them to track their progress.
On March 4, WGEA will release gender pay gaps and workforce composition information for 9,500 private sector employers.
Our Agency has already published information on our Data Explorer showing the actions that employers have taken to improve fairness and whether they are measuring their effectiveness.
Over the decade, progress has been slow. Slow on shifting cultures to support men to take parental leave and to embed flexible working arrangements and slow on removing stereotypes about women predominantly working in lower-paid industries and roles.
Many employers want to do the right thing, but they are implementing ineffective policies without an evidence base and failing to monitor outcomes by tracking their impact.
It’s true that a calendar full of cupcake days is going to cost money and likely have no real impact on improving workplaces for women and men.
But for all the employers that only pay lip service to equality and inclusion, there are others that have dug into the data, found the real causes of inequality in their business and addressed them to everyone’s benefit.
For these employers, suggesting they hastily ditch DEI actions is asking them to stop doing something that improves their productivity and profits. Which would be incredibly bad for business and ultimately the economy.
Which brings me to the bath bomb.
Recently, the American arm of cosmetics retailer Lush highlighted the effectiveness of owning their DEI initiatives, and using evidence and data, with a social media post that is drawing a lot of praise.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are being treated as dirty words. We have a problem with that, and not just because we’re a soap company,” Lush wrote on LinkedIn.
The company renamed three of their most popular bath bombs – diversity, equity and inclusion. But it wasn’t just performative. Lush then detailed how their DEI polices had allowed different voices to shape their business initiatives. Ensuring more perspectives are brought to the table allowed them to grow their business into new channels.
Lush’s post has widespread support. The company has used the moment to reinforce it stands in solidarity with its American consumers and employees who, it says, are negatively affected by a “roll back” of DEI. In short, their support for DEI advocacy and policy has boosted their business and strengthened their reputation with their core audience.
It does beg the question whether employers that choose to move away from taking evidence-based action to improve workplace gender equality are missing a golden opportunity… or throwing the baby out with the bath water.
When WGEA publishes employer gender pay gaps on March 4, employers can supply an Employer Statement.
Reading through these will give employees, and prospective employees, a good sense of whether an employer is taking effective, evidence-based action or not. One key thing to look for in your employer’s data and their Statement is evidence they have completed a gender pay gap analysis. Because you can’t improve what you don’t measure.
It’s fine to pull the plug on ineffective actions that cost money and waste time. However, employers should be asking themselves how they can improve their profitability and retain their people by digging into the data, finding the causes of inequality and addressing those with real evidence-backed action.
Feature image: Mary Wooldridge, CEO of WGEA.