Employers are keen to show their support for diversity and inclusion, particularly at times such as Pride Month or International Women’s Day. But how employees and customers respond to D&I messaging can undermine some of the good work they’re doing behind the scenes. How should organisations respond?
Diversity and inclusion teams often face demands on many fronts. There is a stream of awareness weeks or months to keep up with, employee networks to engage with on ever-changing issues, and strategic targets to be met. Often working with limited time and resources, it can be tough to keep up with the constant ‘asks’ from different groups.
Like many employers, Oxfam released a video this month in support of Pride month, but the backlash this received far eclipsed the good intentions the charity started out with.
An initial version of its Pride video – which has since been edited – appeared to show a likeness of Harry Potter author JK Rowling wearing a ‘Terf’ badge. The video portrayed this character as part of a hate group “preying” on LGBTQ individuals (Terf stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, a term used to describe gender-critical feminists who believe biological sex is immutable.)
Many criticised the video for being misogynistic and depicting feminists as “evil old witches”. It also emerged that Oxfam had settled a tribunal claim brought by a volunteer who felt she was hounded out of her job for having gender-critical beliefs.
D&I messaging
Oxfam video depicting ‘JK Rowling’ with Terf badge criticised
Active Inclusion: The story behind Capgemini’s EDI campaign (webinar)
Maya Forstater, who won an employment tribunal against her employer over her gender critical views, told Times Radio that “anyone who holds the view that sex is real and sex is important will fear for their job within Oxfam”.
Difficult balance
There is much evidence to support the argument that diversity and inclusion efforts do boost a sense of inclusion and belonging at work, as well as making employees conscious of behaviour that might be discriminatory against their colleagues.
Furthermore, much of this work goes on in the background through mechanisms such as engagement surveys, the (often unpaid) efforts of employee networks and drawing up HR policies that support marginalised groups.
But as Oxfam and others have found, the louder an organisation shouts in support of one group, the more this can pique the annoyance of another. The well-intended aims of one campaign or D&I initiative can often undermine the solid improvements that are happening behind the scenes. At the same time, views appear to become increasingly polarised on social media, amplifying voices that occupy extremes.
Another brand that experienced a recent backlash is Innocent Drinks, which in May posted a thread on Twitter offering advice on respectful language when talking about trans people. The advice was drawn from trans youth charity Mermaids, and the tweets provoked a barrage of criticism from gender-critical followers.
The company deleted the thread, saying “we received a lot of comments that weren’t in line with our values”, adding that it always wanted “to make sure our social media channels are respectful and inclusive”.
Communicate clearly
But should organisations give into pressure, whether from employees or customers, when delivering messages of support for marginalised groups?
According to a report last year by the World Economic Forum, “a movement against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is now in full swing” – something that can manifest itself as a backlash against D&I efforts by people who feel they are being held back or losing opportunities because other groups are being supported through policies, programmes or initiatives.
Russ Norton, head of client experience at employee engagement consultancy scarlettabbott, advocates that companies think about outcomes rather than being led by the “noise” around D&I issues.
“Start with outcomes – what are you trying to achieve and how do you measure that? If people get angry on Twitter that’s not a measure, even if there’s a slight reputational risk. Internally, most organisations have respectful audiences so it’s not those attitudes that are getting in the way, it’s time, energy and distraction.”
“With limited time and resources, there will be times that you need to support one community over another, and that may create the perception that the organisation cares about one group more than another,” he adds.
As humans we’re hard-wired to spot things that feel unfair, so communications around campaigns and programmes should be the starting point.” – Russ Norton, scarlettabbott
“That’s why it’s important to explain the concept of equity, to help employees and external audiences understand why certain groups face more disadvantages and that’s why you’re focusing on them. As humans we’re hard-wired to spot things that feel unfair, so communications around campaigns and programmes should be the starting point.”
Find the why
Not every organisation heeds this advice, however. A recent Freedom of Information investigation by Sky News uncovered emails showing that recruitment teams in the RAF had insisted recruitment processes were paused until enough female and ethnic minority applicants made shortlists for pilot training. “I don’t really need to see loads of useless white male pilots”, said one.
One recruitment executive resigned, and the organisation is now reported to be paying £5,000 each to 31 white male applicants who were forced to delay their training courses due to the policy. There is no suggestion of positive discrimination in this case, but clearer (and less pejorative) communication of the ‘why’ behind recruitment targets might have avoided such an outcome.
Mo Kanjilal, co-creator of inclusion consultancy Watch This Sp_ce, says that one of the challenges is that there will be groups and individuals who have their own personal focus, so it’s crucial to take an objective look at where the organisation is and where it intends to be.
“Look at data and gather feedback from a range of people to understand the current situation and then set clear priorities for what will be taken forward and prioritised and stay on track to deliver on those priorities without getting derailed by other things,” she advises. “This needs leaders to visibly and vocally support the priorities and for those delivering on the work to be empowered and be given time and budget to work on this. Otherwise they are being set up for failure.”
People who seem to have their own agenda may be doing so due to their own experiences of discrimination, so it’s important to listen to everyone, she adds. “Be clear that those leading the work will then set the priorities so that people start to see change and results.”
Feedback mechanisms
Simon Stapleton, CEO of Truthsayers, which conducts inclusion audits for businesses using neurotechnology, argues that setting up feedback mechanisms enables everyone to comment, and so contributes to a more inclusive environment. “If ‘shouting’ is possible then the feedback mechanism is wrong. Not everybody has the skill or confidence to speak up in a public forum. This is generally what we discover using our platform – that there is a gap between what is anecdotally heard by the ‘shouting’, and what’s actually the truth on the ground in the workforce,” he says.
In the longer term, moving away from flashy social media declarations and focusing on strategic objectives will deliver more sustainable results. Teresa Boughey, CEO of consultancy Jungle HR, says: “A slightly controversial response would be that some organisations’ approach to D&I has fuelled this belief. The competing demands have always been there; however many organisations have often chosen to adopt a tick box approach, focusing on one ‘protected characteristic’ one year before moving to focus their efforts on another protected characteristic the following year.”
Because of this, organisations end up taking a piecemeal approach, which fails to gain traction and can run the risk of being seen as tokenistic and alienating of others. “This is further exacerbated when organisations pin their colours to the mast and respond to world events and societal pressures. We saw this extensively as organisations offered, in some instances, empty pledges in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd only to see limited or no real change as a result of these commitments,” she adds.
It’s important not to lose sight of goals the organisation may have in terms of recruitment and broader diversity either. Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of Colorintech says: “While organisations should strive to strike a balance between responding to pressure and staying true to their company values and mission, it’s hugely important to consider the opportunities and benefits of on-boarding marginalised groups while fostering an inclusive environment.”
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Nitzan Pelman, CEO and founder of career upskilling service Climb Hire, agrees that of the biggest challenges for HR and D&I teams is longevity. “We find that DEI strategies are big priorities when major events occur, like the murder of George Floyd,” she says. “But it’s often the case that once the media attention has faded and passion has attenuated, companies seem to lose some of their focus and fervour. We encourage companies to genuinely and sincerely invest in DEI because when there is a diverse workforce, companies can truly know and understand their customers better.”
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