Interview: Make DEI Integral to Your Work Culture

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging have become buzzwords in businesses around the world. But HR leaders are homing in on the meaning of the many phrases used to refer to diversity strategies, DEI, D&I, or DEIB. Human Resources professionals are stepping in to ensure organizations put action behind those abbreviations.

Such initiatives will be among the discussions at HR Exchange Network’s HR and Future of Work APAC event. Recently, one of the speakers, Shruti Ganeriwala, HR Director of Foods & Refreshments & Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Unilever Australia & New Zealand, shared her thoughts on how to deploy a DEI strategy that integrates the concepts of inclusion and diversity into the organization. Get a preview of what she will discuss at the session, "Incorporating a culture of diversity and inclusion for mental health and wellbeing."

WATCH: HR and Future of Work APAC

HREN: In discussions with HR leaders, I have understood that diversity has been a priority for some time. What they say is a bigger challenge is inclusion. What are some actionable steps HR leaders can take to ensure employees know how to be inclusive and indeed feel included?

SG: Diversity is like being invited to the party, but inclusion is being asked to dance, while equity is playing music to which everyone can dance! We can have the most diverse teams but if our culture is not inclusive – allowing people to be themselves, be different, and celebrate who they are – we will not get the true benefits of diversity.

We can all take small steps toward building a more inclusive culture, and we can do this across softer things such as the language our leaders use, how we pronounce others’ names, our curiosity to ask our team members about their recent religious festival, organizing casual get-togethers at times when most people can make it (and does not systemically disadvantage some, such as mums, who have school pick-up). Then, there are also more hardware related things like progressive policies, such as interchangeable leave policy allowing employees to swap a public holiday for a day off that is of significance to their religion or culture. You might also have celebrations of diverse festivals in the office or update bathroom signage, etc.

HREN: A big part of D&I strategy is getting leadership to truly support the effort. What is the business argument in favor of working toward having a more diverse and inclusive workforce?

SG: Honestly, I think (and hope) we have moved beyond the point that we still have to justify the business benefits of all things D&I. Diverse teams (not just demographic diversity – but cognitive diversity as well) are better performing teams, and an inclusive culture allows these teams to thrive

HREN: Efforts related to D&I have become ubiquitous. Certainly, we’ve seen progress in your region and around the world. What are HR leaders getting right? How can HR leaders improve their D&I strategies? What challenges are specific to Asia-Pacific?  

SG: For me personally, I think the biggest focus on D&I is to ensure that this is a core part of the business strategy. HR and business leaders need to work together closely to embed D&I as part of the business strategy and also to connect the dots across D&I, wellbeing, HR, etc.

Over the last few years, what I think is working well is that this has become more and more front and centre, and no one has the option to ignore it. To improve our D&I strategies, I think there are two key points (1) to start thinking about the intersectionality across different D&I pillars, such as women, people with a disability, etc. and (2) to stay focused on a few priorities and move the needle on those. D&I is a topic for which so much can be done, but teams need to really zoom in on where to best prioritise their efforts before moving on to the next focus area.

HREN: How do D&I efforts relate to mental health and wellness initiatives?

SG: There is a huge connection between the two, and we need to connect the dots across D&I, wellbeing, and so on. At the end of the day, the aim of all these interventions is to build an inclusive culture and hence, we need to work on these together. For example, we need to wear a D&I lens when looking at all wellbeing interventions to ensure that they are inclusive and don’t systematically disadvantage a minority group. This is where an integrated D&I and wellbeing strategy can work wonders.

HREN: What is your hope in terms of progress over the next two to five years?

SG: My hope is that we keep focusing on this agenda, having the right conversations, upskilling ourselves in areas we don’t know much about. Then, the results will follow.

Don’t miss Ganeriwala’s session and the others at HR and Future of Work APAC. Register here for free.