Diversity and inclusion initiatives tend to focus on gender issues and flexible working hours, however other concerns need greater attention, according to the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).

Its recent survey of 913 HR practitioners found:

• Almost all (88%) organisations provide flexible working hours for employees
• The main diversity/inclusion (D & I) initiatives involved flexible work arrangements and recruitment/selection practices
• About three-quarters of D & I initiatives were gender-based
• The most crucial issue for D & I initiatives was overt CEO support, and lack of it was the most common barrier to success.
• Common areas of weakness were support for working mothers, providing equal pay for work of equal value, and support for young employees. Workforces also need to be better at reflecting the demographics of their organisation’s customers.
• The number of “different” groups of people at workplaces appears to be expanding, making the issue more complex and difficult to manage.
• Resistance by male employees to D & I initiatives was reported as a common problem, but it should be noted that 78% of the survey respondents were women.

Accountability for D & I

About 55% said that primary accountability rested with the CEO and almost 30% said HR. Only 4% said line managers.

Areas covered by D & I strategy

About 75% of strategies covered gender. Age, ethnicity, indigenous issues and disability were each covered by mroe than 50%, and religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and mental health each by between 32% and 43%.

Types of D & I practices

Almost 90% of organisations provided at least one form of flexible working hours. The scope of this includes variable start/finish times, working from home, part-time work, job sharing, compressed working week, and purchased leave.

Other practices in widespread use were (in descending order of popularity):

• recruitment practices that included D & I
• inclusive leadership styles
• career development practices that consider D & I
• mentoring programs
• D & I-related training
• employee networks
• D & I-related metrics

Pay equity audits and D & I quotas were less common, adopted by less than 40% of organisations.

The report included sample comments on how metrics and quotas are being used.

Attitudes to D & I

When presented with a list of statements relating to attitudes towards D & I within organisations, there was general agreement that most organisations were diverse and inclusive, and that the benefits of D & I were clearly communicated and recognised.

The three issues that were comparatively lagging were:

• supporting working mothers – working fathers received more support
• ensuring equal pay for men and women in the same roles
• support for younger employees 

Some respondents referred to a “silent majority” within the workforce – those who feel left out when they see minority groups receiving attention – and warned that this can result in falls in their productivity and job satisfaction. 

Again, the report quotes extensive sample comments about workplace attitudes from respondents.

Winning support from the CEO and senior managers was by a clear margin the most significant D & I “success” for HR practitioners, followed by winning support from employees generally.

Resources to support particular groups and issues

About 60% of respondents were confident that their organisations had sufficient resources and training to support employees who disclosed that they were suffering from a mental illness, domestic violence or a chronic or debilitating medical condition. However, only about one-third were confident about supporting someone who was transitioning gender.

Best practice case studies were regarded as the most useful form of support to improve current practices.

What are the main challenges?

When asked what were the challenges preventing further progress with D & I, between 30% and 38% of respondents listed the following:

• resistance to change and lack of support from leaders
• potential benefits of D & I not widely understood or recognised
• not enough diversity among job applicants who were qualified for jobs
• too many agendas
• insufficient funds available

Responses were about evenly split when asked whether D & I is more, less or equally important compared to two years ago. 

The report added that “increasing social unrest” in the public arena is likely to make D & I initiatives within workplaces more difficult to achieve. The advantages of having a workforce profile that reflects the demographics of organisations’ customers is the main defence against this, but pressure to abandon some D & I initiatives for “disadvantaged” groups may increase.

Reference

Inclusion and Diversity Research Report 2016, Australian Human Resources Institute, January 2017. Full report available to AHRI members via AHRI website (see under “Reports and Research Papers”).