When the topic of diversity and inclusion comes up, one important element, overlooked, is equity. But what is equity? Equity refers to provision of a level playing field regardless of age, ethnic background, gender, and physical ability or disability. When equity, diversity, and inclusion are equally weighted, it empowers a workforce to deliver its best. This is one vital reason why a staffing agency shows no biases when it comes to referring employees to an organization.
Diversity plays a significant role in any company’s success. According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, companies with diverse management teams are most likely to produce 19% higher revenue. To realize this, every group of employees should be given the chance to become a part of the management teams. How can that happen? You guessed it, through equity!
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Don’t Confuse Equity with Equality
Organizations must be clear that focusing on workplace equality may not promote equity. When equality is practiced, the same set of rules and privileges are applied to every employee. However, this may give rise to an unjust working environment, particularly if a company overlooks each individual’s unique needs according to his or her respective demographics.
By contrast, equity takes into consideration the specific requirements and needs of each individual in accordance with demographic traits like nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, etc. Equity attempts to bring minorities and majorities together while recognizing the individuality of each.
Reasons Why Equity, along with Diversity & Inclusion are Important
There are many valid reasons why organizations should focus on workplace equity in conjunction with the familiar principles of diversity and inclusion. Here are just a few of them:
Enhances Cognitive Diversity
Promoting equity increases the chance of employee engagement and job satisfaction. Without it, even diversified companies will have a single-dimensional leadership team making all decisions, including recruiting talent through third parties such as IT Staffing. A recent study by the WHO discovered that 70% of the global healthcare workforce consists of women. However, there are too few women being consistently empowered to lead. As a consequence, leadership teams are deprived of cognitive diversity. If a company takes steps towards workplace diversity, then this could lead to a more diverse team mapping out the strategic direction of the organization.
Allows Targeted Upskilling
A large workforce is comprised of individuals with different educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. In organizations that don’t pay much attention to equity, the same learning and development plans will be applied to every employee. This will inhibit many talented individuals from achieving their fullest potential. On the contrary, if an organization seriously considers equity it might bridge skill gaps otherwise rendered impassable. It can train every worker and make them ready for the future, and it can equip every employee with the skills necessary to encourage their optimal potential.
Enables Tailored Solutions for Employee Engagement
Organizations need to understand that employee experience varies from person to person. For instance, a mother may want to work from home three days a week. This necessarily means that you should make remote work an initiative for the entire company. It simply reinforces the principle that employers should provide the facilities and protocols that an employee needs to do his or her task efficiently. You can tailor elements like communication, onboarding experience, and recognition according to the needs of the employees so that everyone enjoys a level playing field. Likewise, this should be a critical aspect of your talent acquisition strategy, which will help you attract top talent.
Reduces Employee Attrition Rate
When equity is not prioritized alongside inclusion and diversity, demographic minorities will bear the largest burden. When leveraging equality without equity, there will undoubtedly be particular groups left dissatisfied. However, embracing equity significantly helps to reduce employee dissatisfaction and attrition rate.
Paves the Way for the Company to Add Towards a Common Mission
Diversity, inclusion, and equity leveraged together enables everyone to contribute towards a shared vision of the company. For instance, if a company aims to achieve 50% of women in leadership over the coming year, they must recognize an equitable environment to ensure that they meet their target. Hiring managers may leverage different agencies like mortgage recruiters to employ female leaders, and L&D professionals can develop leadership tracks for them. This will help you achieve your objectives much faster and more efficiently.
Conclusion
There are many companies that are now actively trying to achieve equity alongside diversity and inclusion. This balance provides way too many benefits to ignore. While you are working closely with your employees, add consultants who offer vCISO services to the mix to make sure that your day-to-day operations run smoothly.
