
Diversity
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In 2013, the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion
(CIDI) published Canada’s first and only publicly available
research report on diversity measurement in Canadian organizations,
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Measuring the Return
on Investment of Diversity and Inclusion. The research found some
counterintuitive results.
Nearly 80 per cent of Canadian employers who responded to
the survey indicated that diversity and inclusion (D&I) is considered
a strategic initiative within their organization. However, less
than one-fifth reported that they measure the impact, efficacy or
ROI of their diversity initiatives.
This was puzzling. This finding begs the question: is D&I really
a strategic priority? How many other strategic initiatives do organizations
not measure?
Given the significant resources some employers invest in D&I
initiatives, why would the majority of organizations not measure
something they consider to be a strategic priority? How can they
know whether their efforts are effective or making an impact?
Furthermore, the research found that surprisingly few organizations
conduct even the most basic of measurements.
NEARLY HALF OF CANADIAN EMPLOYERS DON’T
COLLECT BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Just over half of survey respondents had conducted an employee
census or asked employees to self-identify based on demographic
categories. Of those that were collecting this information, 32.7 per
cent were legally required to do so. Thus, only 20.2 per cent were
collecting basic demographic data voluntarily.
And most alarmingly, nearly half of organizations that responded
were not even tracking basic demographic data about their
workforces.
Why does this matter?
Gathering employee demographic data is widely considered a
basic practice and a vital first step for organizations dedicated to improving
inclusion. According to the Global Diversity and Inclusion
Benchmarks, collecting basic demographic data is among the lowest
levels of benchmarks for diversity management activity.
After all, if you don’t understand who is in your organization, how
can you develop strategies that respond to the needs of your people?
Measuring the demographics in your organization is instrumental
for identifying gaps in representation and determining
inclusion issues and barriers to advancement so that you can set
goals, establish appropriate programs and initiatives and measure
results – ensuring that you are building a talent pipeline of the
leaders of tomorrow, and bolstering your organization’s ongoing
sustainability.
Put more simply, measuring the demographics of your workforce
is an essential first step toward improving inclusion within
your organization.
Recently, a number of firms in Canada’s legal profession have
realized the importance of diversity measurement and have completed
extensive demographic measures of their workforces.
DIVERSITY MEASUREMENT CAN
ENLIGHTEN ORGANIZATIONS
By Cathy Gallagher-Louisy
18 ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL