Every day my eyes are glued to the headlines about what companies are doing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From retail to the entertainment industry, corporate decision-making has real impacts on the way that people live their lives. Preliminary research already shows that COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality by revealing the socio-economic privilege associated with managing the impact of the virus.
Companies that have already invested in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are making smarter, more creative, and more impactful decisions than companies that have yet to go beyond stating their commitment to DEI. Companies that actively value the range of experiences, backgrounds, and identities during this chapter in our collective history stand to improve their reputation and ultimately their bottom line during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
Target CEO, Brian Cornell has been vocal about his desire to bake diversity, equity, and inclusion into every business decision. Over the last few years, the company invested heavily in a supplier diversity program to support minority business owners. At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Target took steps to prioritize the needs of vulnerable shoppers by reserving early store hours to offer access to high-demand cleaning and household products. The company has also delayed expansion investments to protect employee salaries and health benefits.
A material commitment to DEI is critical for compassionate, complex, and effective decision-making. COVID-19 is calling on corporate America to deepen its value of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we begin to imagine beyond the current crisis, this guidance offers a way to evaluate decisions during a crisis and to consider how DEI factors into recovery and transition plans.
Re-define diversity
Diversity is multi-dimensional, and now is the time to deepen the institutional definition to include more nuanced aspects of diversity that aren’t immediately visible. A full definition will include all partners, from the senior executives to new hires, and every person that the business decision touches. With a deeper and more complex understanding of what diversity looks like at your organization, you can build authenticity and psychological safety into the fabric of every decision and develop more effective and innovative solutions.
Questions to consider:
How did you, as an individual, define diversity before the shifting event? How has that definition shifted afterward?
How do these definitions of diversity change for different groups within your organization? How do early-tenure employees define diversity and belonging differently than senior employees? How do underrepresented groups define diversity differently from overrepresented groups?
Are there gaps or overlaps in how various demographic groups or identity communities define diversity, equity, and inclusion? Consider why might these definitions differ?
How can these definitions be blended to create a new corporate definition of diversity that considers the demographic complexity of your organization?
Re-define impact
The consequences of a shifting event like the COVID-19 pandemic are highly dependent on identity, lifestyle, socio-economic status, and a variety of other factors. These same factors will affect how we transition after the crisis or event has passed. Introverts are experiencing something very different from extroverts and parents and caregivers different from their kids. White-collar workers manage the virus very differently from service and hospitality workers. Organizational policies that consider the diversity of human experiences have the opportunity to not only do the right thing but to sustain their business, retention of top talent, and brand reputation.
Questions to consider:
Based on the expanded definition of diversity, what communities are (under/ over) represented at your organization? How do things like tenure, title, and talent level impact (under/over) the representation of various groups?
How have your company’s responses and decisions through the crisis impacted these groups? Are some groups impacted in different ways than others? Why would that be? (e.g. how does diversity or equity factor into layoffs, in-office requirements, and pay cuts?)
Moving forward, what can be done to consider the impact of decisions on various underrepresented groups at your organization? Are there ways to mitigate or prevent decisions from overly impacting one group more than another?
The COVID-19 pandemic will not be the last time we are forced to reckon with the power of differences. Inclusion is a constant imperative as organizations look to strategize sustainable success. If you are a leader looking to leverage insights from diverse and engaged teams, connect here to learn more about your path to inclusive leadership.