What is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the workplace is a current hot topic, especially amongst us in the technology sector, and more so within recruitment.
The terms “diversity”, "equity" and “inclusion” tend to be teamed together; mainly as they are fundamentally linked in building a competitive organisation. Understanding the difference between the three is also imperative. Being a diverse organisation means your workforce is positively representing the wider society.
Hiring a diverse workforce is the easy bit – but what happens next differentiates an organisation which is solely ticking boxes with an organisation that is thriving. It is important to appreciate that inclusion puts the diversity concepts into place.
Equity is described as fairness, sameness, and valuing diversity and inclusion.
Inclusion focusses on allowing employees to be themselves at work and recognises each employee as an individual. A diverse workforce needs to have their voices heard and feel like a valued member of an organisation.
A diverse and inclusive workforce, with diverse skills, attributes and experiences can only be an advantage to any organisation. Diversity without equity and inclusion does not work.
Why is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion important in the workplace?
Dedicating time and resource to implementing a strong diversity, equity and inclusion strategy can benefit your organisation by several factors:
- Attracting and building a pool of top talent who want to work for a diverse organisation
- Driving innovation
- Attracting business with like-minded organisations
- Creating a great working environment
- Improving wellbeing amongst workforce
- Improving employee, team and business performance.
In turn, these factors will then contribute to the retention of employees and be the foundations to a competitive and financially sound business or organisation.
Our commitments – how can Henderson Scott help you?
At Henderson Scott, we are continually improving our DE&I strategies as both an employer and business partner. Our experienced consultants can assist you in developing your DE&I strategy, share industry best practise and contribute to the process of recruiting from a diverse pool of top talent.
We are proud to be a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter – a government backed initiative founded by a number of organisations within the recruitment and technology fields. The charter is a commitment to increase the diversity of the technology workforce in the UK by supporting attraction, recruitment and retention practices. Currently just 17% of Tech/ICT workers are female and with a looming digital skills gap, this is an issue that cannot be ignored.
You can view or download our internal policy here.