The State of Workplace DEI in 2020

The State of Workplace DEI in 2020

The corporate world has made considerable strides in diversity and inclusion over the past several decades. However, it remains clear that there is still work to do to deliver on the promise of fully inclusive workplaces founded on diverse perspectives. To date, many companies have adopted inclusive training into their employee education protocols, and some have even embraced blind recruitment—the process of removing all identifying information from a candidate’s resume to ensure there is no bias in the hiring process.
Despite these efforts, serious deficits are still present in many companies’ DE&I initiatives. Although they are present and active, most studies indicate they haven’t been as successful as they could be, in part because they aren’t prioritized by key leadership within the organization with the power to enact meaningful, top-down change.
According to Gartner, DE&I should be the number one talent management priority for CEOs. But Gartner’s research indicates that most DE&I initiatives are lacking—only 36% of DE&I leaders report that their organization has been effective at building a diverse workforce, and 80% of organizations rate themselves as ineffective in developing a diverse and inclusive leadership branch.