Perspectives

Being human first

From Optics to Impact - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace

In serving the communities, organisations have the means to enact change. As more organisations prioritise Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in their strategic goals, Deloitte's tried-and-tested methodology helps you craft a future-fit strategy to enable and sustain a DEI organisation.

In recent times, there has been a growing awareness and action on the importance of DEI globally. Organisations across industries, sectors and size are pressured to make significant changes to foster an inclusive culture within the workplace. The world has spent over one billion dollars on disconnected DEI efforts last year but the workplace still remains a discriminatory and unfair place.

This is a call for business leaders, not HR alone, to pivot from an optic-centred DEI approach to an impact-centred one. We believe that there should be a long-term strategy with a clear roadmap that improves the overall organisational performance and innovation. With our experiences developing and implementing DEI strategies across multiple organisations within Southeast Asia, we have identified four key shifts in strategy, policies, culture and mindset in order to bring about a holistic transformation and deeper levels of engagement and tangible business outcomes.

The true challenge lies in translating the growing awareness on DEI into impactful actions and valuable outcomes, not just on reflecting a higher female "headcount" in the workforce or "upskilling" leaders on DEI training programs or implementing technologies that "potentially" thwart bias. The opportunity for real impact lies in your next decision. Make the move towards an impact-centred DEI strategy.

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