More than £6 bn is spent on diversity and inclusion initiatives every year but there is little evidence this leads to increased diversity, especially at the top of business - (“Belonging”, Jacob,K, Underman, S & Edwards, M. 2022)
Here’s an innovative and powerful way to make your organisation more inclusive, which you can’t afford not to implement.
edi initiatives have had disappointing results so far….
More than £6bn is spent on diversity and inclusion initiatives every year but there is little evidence this leads to increased diversity, especially at the top of business.
In 2020, ony 8 women were CEOs of FTSE 100 boards. Only 10 BAME people were working in leadership roles across companies in the FTSE 100. There were no black executive CEOs, chairs or CFOs. AS Trevor Philipps says, ‘People of colour seem to be superglued to the floor’.
A study by Dynata in Jan and Feb ’20 and August ’21 shows the workplace is still full of inequality, unfairness, prejudice and discrimination. 1 in 5 in the UK have felt excluded or marginalised due to beliefs, personal circumstances or identity. Of these are 48% of mums returning from maternity leave, over a 1/3 are BAME, 62% are registered disabled and 62% are neurodivergent. Many of these numbers have risen rather than decreased over time.
Whilst there are more women directors, this is due to increasing the number of non-executive directors. The amount of female executive board directors in the FTSE 100 was 2% in 2015, rose briefly to 3% and in 2019 decreased back to 2 %. The gender pay gap in 2019 is 8.9 per cent, almost unchanged from 2018. At senior levels the gender pay gap is 13.4%. The fact that the area of diversity and inclusion that has been targeted the longest is stalling is concerning for other edi initiatives.
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is nearly double that of those without disabilities.
“Inclusion is the feeling of being heard, seen, and valued for who we are. Someone feels included when they feel tht they are being seen, heard, valued, respected, and invited by soneone or by a group of people. Inclusion is a feeling, not an action.”
You want yourself and your c0-workers to feel like you truly belong at work but it feels like an uphill battle
You want your workforce to have a greater sense of belonging and inclusivity but surveys suggest that despite your attempts, this is not yet the case. You want this for ethical reasons and also because it makes good business sense. Diversity leads to original and out-of-the box thinking which generates innovative product and service development and increased profitability.
The services you have tried so far have ticked the EDI box but have not changed how much employees feel included, respected in their difference and treated equally.
The initiatives you have tried so far (e.g. more diverse entry-level recruitment) have not significantly changed the gender pay gap or the amount of diversity in the management tier of the company.
Working from home as a result of the pandemic has made it even harder to develop a sense of inclusion and belonging.
Senior levels of the company feel threatened by EDI initiatives. Particularly the straight white middle-aged men who feel scapegoated, excluded or fearful of saying or doing the wrong thing and therefore hesitate to get more involved.
“Belonging is feeling part of a group of people that recognises us as one of theirs....It is possible to feel included without having the feeling of belonging”
Let me help you….
Gain top talent
A glassdoor survey showed that two- thirds of jobseekers say a diverse workforce is an important factor. Seventy-two percent of women said a diverse workforce was important when choosing a company to work for along with 89% of black respondents and 80% of Asian respondents.
Increase collaboration and committment
- CEB found in 2018 that employees in highly diverse and inclusive organisations increase how they collaborate by 26% and increase their team commitment by 18%.
Enhance performance
- research shows that teams with inclusive team leaders are 17% more likely to be high performing, 20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions and 29% more likely to say they behave collaboratively.
Increase innovation
according to Boston Consulting Group, companies with an above average diversity produce a greater amount of revenue from innovation. They can recognise new market opportunities and better identify unmet market needs.
Be more agile
Businesses that prioritie diverse teams benefit from strategic agility. According to McKinsey, “when companies invest in diversity and inclusion, they are in a better position to create more adaptive, effective teams and are more likley to recognise diversity as a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, other companies might struggle.”
Make sounder decisions
Research shows that racially homogenous teams are less rigorous in their decision-making.
Market to a broader consumer group
By having a diverse workforce you are more likely to learn about the buying habits of different social groups. This means you can tailor your products and services to target a wider consumer base. Furthermore, having employees that speak the same language but are from different parts of the world also helps to widen your reach and give you a competititve advantage.
Enhance brand reputation
Companies that are known to have a diverse workforce and inclusive polices are more popular to customers. Particulary Millenial and Gen Z customers.
I’m an experienced and expertly trained group therapist. I have 15 years’ familiarity participating in and working with groups ranging from 8 to over 100 members. As a Gestalt trained group therapist I apply Gestalt principles as well as group theories from Systems Theory, the Gestalt psychologists, Lewin’s Field theory and psychodynamic theories to work in a safe and containing way with groups. I aim to foster a sense of inclusion, equality and respect for diversity amongst all members from those who feel threatened or scapegoated by EDI initiatives to those who feel marginalised or unseen within the organisation. It is only when everyone is on board that the organisation can really move forward.
Whilst EDI initiatives such as changing recruitment policy etc. are a big step in the right direction, in order to get a truse sense of belonging the organisation as a whole need to talk with one another. This means entry-level and management-level, different departments and different identity groups talking with each other. According to group theory, we can only get a sense of the whole and of unity if all of the parts are given a chance to speak and are witnessed by the other parts (Hodges) .
I run workshops with the aim of:
Increasing awareness of unconscious bias and behaviours and perspectives that are non-inclusive with regard to ethnicity, gender, ability, age, neurodiversity, relationship status, age, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity.
Increasing self-awareness of team members around issues of identity and difference.
Increasing awareness of ‘problems/issues’ within the team in a non-blaming way.
Mobilising group energy to move towards a solution.
Facilitating clear, meaningful, heightened contact/dialogue between members of the team.
Suppporting team members to feel safe enough to deal with any ‘unfinished business’.
Expanding the range of behavior for individual employees and the team so that they have more posssible ways to respond to issues around equality, diversity and difference.
Creating safe enough conditions for individual team members and the team as a whole to take more responsiblity and ownership for their behaviours and actions.
Introducing ‘experiments’ where new behaviours can be tried out. Doing this depends on whether there is energy and consent within the whole team.
Helping to reveal unhelpful but unaware individual behaviours/attitudes that are negatively impacting the team and/or individual employees.
Teaching conflict resolution skills.
Teaching active listening skills.
Questions we might discuss are:
How can I hold space for my difference and also make space for yours?
How is it to be white? How is to be black? Hearing from both sides of poles.
How can I recognise someone’s different opinion without absolute thinking?
How do we each as individuals marginalise ourselves and others?
How can I hear a different opinion without automatically assuming the individual occupies the extreme end of the spectrum to me?
How can we resolve conflict in a way that is win-win for both parties?
The nuts and bolts of what i offer
I offer one-off half-day or one-day workshops. I can work with any size and form of organisation from corporate, to charity to educational amongst others.
This service can also be a 3-month and 6-month package where monthly workshops are faciliated so that the impact becomes embedded into the organsation.
I am also able to provide a more tailor-made approach.
As well as facilitating a group conversation on difference, I can also include teaching of issues such as racism, sexism, unconscious bias and other prejudices as well as the impact of intersectionality. The group meeings are also be a place to teach tools for self-regulation, active listening and the fostering of empathy as well as to carry out experiential work.
By the end of the programme the intended outcomes are:
Greater awareness of perspectives and behaviours that are non-inclusive and/or prejudiced.
Greater self-awareness of what and/or how team members think, in relation to different life situations.
Greater awareness of the ‘problems’ within the team e.g polarised perspectives within individuals and within the team.
Greater appreciation and respect of difference.
Greater sense of belonging within the team and organisation.
Enhanced listening skills.
Enhanced conflict resolution and confronting skills.
To have integrated new awarenesses and understanding.
For the team members to be more self-supported, curious, explorative and actively responsible for self and responsible to others.
The team to be more aware of competing committments and big assumptions.
This service is for you if you:
Want members of your organisation to feel a true sense of belonging. You also want the benefits that come from that which are increased organisational resilience, diversity and innovation of thought and increased profitability.
Are open to trying something a little different to other initiatives that have not worked as well as they should.
Are willing to let go a little and step out of the comfort zone, being open to what emerges from the group conversations without a pre-decided outcome. You are aware that it is only in this way that something brilliant and unanticipated in terms of EDI can emerge.
This service is not for you if you:
Want a fixed agenda and outcome to your meetings.
Are uncomfortable with the idea of the organisation meeting as a whole and also different sub-groupings within the organisation meeting.
Want an EDI initiative that is as easy as possible and enables you to tick that box.
Are resistant to a more horizonal and process-based way of interacting with other organisational members.
why me?
Alexandra is passionate about justice, equality and inclusion. She believes equality of opportunity is a basic condition of a civilized society. Everyone should feel safe to bring their true selves to work. Everyone should feel their truth is seen and heard and their individuality respected and appreciated. Everyone should feel as if they belong in their workplace. As a person of dual heritage, both white European and African, issues of belonging/not belonging, difference, equality and inequality have been and are central to her. Using her differences and polarities to propel her forward, she is excited by how to bridge opposing perspectives and create conversations and true understanding of differences in order for others to feel seen, heard and respected as they are. She knnows that this supports a sense of belonging and collaboration which leads to progress.
TESTIMONIALS
“I found my experience of Alex faciliating the themes of identity and diversity very usefull. Her facilitation gave me a sense of safety and a sense of trust in her. I really appreciated my learnings from her.”