The benefits of good DEI in the workplace

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At Thursday’s well attended Virtual Breakfast Forum, members and guests were given a presentation on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity by Amanda Dawes, a DEI consultant to SureWerx. Special thanks to Anna-Maria Parente from SureWerx, our host for today’s forum, who introduced Amanda and provided a Land Acknowledgement.

What is DEI?

Diversity: the presence of difference, including race, gender, gender identity, religion, physical appearance, sexual orientation, length of service, nationality, socio-economics status, neurodiversity, ability, age.

Equity: promoting justice in partiality and fairness within the procedures, processes and distribution of resources within institutions or systems.

Inclusion: an outcome that shows that everyone feels and is welcome, and can participate fully in the decision -making process and development opportunities within your institution.

At its core, good DEI is trying to a) create equity b) reduce bias c) redistribute power.

Companies with diverse management teams could benefit by seeing up to 19% increases in revenue and are up to 25% more likely to maintain above average profitability. The perception of trust is increased when there is more gender equality. Seeing women on Boards is strongly associated with the level of trust Canadians hold for BODs, corporate management, and large corporations.

DEI exists when all staff at all levels feel psychologically, physically, and professionally safe, no person or group of people feel their voice is silenced, and there is an environment where all can succeed based on capability, skills, and experience.

Why do we need DEI?

Amanda shared a few interesting statistics:

  • BC Women earn on average about 70% of what men earn
  • Women account for only 23% of engineering graduates, but 78% of education and teaching in BC
  • 43% of people with a disability found it difficult or very difficult to meet household financial needs, vs  28% of people without a disability
  • Heterosexual men earn the highest incomes compared with women of all sexual orientations and gay and bi men with the same level of education.

Amanda suggested that building diversity up from the bottom is the best approach. When a company has good DEI, it has been shown to reduce poor health conditions and have employees who are more engaged and committed. Employers will see staff that have a high level of job satisfaction, less absenteeism as well as less presenteeism, and employees who are more likely to report feeling safe and respected at work.

Objectivity is critical in establishing a good DEI culture in your organization. Consider getting an expert involved to consult and assist you on your journey.

A few reminders:

Please register for the Round Table if you haven’t already. The event takes place Wednesday, Sept. 27th at the Terminal City Club.

Next Virtual Breakfast Forum is on 14 Sept. It will be a general forum with members providing regional updates.