5 critical components to DEI success in your organization

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action, many wonder about possible ripple effects for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.

However, today’s workforce deems DEI as important while organizational leaders continue to show a need to understand how to successfully implement it.

That’s no way to achieve DEI success.

Affirmative action and DEI while intertwined are distinct with different goals. The former is a legally mandated policy designed to rule out discrimination against minorities and other underrepresented groups in hiring, housing and higher education.

Whereas, the latter refers to voluntary organizational frameworks that aim to ensure everyone feels seen, heard, and valued in environments comprised of people with a diverse range of races, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, military/veteran status and other differentiators.   

Achieving DEI success

“It takes high-quality DEI practices to get diverse talent in the door, but high-quality leadership to make them want to stay,” concluded DDI’s 2023 Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity report. An 18% decrease among organizational leaders endorsing DEI was also noted in the report. Yet, a majority of employees, 66%, believe their companies should commit more time and resources to DEI initiatives, according to Benevity’s The State of Workplace DEI. 

As we continue to monitor any impacts on the workplace, organizations can take renewed steps toward building meaningful DEI initiatives by incorporating these five critical DEI components:

1. Efforts essential to business strategy

There’s endless research proving DEI initiatives produce favorable results, including increased profitability and productivity. According to research in Forbes, companies with more diverse management teams earn 19% higher revenue due to innovation. When people feel seen and heard at work, everything else falls into place. However, intentionality is key when creating and implementing DEI initiatives.

At DeVry, we believe that DEI should be a priority and ingrained into our organization’s mission and values. Therefore, we centered DEI as an essential component of our strategic plan and pillars when building our DEI initiatives. We also added goals and success factors for each pillar to drive meaningful outcomes from every aspect of our institution. While DeVry’s DEI work began well before the pandemic, we’ve since progressed to having a DEI council and business resource groups (BRGs).

2. Gain genuine support execs

It’s vital to know that any DEI initiative must be an organization-wide priority and be led from the top down. Leadership’s commitment, at any business or institution, is essential for advancing DEI efforts.

This includes committing resources, setting priorities, measuring progress and holding senior leaders accountable for achieving DEI outcomes.  

3. Cultivate and engage champions  

Leadership should also identify their organization’s DEI champions. These employees can work at any level in the organization as they will be critical in helping other employees discover, participate and experience your DEI efforts.

Most of all, champions should personify your organization’s values. They should also be passionate about recruiting other employees. This will foster an inclusive environment that ensures your DEI goals remain relevant. At DeVry, our employee-led business resource groups (BRGs) all have a primary goal to foster an internal culture of belonging.

4. Cultivate meaningful connections

Implementing DEI effectively involves allowing authenticity to drive an internal culture of belonging. For instance, at DeVry, colleagues and students are predominately remote.

Thus, we believe allowing them to voice their feelings and perspectives is critical. In turn, creating safe spaces for conversations allows for continuous learning to happen, fostering connections that create an inclusive environment.  

5. Emphasize belonging

Diversity is often the sole focus in conversations on DEI. Remember, diversity refers to a varying range of individuals and characteristics such as other dimensions of diversity including age, disabilities and skills.

As a higher education institution, we believe we can make progress through education, and making room for those historically left out will only create more trust and collaboration that is necessary to succeed together.