D
iversity, equity and inclusion
Easy wins are continuing to (DEI)
programmes are under fire in the US. Some
states have banned DEI roles in public services after the outlawing of affirmative action in colleges in 2023 by the US Supreme Court. Corporates are also cutting back on their budgets and reassessing their approaches. According to recruiters’ figures
over the past year, the number of DEI roles advertised has dropped by about 40% in the UK. This summer, Microsoft, long regarded as a DEI trailblazer, announced it was laying off its DEI team due to “changing business needs”. The software firm is not alone. Google and Meta have reduced the scope of their teams. Elon Musk, the self-titled ‘techno-king’ of Tesla and Donald Trump’s new government efficiency tsar, critical of DEI initiatives.
is
A NEW APPROACH TO AN OLD PROBLEM? While it’s true that DEI lives in company culture and not in a job title – and that not everyone sees the justification for initiatives – headlines from McKinsey’s latest annual ‘Women in the Workplace’ study, conducted in partnership with
LeanIn.Org, and new academic research show a continued need to support policies and practices that advance women: if not in name, then certainly by aim, direction and intention, including with flexibility for all, and to make it everyone’s responsibility. Now in its tenth year, McKinsey’s
survey of 281 participating organisations represents 10 million US employees. Despite progress, it finds it will still take women 50 years to achieve C-suite parity with men and even longer for women of colour. McKinsey and Lean In are calling on employers to re-commit to supporting women at every stage of their careers against these budgetary headwinds and shift in mood.
debias recruitment and performance reviews and rebuild career advancement programmes, which have declined in recent years, and embedding flexibility. In parallel, culture, allyship and individual action still play a significant part in effecting lasting change. This includes making room for people who argue against specific programmes to support underrepresented demographics in business. After all, a key issue for both sides is how to treat people as individuals. One criticism for linking
performance bonuses to DEI outcomes and target-driven approaches – a strategy dropped by companies along with DEI teams in recent months – is the unintended consequence of hindering business performance. Yet, research shows that when handled well, there are clear economic and social benefits to having more diverse and inclusive leadership teams. What isn’t in doubt is that removing bias and seeking to understand different perspectives – sometimes through difficult conversations – is the right course of action. Still over half of managers and leaders say DEI is a top priority right now and for the future, with internal and external pressure driving change. Against this political and
legislative backdrop and the ever- present opportunity gap, what can each of us do to understand and address the implications of the latest data around gender equity in the workplace?
FIXING BROKEN RUNGS Despite clear gains and momentum, equal gender representation at work remains decades away. The reasons for this are familiar. In the US, as in the UK, women are represented in higher numbers as graduates in the workforce and outperform their male peers at school. The moment women enter the workforce, their representation starts to fall away. Then again at the first career step to manager, women are far less likely to get promoted. In 2018, for every 100 men promoted to manager, 79 women were. And this year, that figure is only 81 women. “As a result of this ‘broken rung’,
men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, which makes it nearly impossible for companies to support sustained progress at more senior levels,” say the authors. Comparing 2015 to 2024,
women’s representation at work has risen by three percentage points to 48%. At managerial level, the increase is two percentage points. The biggest increases have been from lower bases: c-suite roles (29%, up 12 percentage points), SVP (29%, up six percentage points), VP (34%, up seven percentage points) and director (37%, up five percentage points). Embedding these gains cannot
be sustained unless there is more promotion at all career stages now. This is especially the case for women at the intersections of other marginalised groups, like women of colour, with a disability or who are LGBTQ+. In the US, Asian women have seen the greatest
“ As a result of this ‘broken rung’, men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, which makes it nearly impossible for companies to support sustained progress at more senior levels.” MCKINSEY’S SURVEY
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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
E QUITY
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