DIVERSITY
Huma Qazi
Make D&I count: with constructive disruption and more human HR
Diversity and inclusion initiatives are failing to make a significant impact on areas like BAME and female representation. Ruth Holmes asks consultant Huma Qazi what it will take to bring D&I to the forefront in organisations
in the oil and gas sector, living and working around the world has been an integral part of her life. Brought up in Abu Dhabi, Ms Qazi, who is originally from Pakistan, has lived in the UK for the past 15 years, following an international career. “Diversity and diverse workplaces are part and parcel of my
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lived experience, and they are what I believe we need in order to live in an ever-changing global economy,” she says. I spoke to Ms Qazi as she prepared to take to the stage at the
2017 CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) Annual Conference in Manchester, where she participated in the discussion Do diverse workplaces always mean more effective teams? This is a highly relevant question. Our conversation took place
as the latest official figures showed continuing significant gender pay gaps, as well as persistently low representation of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) people in senior roles, combined with falling female representation at leadership level in banking after a few years of gains. And all of this comes at a time when awareness of the compelling business case for workforces that reflect the general population is growing.
Moving beyond strategies and initiatives “When you think of diversity, you immediately think ‘we need more women’ or ‘we need more ethnicity’, but it’s far broader than
or people-solutions and organisational culture consultant Huma Qazi, director of Learning & Development at JB Training Solutions, and a former head of global mobility
that,” said Ms Qazi, as she explained her view of the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) agenda and her belief that initiatives on their own weren’t enough. “I run sessions and workshops around career acceleration and
development for women. A lot of these programmes are focused on upskilling and helping women. “Some call this upskilling and development ‘fixing the women’.
But it’s not just about ‘fixing the women’; we are fixing the organisation as well – the actual working environment and the way that the organisation supports inclusion. Not just by having the right policies and strategies, but by showing that daily conversations and behaviours need also to be inclusive. “The organisation has to go through a culture change as well to align itself to an inclusion agenda.”
Leadership and communication Communication and leadership are the key enablers in learning and development. Leaders who are communicating the right narrative are critical to embedding D&I effectively in a business. “That is, being able to articulate the return on the investment and
why inclusion matters to you as an individual,” Ms Qazi explained. “That business-case narrative – almost like having an elevator
pitch – is a personal statement, and it must hold meaning for each leader to drive change in D&I.” Therefore, inclusive organisations are those where leaders and managers understand what those relationships mean, can handle
34 | Re:locate | January 2018
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