What will be the EDI focuses of 2024?
As we move into 2024, it is a good time for us to reflect on our EDI achievements and look ahead to what we think might be on the horizon for 2024.
We always tell our clients that EDI work is anticipatory. We need to be looking ahead, anticipating difference, and creating inclusive strategies for all. We can use the work and challenges of last year to inform what we think might be the challenges for the future.
So, we are sharing with you a few of the trends we think are going to feature for this year and beyond.
#1 Leadership accountability
Leaders failing to embody the inclusion work their organisation is doing was a big element of last year and we anticipate this being an even bigger feature of this one.
When we engage with organisations’ staff, a large part of the feedback relates to them feeling like there is a disconnect between outward messaging and their experience of working there. As a result, leaders of organisations are being asked some very difficult questions about their own values and those of the organisations they lead. Where allyship has been demonstrated towards a group of people historically, but not to other groups having similar experiences, employees cry ‘hypocrisy’ and a lack of well-formed communication on examples of discrimination, for example, is undoing previous good work in EDI.
Employees now expect their leaders to drive EDI, to be well informed, self-aware about their own position and privilege, and willing to be in a constant state of learning about inclusion topics without being prompted by more junior or marginalised people.
We advise you to carve out some time to discuss with your leadership teams what work you have really done on EDI. Try to identify:
What learning you need to do or build upon?
How transparent you are on your EDI journey?
How prepared you are for polarising issues which may emerge?
To what extent your leaders are hindering the embedding of inclusive practice and strategies which allow diversity to thrive.
#2 The intersection between EDI and environmental sustainability
People who have previously had an interest in EDI work are gaining a more detailed understanding of how intrinsically linked inclusion is with climate change and sustainability. For example:
It is people living in the global south who are experiencing the biggest impact of global warming
In addition, women are more impacted than men
Poorer people are less likely to be able to make modifications to their homes or move to different places to overcome the impact of global warming, such as flooding
We are likely to see mass movement of individuals, and an influx of people into areas not yet experiencing the full force of global warming
The gap between socio economic groups is likely to widen as some foods become scarcer, meaning poorer nourishment, negative impact on learning, and general health for poorer people.
We think having an approach which is informed by sustainability and inclusion will be best practice in the near future.
#3 A broadening in the understanding of how different identities can experience discrimination
In the UK, we largely focus on the ‘protected characteristics’ and the Equality Act 2010. Most people working in the EDI field recognise that it is a useful but limiting tool. The official protected characteristics lack nuance and fail to recognise people who are systematically discriminated against, such as:
The homeless
People from poorer socio-economic backgrounds
Those who are state educated, including those from areas which have a scarcity of schools judged to be good or outstanding
People who do not fit Western physical and beauty standards or norms
Geographical area and accent.
We advise you to consider to what extent you have limited your work to the protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act? Is there scope for you to look more broadly at the experiences of different people you work with and for?
#4 Dealing with polarisation
The more inclusion or equity related, ethical, or political issues are in the public domain, the more individuals will form opinions on them. The trend which seems to conflate a person’s views with being either a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person, is deepening and we are faced with real challenges, which can include:
Internal schisms
A demand for organisations to publicly declare their opinion on whatever the topic is
People feeling unable to voice an opinion, be undecided, or ask questions
The feeling of being unable to speak causing resentment and backlash against inclusion work which is intended to help everyone.
Leaders must find ways to facilitate discussion, openness, and transparency. Silence is communication and is interpreted however an individual sees fit. Intentionally seeking out voices and or perspectives which are not at polar opposite ends of spectrums allows is important. Failure to do so, gives energy and focus only to the extreme and neglects everyone else in the middle who also need to be heard and understood. The voiceless can become resentful and disconnected from the work you’re trying to do.
#5 Challenging the weaponisation of the term ‘woke’
The word, ‘woke’ is perpetually misunderstood and misquoted. More recently it has become a weaponised term being used almost as an insult, as if being ‘woke’ is a bad thing. People who use this term in this way fail to understand the history of the word and its origins in African American history. Through misinformation, and institutional and systematic racism, Black people were conditioned or led to believe that their situation was ok and kept ignorant to truths. To be ‘woke’ was to be awakened or alerted to the injustices and oppressive actions which kept Black people in an oppressed state.
We predict that this year, there is going to be some push back over the misapplication of this term, and a reclamation of it as something to be proud of: To be aware of injustice, to recognise how systems and processes discriminate against individuals and groups of people, and to dismantle those systems to achieve equality for all.
#6 Space for conversation and discussion over passive training
We’ve noticed the desire to move away from ‘training’. People don’t like to be trained as it implies that maybe they have been badly behaved or unruly. You may have seen in our previous blog that training isn’t working on its own. In that blog we outline the amount of money that has been poured into training only to discover that it hasn’t been the panacea people hoped it would be.
We see a move towards workshops which involve the sharing of information, evidence-based input, discussion, and ideation supported by actions which can be implemented to make change.
Receiving training or being subjected to endless online videos is being swapped for interactive exploration of ideas and concepts where people can speak, share their own experiences and perspectives and together, create solutions to their specific workplace challenges.
How can we help?
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