The Realized Value of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - ‘EDI’ Interventions
The value add of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion ‘EDI’ interventions in both private and public companies are often contested. EDI interventions are garnered towards promoting both behavioural and structural changes that assist in addressing challenges to social and economic advancement. The long-term investment in EDI interventions such as: training workshops, one-on-one leadership and coaching sessions as well as the continuous reformation of organisational and governance polices in the workplace sets the tone for tangible impact. Cohesion Collective’s range of offerings aim to facilitate the progressive journey towards thorough, real and sustainable inclusion as well as interrogating the foundational structures of business models that are historically based on various types of exclusion and exploitation.
Governance and operational structures are intrinsically inter-related in enabling a coherent EDI environment. However, as a capitalistic and consumerist society, the nuances of various socio-economic realities manifest into everyday experiences on both micro and macro levels, entangled with national politics, belief systems and realties that combine to create a complexly and unpredictably expanding economic phantasmagoria (not unlike the creature from The Upside Down in the series Stranger Things). While pros of the current economic-governance (neo-capitalist-democratic) system continue to revolve around innovation in a self-regulated free-market economy, the cons are proving to outweigh the benefits in the long-run, due to harmful effects to and shifts in our natural and social environments as well as ever increasing socio-economic disparities between different groups of people and the undeniable normalization of various forms of violence’s.
Thinking through Appadurai’s (1990) ever relevant notions of finanscapes and ethnoscapes as well Kate Raworth’s (2017) innovative Doughnut economics model, is useful for understanding the ideological underpinnings of Cohesion Collective’s vision, work and purpose in interrogating and undoing a fundamentally unequal political and economic system. In a society where ‘money talks’, it is necessary yet challenging to reframe and reshape our economic terrain and to deeply re-consider the ways in which we value different kinds of work in this world and how that value is expressed and justified.
It is thus important to include these kinds of questions in boardroom spaces (including, but not limited to the Social and Ethics committee) in South Africa, which remain plagued with deeply entrenched, systematic forms of corruption due to various historical and contemporary social challenges that need to be continuously exposed and addressed (for example, through extensive processes such as the Zondo Commission).
A self-reflective outlook is necessary to ensure that complacency is avoided and fresh perspectives are encouraged and welcomed, although this remains a challenge due to the perpetuation and maintenance of tradition in institutions that remain resistant to change.
There are many historically exclusionary and discriminatory laws and practices that have been normalised and implemented through strategic structural design, and which continue to influence and underpin current laws and policies which are masked through fancy semantics as ‘neutral’ and ‘unbiased’. Wright (2010) advocates for the “existence and creation of social institutions that are capable of dynamic change, respond to the needs of the people and evolve accordingly, rather than the existence of institutions that are so perfect that they need no further change.” An example of a practical EDI intervention is distributing the means of corporate or equity ownership to other races and genders, which might be one step towards a more equally accessible economy.
Although we have a long way to go in terms of addressing biased politics and policies that exist around ownership (especially when it comes to real estate), research shows that merely changing the physical intersectional representation of top management and board members of companies is not sufficient in addressing the large-scale structural inequities that may be perpetuated societally through unconscious mechanisms that exist on a psychological level. (For example, the disparity between the lived experiences of board members and workers in of the same company who live in historically underserved communities remains quite dire and unbelievable and is one of the many complex issues that need to be continuously addressed and rebalanced through long-term social investment processes).
Raworth (2017) contends that a “thriving economy” is one that “meets the needs of all within the means of the planet”. Therefore, this does not mean endless economic expansion, but rather the maintenance of a healthy and sustainable balance that addresses both the social and environmental needs of society. Cohesion Collective’s practices are framed around the “EDI pie” and aim to align with Doughnut Economic theory because of our emphasis on social justice and social welfare practices that focus on ways of addressing social inequalities that exist in the workplace, as one of the main points of access to fair and empowering economic participation.
In South Africa, the discussion on EDI tends to be more administrative and separated from understanding how it can benefit a company’s strategic advantage (Deloitte SA, 2019). Companies often treat DEI interventions as additional “costs of doing business” , focussing on elements that can be addressed quite quickly or with transactional ease. Many South African companies would thus benefit from viewing EDI through more than just a value beyond compliance outlook. This extends beyond simply achieving mandated targets, characterised by tick-box exercises, which result in limited progress. According to research conducted by Deloitte South Africa (2019), cultural change starts to become substantial through leadership buy-in and is further enhanced through the full integration of EDI interventions into different organisational aspects such as staff behaviour and business processes.
It makes business sense for institutions to focus on EDI interventions and ways of becoming inclusive entities since diversity has the potential of yielding greater productivity and rebalancing the current state of the economy. Valuing and managing diversity is a key constituent of effective people management, which can improve workplace productivity; while diversity that is not managed in the workplace may become an impediment for achieving organisational goals (Chigudu, 2018).
Therefore, despite attaining B-BBEE compliant scorecards, companies may be choosing to address ‘easier-to-obtain’ points to ensure compliance, while neglecting to address the true challenges to EDI embedment in corporate workspaces (Deloitte SA, 2019). EDI interventions thus contribute to practices that are aimed towards achieving a balanced and thriving economy rather than necessarily a growing one. However, getting buy-in from elite classes who still own means of production and have seemingly unlimited access to money and resources, remains a challenge to achieving the full potential of genuinely equal and inclusive social and financial institutions.
Addressing social and structural inequalities as a means of overcoming overt and covert forms of discrimination that contribute to the perpetuation of different forms of social inequality is the goal and vision of Cohesion Collective’s EDI interventions, so that we can keep interrogating and mitigating against issues that impede on the creation of diverse, equal and inclusive workspaces.
References
Appudurai, A (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the Global Cultural Economy https://doi.org/10.1177/026327690007002017
Chigudu, D. (2018) Strength in diversity: An opportunity for Africa’s development, Cogent Social Sciences, 4:1, 1558715, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2018.1558715
Deloitte Access Economics (August 2019) The economic benefits of improving social inclusion: A report commissioned by SBS.
Deloitte South Africa (January 2020) The right mind-set: approaching diversity and inclusion in South Africa. Value beyond compliance series.
Netzer, D. ( 1970). Economics ad urban problems: diagnoses and prescriptions. Basic Books Inc., Publishers (New York, London).
“What are the pros and cons of capitalism?” (no author, n.d) https://www.parlia.com/c/pros-cons-capitalism
Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist and https://www.gaiadiscovery.com/planet/doughnut-economics
Tshabalala, S (n.d). 2021. The Contested Strategic Priorities of the Social and Ethics Committee. https://www.hurumabantfu.com/s/The-Contested-Priorities-of-the-Social-and-Ethics-Committee.pd
Wright, Erik Olin (2010). Envisioning Real Utopias. London: Verso.
World Economic Forum, (June 2020). Diversity, equity and inclusion 4.0. A toolkit for leaders to accelerate social progress in the future of work.