Leaders in Global Equality and Diversity since 1962
A World of Difference
ORC's Monthly Newsletter for Diversity and Inclusion Specalists Making a Difference in Their Organizations. Sign up for ORC Worldwide's Global EDI mailing list.
September 2009
Best Practice of the Month: Put Champions’ Responsibilities in Writing
Many organisations recognise the importance of involving business leaders and key employees in the diversity and inclusion initiative in order to demonstrate the organisation’s commitment, model behaviour, and engage the interest of the rest of the workforce. Sometimes, though, business champions are left to figure out how to do these things by themselves. They may have all the good will in the world, but find themselves unsure of exactly how to move forward.
A little thing like a written role description for diversity champions can be a big help. Role descriptions outline the champions major responsibilities, for example:
- Coaching and mentoring leaders of employee networks
- Raising diversity issues with the senior leadership team
- Communicating the importance of diversity to the organisation
- Ensuring that diversity strategy aligns with corporate business strategy
- Serving as a role model for other managers
In addition, the role description can spell out specific activities champions are expected to undertake in order to execute these responsibilities, e.g.:
- Providing employee network leaders with insights into the politics of the organisation
- Sharing business perspective with diversity leaders and diversity council members
- Reporting quarterly to the firm’s leadership on progress towards diversity goals
- Speaking at diversity training sessions or town hall meetings
- Chairing a forum for sharing best practices among divisions
Adapted from From Strength To Strength: Getting Support From Senior Leaders, Middle Managers, & Individual Contributors, one of the ORC Guides to Diversity & Inclusions Best Practice.
Corporate Culture Impacts Diversity at the Top:
A Sneak Preview of Talent Management/Diversity Survey Results
Preliminary results from our survey on Talent Management Processes for a Diverse Leadership Team suggest that the culture within an organisation may have an impact on the number of women who make it to the top of the house. In particular, employers that value avoiding crises more highly than putting out fires have higher representation of women in the most senior positions. Similarly, organisations that value building consensus have more women at senior levels and in the high potential pool than those that value quick decision making, as do organisations that stress meeting commitments over putting in long hours (with the interesting exception of women on the executive committee).
Median Representation of Women in Crisis Oriented v. Crisis Avoiding Organisations
Median Representation of Women in “Quick decision making” v. “Builds consensus” Organisations
Median Representation of Women in “Hours at work” v. “Meets commitments” Organisations
The survey, which ORC is conducting with funding from Industrial Resources Counselors, closed last week. Full results will be published in October.
UK Government Focuses on Gender Pay Gap, Especially in Finance Sector
Earlier this month, the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published its findings on the gender pay gap in leading finance companies. The report talks of a “shocking disparity” and the existence of a “massive pay gap” and concludes that the finance sector as a whole has one of the highest overall gender pay gaps in the UK economy. Women working full time earn in the UK’s finance sector earn 55% less annually than men, compared to 28% for the economy generally.
However, the EHRC also found examples of good practice among financial companies. One, for example, makes data on average bonus payments by gender available to employees; another offers a maternity ‘buddy system’ to support pregnant employees and those on maternity leave.
The EHRC report recommends that companies take the following steps:
- Appoint a board member to champion the issues and drive change
- Incorporate equality and diversity into organisation and individual objectives
- Undertake annual equal pay audits and publish the data
- Ensure that maternity, paternity and parental support schemes are in place and that they are effective
- Monitor the implementation and impact of gender equality policies.
The EHRC is working closely with business groups across sectors to develop a consistent way to measure the gender pay difference. The aim is to empower employers to report on a voluntary basis. However, the Equality Bill does contain a reserve power which would allow mandatory reporting if progress has not been made on a voluntary basis by 2013.
Note: The gender pay gap will be a subject of discussion at the next meeting of the Vanguard Network on November 4.
Unique New Resource for US Employment Lawyers in Multinational Companies
The Global Workplace Compliance Network (GWCN) is a unique source of expertise and networking for U.S.-based in-house attorneys and other senior workplace compliance professionals. The GWCN provides members with the information they need to manage compliance with workplace laws and regulations in multinational organizations, such as:
- New legislation and court decisions from around the world
- Regulations regarding international layoffs, relocations, redeployments
- Cross-border compliance
- Managing employment issues across multiple jurisdictions
GWCN members get:
- Four annual webinars presented by international lawyers and experts on emerging issues in global workplace compliance. The first webinar—Mass Redundancy EU Style—will be September 22.
- Periodic updates on international workplace compliance developments
- Virtual roundtables that spark and facilitate discussion and interaction
- Members-only website providing access to presentations, white papers and other practical, valuable materials from international law experts
Learn to Create and Implement Successful Diversity & Inclusion Strategies!
It’s not too late to sign up for the last two sessions this year of the acclaimed Foundations of Diversity Strategy and Practice: An Introductory Workshop :
- October 5 in Chicago
- November 6 in London
Learn how to:
- Understand the local and global context for diversity and inclusion efforts
- Create a workable diversity strategy that’s tied directly to the organization’s business strategy and goals
- Drive sustainable change by incorporating diversity principles into people management practices
- Apply best practices for working with stakeholders and managing employee networks
- Communicate the diversity and inclusion message
- Create accountability and reward and recognize diversity and inclusion performance
Foundations is the ideal learning experience for diversity professionals new to the field, members of diversity councils, affinity group leaders, HR professionals, and other managers and employees active in diversity efforts.
