How is the unprecedented global recognition of racism in 2020 going to help create diversity in the workplace in 2021.

As the world watches the George Floyd trial unfold, it has been argued that the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement amplified the awareness of bias and catapulted the need for action to the fore. As corporates rushed to pledge their allegiance to the movement and a singularly positive sense of unity reigned across the nations, how will this desire translate into active change and what can be done to eliminate bias and promote diversity in the workplace.

A plethora of articles have argued that diversity and inclusion will be in the top challenges for companies in 2021, but what is required is more than a policy change, it is suggested. An actual understanding and acknowledgement of bias in the recruitment process, unconscious or otherwise, is needed. Research has shown that one of the key areas that fall prey to unconscious bias is, ‘company fit’. This results in the same kind of people being recruited.

To combat this and restrict the influence of bias, it is key to have a diverse hiring team. The more diverse the team, the more inclusive the workforce will become and a recent study by The Wall Street Journal illustrates that companies that are more diverse and inclusive have competitive edge over their peers.

Another way of reducing bias during recruitment, is to ensure that candidates are measured by the same ‘yardstick’. To do this, the criteria by which they are measured needs to be skills and abilities based and role specific.

Bafta chair, Krishnendu Majumdar, speaking to The Guardian this week said that ‘the whole world changed last year and we wanted to step up.’ Given the criticism surrounding he lack of diversity last year, it is encouraging to hear influential people stand up for change. Majumdar continues by stressing that people do not want to, ‘be there because they’re from an underrepresented group. They just want the opportunity to have their work seen.’

The hauntingly beautiful voice of Celeste captivates our souls in the exit music for ‘The Chicago 7’, but it is her words that need to inhabit our minds.

‘Hear my voice, hear my dreams, let us make a world in which we believe’

Women, the same as men but cheaper!

With women more likely to have been furloughed, lost their jobs, increased their burden of domestic drudgery and done the home schooling, many are worried that progress to greater equality is sliding in the wrong direction.

A poll on mumsnet illustrated that 50% of women thought that gender equality had reversed during the pandemic. A worrying one out of five women said they had to decrease their hours to cope with childcare and a staggering one out of three confirmed that their career had been affected in a way that their partners’ hadn’t.

The CEO of The Fawcett Society, a UK charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights at work, at home and in public life, states that more diversity is required at senior levels for the situation to change and the gender pay gap to close. ‘Without women in positions of power, it’s not going to happen.’

An article in The Independent in November 2020 illustrated that 78% of companies in the UK reported differences in their gender pay. The Office of National Statistics reports that the gender pay gap in the UK is 18% and that it increases with both seniority and age.

It is 50 years since the Equal pay act of 1970 and the situation now is not so much about the same role being paid differently but work of equal value being compensated differently. It is a complex problem that requires a multi-faceted solution.

Organisations such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) offer positive solutions to rectify the situation.

• Increasing the opportunities for women within an organisation

• Ensuring that flexible working conditions are available at all levels of seniority

• Encouraging employers to tackle bias in recruitment and introducing a national target for diversity in senior and managerial position.

Only 5% of the CEOs in the FTSE 100 are women, the highest paid male CEO earns significantly more than the highest-paid female.

Actively ensuring women are represented throughout an organisation will combat stereotypes, realign bias and ultimately diminish prejudice. It’s time to put this into working practice!