Diversity and inclusion efforts too often leave out the unique experiences of women of colour. To make sure those experiences are carefully considered, there are several things companies can do.
Disaggregate pay data by gender and race.
A wide body of research shows women of colour experience higher pay gaps than white women. However, very few organisations take a critical look and analyse how employees are being paid by race and gender; it’s usually one or the other.
Research has shown women of colour are more likely to start at a significant pay disadvantage compared to the white women, from the beginning of their careers. This gap widens throughout their careers. It is unfortunate that many leaders don’t have sufficient data to analyse the problem and therefore unable to address it.
Analyse employee engagement surveys by race and gender.
Employee engagement surveys is an area where the analysis is typically only broken down by race or gender. Yet, we know that women of colour in most organizations remain underrepresented and marginalized – held back by pervasive stereotypes such as the dominance stereotype for black women and submissive but highly-competent for Asian women.
If a company does an employee engagement survey, leaders have to look at the data that is specific to race and gender, specifically black women, as they’re often the most under employed and marginalised in any organisation or industry.
· Commit to funding and supporting employee resource groups (ERGs), particularly affinity groups for black employees.
When you address the most marginalised communities in the organisation, you have a better shot at creating an inclusive environment.
It is common that companies have a women’s affinity group which are often run by white women and you see a trend of women of colour leaving because they don’t share the same concerns.
Be cautions against asking an employee to lead any diversity and inclusion efforts on top of their full-time work - for example, give people time out of their normal workload to work on D&I.
Only embark on any implicit bias or diversity training that takes an intersectional approach.
Having any presenters, trainers, or facilitators address your organization about diversity and inclusion without mentioning the unique challenges that people of colour face should be a red flag.
The risks are profound; white employees may continue to remain oblivious to systemic barriers – ones they, as allies of people of colour, should help dismantle. Plus, you could end up continuing to alienate the women of colour in your organization.
· Analyse opportunities for women of colour to progress — and ensure your targets/goals to improve gender representation also include racial representation
Leaders must be intentional about putting as much emphasis and resources behind strategies for racial diversity as gender.
Much of the data over the last decade proves that women of colour are not benefiting from these initiatives. Organizations must broaden their scope and make sure all women are not left behind–and that includes women of colour.
This means, for example, that creating a target of the number of women serving on your company’s board should also include a target for how many of those members will be women of colour.
True diversity and inclusion can only be celebrated when all women experience equal access to opportunities to get equal pay and recognition for their work.
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