The enhanced focus on DEI post-George Floyd sparked a flurry of race and ethnicity target setting. But the hiring slowdown that’s since emerged has hampered those representation efforts. Companies can no longer hire their way to diversity, prompting employers to pivot to inclusion.
The business case for inclusion, at face value, can seem like a harder sell. Representation is concrete, tangible, and such wins are more easily measurable. For instance, a 25% increase in Hispanic representation at the executive rank. Inclusion, however, is more nebulous and sometimes ill-defined, making it challenging to tie related metrics to broader business goals. But companies that fail to set and communicate clear metrics around inclusion and support those ambitions with specific initiatives and programs could leave money on the table and see larger talent ramifications, according to a new report from Bain & Company.
