Companies should understand how diversity, equity and inclusion can work together to create a better sense of belonging and benefit businesses, according to Nathalie Richards, CEO at charity SEO London.
She told FT Adviser there is a fear that diversity work can feel “a bit tokenistic” so to be done effectively it needs to be something that “feels authentic and beneficial to organisations”.
One way of doing this is by breaking down the differences between diversity, equity, and inclusion - concepts that are often packaged together.
“Diversity is about making sure that all people from all backgrounds feel that a working environment is for them and that they would be able to successfully apply and progress within that organisation,” Richards explained.
Inclusion is when people have arrived within an organisation and is the process of making sure they are able to make meaningful contributions to the business and to see their efforts rewarded and recognised, Richards added.
She went on to explain equity is about understanding that different groups could have different needs.
As an example, she pointed out there may be people with special needs or disabilities within the workforce and companies should understand they may need different equipment and ways of working.
She also spoke on how implementing equity in the right way can be beneficial for all members of the workforce, such as working from home which predominantly helped mothers who were juggling work and home life.
“If you do equity well then that creates opportunities for everybody and we’ve all benefited from flexible working over the years,” she said.
Richards added that, when DE&I are all brought together then there is a “change in the culture and fabric of organisations that benefits everybody”.
DE&I benefits
Richards said fairness and opportunity are some of the main benefits of DE&I.
“It’s about acknowledging we live in an unequal world and that we know there are lots of people who, because of that inequality won’t be able to contribute in a meaningful way to organisations who could very much benefit from their support”.
As an example, Richards pointed to students who attend non-Russell Group universities.
“Clearly, there’s a lot of talent in the Russell Group universities, but there’s also talent outside of those universities, and these are spaces where you’ll also see more diversity in terms of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Career journey
Richards additionally outlined the many steps on her career journey, recounting that her first entry into the financial services industry through an internship programme at the Bank of England.
“As part of the programme I was on, I had a number of different roles to consider. I loved being part of the central bank.”
She added that she had a “brief foray” into investment banking at Lehman Brothers.
However most of her experience has been as a management consultant, working predominately with Accenture.
