Report: Diversity management that works: an evidence based review

The CIPD and Westminster Business School have launched a report mapping the current evidence on the types of diversity interventions in organisations, analysing recent scientific evidence and exploring what works. It then tested these ideas with the professional expertise of practitioners and professionals who regularly work on diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices within organisations.

Key findings

• Isolated initiatives won’t make workplaces more diverse or inclusive: employers should develop a holistic strategy that considers a range of aspects of D&I and is multi-pronged in its activity.
• A consistent, company-wide set of guiding values and principles on D&I should be in place, which can then be adapted for local contexts.
• Targets specifying D&I practice should be developed in consultation with middle managers. Yet there is a balance to strike between empowerment and control in D&I.
• Employers must recognise that long-term benefits from improving people data quality often offset the short-term costs.
• Employers may do well to focus L&D interventions on perspective-taking rather than on unconscious bias training.
• Employers should focus on complementary fit – that is, how a candidate brings capabilities that are unique or in short supply – rather than supplementary fit (more of the same) when recruiting.
• Employers can take positive action to increase organisational diversity. However, employees throughout the organisation should be able to see why target-driven positive action is necessary and how it will be applied in practice.