Seven ways to fight back against the diversity and inclusion backlash  

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) measures can make a profound improvement to the working lives of millions of people. But as economic pressures put the squeeze on companies, some leaders see them as an unnecessary cost. Online, some prominent figures have dragged such initiatives into the ‘culture war’ battleground. Others may feel the task of creating fairer workplaces is complete. 

“While strong progress has been made over the last decade on gender diversity, there is a worrying narrative emerging in certain areas that enough has now been done,” said CMI president, Fiona Dawson CBE CMgr CCMI. 

Fiona was speaking at a CMI event in December to identify what is working in EDI, the barriers to success and the measures organisations can implement to embed inclusion.  

We are at a potentially dangerous inflection point. This is where we need your help and input

For example, a CMI poll found that male managers were more than twice as likely than female managers to say that too much effort is being put into ensuring gender-balanced workplaces. 

As well as potentially blocking opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, such viewpoints can threaten organisational success. CMI’s recent Walking the Walk? report, based on a survey of 500 HR decision-makers and 1,000 employees, found a strong association between EDI commitments and good company performance.  

“We are at a potentially dangerous inflection point,” said Fiona. “This is where we need your help and input.”

December’s event brought together dozens of leaders and was attended by CMI’s Royal Patron, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO. Attendees broke up into different groups, each facilitated by a CMI Women lead, to tackle specific questions on topics including navigating resistance and better communication.   

Here are seven recommendations from those conversations to help you fight back against any EDI backlash at your organisation – and make it more successful… 

1. Use data to identify resistance

Data can provide valuable insights into where your organisation is performing well – or lagging behind. Used in the right way, it can even enable managers to identify resistance to EDI initiatives.  

“Some EDI factors are measurable, such as gender balance,” said Nishi Mahajan, director of third-party brands at M&S. “But other diversity elements are harder to quantify. So it’s up to businesses to think about how they use feedback from culture surveys, topics raised to line managers etc., so they can identify where there are problems.” 

Understanding the issues that staff have can allow managers to adjust, attendees said, either tweaking commitments or changing how they are communicated.  

Leaders at the event also stressed the importance of data to ensuring accountability and the need to be transparent. While pay gap data is broadly collected, only half of decision-makers use it to identify barriers to progression, training needs or recruitment. 

“Often, in the gender space, it's senior management that have the data, and they don't share it with middle management, so middle management can't be held to account properly,” said Patrick Macdonald CMgr CCMI, chair of Arcus FM and Moneypenny. “That takes courage, because it means admitting that there's a gap and that things aren't where they need to be.”  

While understanding resistance and fatigue is important, it should not be given undue credence – especially if measures have not been implemented. “Unless you've done it, you've worked it and you've come through it, you shouldn't have fatigue,” said Carol Ann Whitehead CMgr CCMI, deputy chair of CMI Women. “You've not actually achieved anything – you've got to do it to get fatigue.”

2. Use emotion to counter resistance  

Bespoke training for staff can help address the emotional side of the inclusion conversation, tackling resistance to change and unconscious bias. Colleagues who understand why initiatives are being introduced will be much more likely to support them.   

“We talk a lot about customer benefit, financial benefit and business effectiveness, but actually what we don't do is talk about the emotional side,” said Nishi. “There's a lot to be said for taking people through ‘a day in the life of…’ and showing how inclusion can have a positive impact on how people feel about life both inside and outside of work.” 

This could cover issues such as inappropriate behaviour or hurdles to progression and promotion.  

Using storytelling to share people’s lived experiences needs to be brought into management, said Tamara Box CMgr CCMI, chair of CMI Women: “It's impossible to connect with something that is lofty, far away. But as soon as you start to understand someone's lived experience, and the more we build storytelling and lived experiences into management, the more likely we are to get managers that are equipped to deal with all the diversity of our workforces.”  

Listening to men’s issues and vulnerabilities can also open up the conversation. Initiatives such as International Men’s Day can help with this.  

“Bringing men to the table to talk about areas where they are vulnerable and issues they have opens up a conversation around, ‘OK, if we're feeling this way, how are women in the firm feeling?’” said Amanda Pullinger, founder of Global Female Investors Management.