What Are the Benefits of Diversity Councils?
Diversity is a complex issue that takes a lot of time and effort to fully integrate into your business practices. For many organizations, the solution is diversity councils, groups of people who are charged with monitoring and making recommendations about hiring and retention, discrimination and harassment as well as other areas of diversity management. Effective diversity councils take leadership on diversity and offer innovative strategies to make inclusion a reality within the organization.
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What is a Diversity Council
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A diversity council is a group of people who serve as an advisory board to help senior management understand and enact diversity initiatives. Members of the council advocate for more inclusive practices within an organization and monitor its strategic diversity activities. They can gather data, help improve communication within the organization, recommend policies and educate employees about diversity.
Benefits of Diversity Councils
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Diversity is good for business, according to "Harvard Business Review." Having a diversity council is a symbol of your organization's commitment to diversity. It tells your customers and your community that you are serious about creating opportunity for everyone. But diversity is hard work, too. A diversity council is a solution, then, being an independent body providing oversight of diversity initiatives. Councils heighten awareness of diversity issues and make employees more sensitive to diversity practices. Diversity councils have a bird's eye view of your operations. They can observe day-to-day activities, policies, hiring and retention and evaluate their effect on diversity initiatives.
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Internal and External Councils
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In most cases, internal diversity councils comprised of organization employees suffice. But in large, multinational organizations, as well as those that have been defendants in discrimination lawsuits, external diversity councils can be useful tools. External councils are like a diversity board of directors and often include experts in the field from corporations, government and educational institutions. According to DiversityInc, external councils are rare: less than 10 percent of companies use them, but a few have both internal and external councils. Both types help your organization's reputation and can head off diversity-related issues before they become liabilities.
Common Pitfalls
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Giving one group too much power or power without accountability is a sure path to trouble, and it is a common problem among diversity councils. According to Prism International, a diversity consulting organization, diversity shouldn't "belong" to the council. Rather, responsibility for diversity initiatives should lie within all facets of a business. In addition, diversity councils could be perceived as just a grievance committee. The CEO should set the tone and scope of work of the council, and its purpose needs to be regularly communicated. Moreover, no one should keep his position on a diversity council forever. Membership should rotate at regular intervals.
Benefits of Having More Than One Diversity Council
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DiversityInc suggests that large organizations need more than one diversity council. Having a separate council for each location, for example, can ensure diversity missions are fulfilled. In addition, your organization may need councils to address different diversity concerns. For example, are there branches of your business with few African Americans, Hispanics or Native Americans? Are female workers resigning more due to the tug of war between work and caregiving responsibilities or because of sexual harassment? Having multiple diversity councils can ensure these issues get addressed quickly and completely.
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References
- DiversityInc: Diversity Councils: Task Forces for Change
- Harvard Business Review: Diversity as Strategy
- DiversityInc: Do You Need an External Diversity Council?
- Multicultural Advantage: Maximizing Diversity Council Effectiveness
- U.S. Department of Labor: A Solid Investment: Making Full Use of the Nation's Human Capital
- Prism International: Developing and Mobilizing a Diversity Council
Resources
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