Enlightened people want to work for enlightened companies. Not only do organisations with strong equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies tend to perform better financially, these policies are often the deciding factor when it comes to attracting talent in an employee-driven market.
Younger generations of workers are increasingly discerning about the companies they want to work for, says Gillian Harford, country executive of the 30 Per Cent Club Ireland, which is a global campaign led by chairs and chief executives taking action to increase gender diversity at board and executive committee levels.
“They are coming through the school system and university system with a diverse array of peers, and they are talking about equality and equal opportunities, about purpose and values, and that’s what they look for in an organisation when they begin to enter the workforce.”
Harford says recent research suggests this new generation of talent is looking for different things from their prospective employer. “Where previously they might have just looked at pay and benefits, now they are looking at pay, benefits, values and how people are treated,” she says. “These factors are becoming really important. And we are not just seeing that for new talent, we are also seeing it as a strong incentive for any talent that is moving. Lots of people are leaving an organisation because they just don’t feel they have been treated as well as they could be, or they are looking for a company that reflects more about where their life is at.”
Harnessing energy from the sun in Ireland makes more than just environmental sense
When it comes to sustainability, smart companies will not take the foot off the pedal
Why recognition of prior learning works for business
Businesses need to transform their finance functions in order to compete and add strategic value
Mary Connaughton, director of CIPD Ireland, echoes this. “There is much more expectation among the younger generations that they will work in an inclusive workplace, she says. “We know they will ask about it during the recruitment process. They are looking to make sure that employers have real examples of inclusion and that employers are not simply giving lip service, they want to see what they are doing on the ground.”
Much of it comes down to being valued: employees are looking to see that there is care and compassion from the employer, Connaughton says. “They want to ensure they can be their best self in the organisation and that the employer is open to listening to different points of view and won’t box them into a traditional way of working.”
With Ireland at practically full employment, Harford says this probably allows workers the privilege of being somewhat choosy when it comes to picking an employer.
“If there were fewer opportunities around, would people prioritise things in a different way? Likely, but the reality of it is that in so many sectors there is opportunity, so there is choice.”
And this choice is not just confined to the younger generations. Harford says people who have been working for more than 20 years are beginning to think about the next 20 years. “Is it worth leaving for somewhere you believe you will be treated better when you still have 20 or 25 years of your career left? They are saying yes.”
Multinationals can be relied upon to be particularly progressive when it comes to EDI, says Connaughton. “They are influenced by inclusion policies from other countries so tend to be forward thinking in this regard. International best practice can come to Ireland this way and then that has a wider influence.”
Harford says the 30 Per Cent Club has found that while some sectors lagged behind when it came to EDI, such as the financial sector and food and drink, these have now emerged as leaders.
Despite an increasing commitment to EDI across all sectors, women still face bias in the workplace, conscious or unconscious. Attitudes towards issues such as maternity leave and parental leave have improved, although they are far from perfect, says Harford.
By asking around about inclusion, they want to know that the employer is open to let them have their say and be who they are in work
“Our sense is, as we speak to men and women alike, that it is not perfect but certainly the intent is much stronger within organisations – even in the last five years it has gotten better,” she says. “It’s not just enough to put the policy out there any more – for example, with parental leave, we see companies tracking whether men and women are taking it whereas before it was a hands-off approach.”
Yet many women still worry about telling their employer they are pregnant and will be taking maternity leave. “More mature companies are realising it’s just eight to 10 months in what could be a long career, let’s find a way to make it better,” Harford says.
“But it hasn’t gone away, and it is still a challenge for women coming back from maternity leave and juggling young babies and trying to get used to being back at work.”
Connaughton notes that while many companies have EDI policies, they are also establishing employee resource groups, or ERGs, to help embed these policies.
“A company could have an ERG for parents, for different cultures, or ones specific for pregnancy and miscarriage or fatherhood,” Connaughton explains. “These tend to reflect the different types of initiatives that young people coming up through their careers want to see.”
The LGBTQplus community has been the recipients of many public gestures of support, but this has not necessarily translated into a better experience at work – for example, LGBTQplus women remain underrepresented in bigger corporations.
It is not that long since people felt forced to conceal their sexuality or sexual identity in work, and Connaughton says there are still organisations where this occurs. “There are sadly still workplaces out there where people feel they need to hide it,” she says. “By asking around about inclusion, they want to know that the employer is open to let them have their say and be who they are in work. And even if people don’t fall into any of these special categories, increasingly, they don’t want to work somewhere that they don’t feel is inclusive of all.”