Prague University of Economics and Business
Master’s Thesis
2021 Markéta Skokanová
Prague University of Economics and Business Faculty of Business Administration
Master´s Field: International management
Title of the Master´s Thesis:
D&I Coaching as An Essential of
Organisations: Mapping of D&I Coaching Process Approaches
Author: Bc. Markéta Skokanová
Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Daniela Pauknerová, Ph.D.
D e c l a r a t i o n o f A u t h e n t i c i t y
I hereby declare that the Master´s Thesis presented herein is my own work, or fully and specifically acknowledged wherever adapted from
other sources. This work has not been published or submitted elsewhere for the requirement of a degree programme.
Prague, August 25, 2021 Signature
Title of the Master´s Thesis:
D&I Coaching as An Essential of Organisations: Mapping of D&I Coaching Process Approaches
Abstract:
This Master’s Thesis aims to explore various methods and approaches used in the D&I coaching process by experienced diversity and inclusion coaches and professionals. The methodology used to attain this goal has the form of in-depth interviews, which were conducted with 20 D&I coaches both operating within multinational organisations and having independent businesses across many countries in Europe, as well as the USA and Australia. The interview results were then analysed through thematic analysis and nine themes were identified. The findings revealed both similarities and differences in how D&I coaches approach the coaching process, a discovery that although they want to measure the effectiveness of their work, they cannot, and how privilege plays a role in resistance. Besides, many other thought-provoking findings were made, such as that many coaches feel too privileged to be coaching someone on the topic of diversity and inclusion, and on the other hand, various coaches were led to this career path by their own experiences of exclusion or oppression. On top of that, the interviewed coaches shared common mistakes, best practices, and recommendations to organisations who wish to proceed with D&I coaching.
Key words:
Diversity, inclusion, coaching
1
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t
I would like to thank my thesis supervisor doc. PhDr. Daniela Pauknerová, Ph.D. for her extensive consultations, willingness, and the time that she has dedicated to supervising my thesis. I would also like to thank my family, friends,
and boyfriend, who showed tremendous support for me whilst conducting this research. And last but not least, I would like to offer my extended thanks to all twenty diversity and inclusion coaches, who reserved time for the interview for
my study in their busy schedules.
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ... 5
THEORETICAL PART ... 6
1 Coaching ... 7
1.1 Coaching Definitions ... 7
1.2 Differences between coaching, mentoring, training, teaching, and counselling ... 7
1.3 The history of coaching ... 8
1.4 Basic types of coaching ... 9
2 Diversity and Inclusion ... 10
2.1 Diversity and Inclusion Definitions ... 10
2.2 Types of diversity encountered in the workplace ... 13
2.3 Diversity within individuals ... 15
2.4 Workplace discrimination ... 15
2.4.1 Forms of discrimination in the workplace ... 16
2.4.2 Gender wage gap ... 16
2.4.3 Sources of workplace discrimination ... 17
2.4.4 Benevolent discrimination ... 20
2.5 Privilege ... 22
2.5.1 How to shift the focus to the privileged when employing D&I initiatives ... 23
2.6 Unconscious biases as barriers to inclusiveness ... 24
2.6.1 Types of unconscious biases ... 24
2.7 Social Identity Theory ... 25
2.8 The “othering” concept ... 27
2.9 The rising importance of diversity and inclusion in a business setting ... 28
2.9.1 The influence of D&I on company’s performance and productivity ... 28
2.9.2 The influence of D&I on individual’s performance and productivity... 30
2.9.3 The influence of D&I on teams’ performance and productivity ... 31
2.10 Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Models ... 32
2.10.1 The Bersin by Deloitte Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Model ... 32
2.10.2 The Korn Ferry Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Model ... 33
2.11 Correct implementation of D&I practices ... 35
2.11.1 What companies should do to make D&I work ... 36
2.11.2 Steps individuals can take to become more inclusive towards others ... 38
3
3 D&I Coaching ... 38
3.1 D&I Coaching Introduction & Definitions ... 38
3.2 History of diversity-focused initiatives ... 40
3.2.1 D&I Initiatives today ... 41
3.3 How to make cross-cultural coaching work ... 43
PRACTICAL PART ... 44
1 Research question ... 44
2 Methodology ... 44
2.1 Data Collection ... 45
2.2 Selection of interviewees ... 45
2.3 The interviewees ... 46
2.3.1 Interviewees overview ... 46
2.3.2 Interviewees introduction ... 46
2.4 Interview Structure ... 51
2.5 Interview Analysis Method ... 53
2.5.1 Introduction to thematic analysis ... 53
2.5.2 Process of thematic analysis ... 54
3 Research Results & Discussion ... 57
3.1 Section 1: About the Coach and D&I Coaching Process ... 58
3.1.1 Experience of exclusion/difference as a main career motivation ... 58
3.1.2 Coaching for D&I does not mean having a “D&I Coach” title ... 62
3.1.3 No unified D&I Coaching Process? ... 66
3.2 Section 2: Perception of D&I Coaching ... 82
3.2.1 Voluntary or Mandatory? That is the question ... 82
3.2.2 Resistance, the fear of the privileged group aka Do I still have a place in the organisation as a white male? ... 85
3.2.3 Trust as a corner stone ... 90
3.3 Section 3: Obtaining Needed Resources for D&I Coaching from Management ... 93
3.3.1 Building the business case for diversity ... 94
3.4 Section 4: Evaluation & Impact of D&I Coaching ... 101
3.4.1 We want to measure, but we can’t ... 101
3.5 Section 5: Possible Challenges & Recommendations for D&I Coaching ... 112
3.5.1 One-on-one ... 112
4
3.6 Shared Insights ... 117
3.6.1 Best Practices Overview ... 117
3.6.2 Common Mistakes Overview ... 121
3.6.3 One Main Recommendation ... 125
3.7 Research limitations ... 128
CONCLUSION ... 129
REFERENCES ... 132
1 Internet Resources ... 137
LIST OF PICTURES AND FIGURES ... 144
1 List of pictures ... 144
2 List of figures ... 144
APPENDICES ... 145
ATTACHMENTS ... 149
5
Introduction
The area of coaching has become a more sought-after field in recent years. Coaching as a discipline has evolved rapidly and the number of people who are starting careers as coaches or want to pursue this career path is boosting. Similarly, there has been an increase in the number of roles which specify on diversity and inclusion and currently, one would hardly find a company that does not have a Diversity & Inclusion section on their website. Subsequently, the combination of diversity and inclusion and coaching has been discovered as an effective method to tackle D&I in organisations.
Nevertheless, for many, this type of coaching is still unknown, and companies oftentimes do not know what to imagine under the term “D&I coaching”. When there are publications about the fruitful advantages of employing a D&I coach, businesses are asking themselves a key question – ‘How do they do it? And how could we?’
They key realisation for organisations to make is that the goal is not to have the most diverse workforce, but to create an inclusive environment which allows their employees to flourish and as a result, deliver better outcomes through innovation and financial performance, as well as allowing management to make more informed decisions. That being said, having D&I embedded in the strategy is the core for such practices to work, and not to be counter- productive.
The rapidly increasing demand for coaches as well as for implementing D&I practices raises the need for a more in-depth look into this topic. Non-existent previous research on D&I coaching has identified the requirement of a deeper exploration of the D&I coaching process.
Specifically, the goal of this thesis is to examine how various D&I coaches approach the D&I coaching process, and what methods do they use. The sub-objectives are then to learn how D&I coaching in organisations is perceived, what obstacles D&I coaches may experience when trying to obtain the needed resources from management, how the efficiency of D&I coaching is measured and evaluated and lastly, what the possible challenges and recommendations are, as well as identified best practices and common mistakes.
The goal of this thesis will be reached by primary qualitative research. Specifically, a series of in-depth interviews with experienced D&I coaches will be carried out. This methodology will allow for a deeper understanding of the topic, and discovery of new, unrevealed insights.
6
Theoretical Part
The theoretical part is divided into several chapters and has three major parts – Coaching, Diversity and Inclusion, which are followed by merging these two parts into D&I Coaching.
Beginning with the coaching part, firstly, the definition of coaching will be provided. Then, coaching will be differentiated from mentoring, training, and other methods, as they are often interchanged, despite major differences present between them. It will be followed by the development of coaching throughout history and emphasis will be placed particularly on how coaching has evolved over the years. As there are multiple types of coaching, each of them will be briefly described at the end of this part.
Secondly, the topic of Diversity and Inclusion will be covered. At first, the definition of diversity and inclusion will be discussed, together with definitions of other terms that relate to this topic. Then, the most often occurring types of workplace diversity will be described, followed by workplace discrimination and its most common sources. Importantly, the concept of privilege will also be addressed. As unconscious biases are what is often holding people back from inclusive behaviour, they will be introduced and discussed in the nature of barriers to inclusiveness, together with the Social Identity Theory. Fifth, it will be focused on the increasing importance of D&I in a business setting and the influences of both inclusive and exclusive environments as well as a homogenous and heterogenous environment on the company’s, teams’, and individual’s performance, and the benefits of an inclusive environment will be discussed in greater detail. As a sixth sub-chapter, Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Models will be introduced. Lastly, recommended approaches to implementing D&I processes in businesses will be covered. The emphasis will be put on both the steps organisations should take for D&I coaching to bring about advantages as well as steps for individuals to behave in a more inclusive manner.
The third part is then focused solely on D&I Coaching and will seek to combine topics covered in the Coaching and Diversity and Inclusion chapters. In this part, an introduction to D&I coaching will be provided, then, a history of D&I related activities will be discussed and thirdly, it will be briefly focused on some proposed strategies of how to make cross-cultural coaching work.
7
1 Coaching
1.1 Coaching Definitions
Before delving any further into the Diploma Thesis, it is first needed to state a definition of coaching, as it will serve as the basis for the whole paper. According to Whitmore (2006, p. 8), coaching “unlocks a person’s potential to maximise their performance and helps them to learn rather than teaching them.”
Philippe Rosinski (2010, p. 6), being the first European Master Coach, perceives coaching as
“an effective methodology for facilitating ourselves and others to grow and develop into the more complete human beings that we are capable of being – if we only believe it.”
Importantly, it should be also defined what a coach is. According to Hudson (1999, p. 16), coaches posse three important qualities. Firstly, the author claims that coaches are generalists, as their task is to “motivate and facilitate their clients whose issues may vary.” Secondly, coaches are change agents and in better case, even change masters. Some examples where this feature is visible are in asking questions to challenge the status quo, being driven by personal integrity, inspiring others to be their best, looking for new opportunities in the process of change or guiding clients into developmental growth. Thirdly, coaches are also good communicators, otherwise their sessions would not be effective.
1.2 Differences between coaching, mentoring, training, teaching, and counselling
For many, the terms coaching, mentoring, counselling, teaching, or training seem interchangeable. It is important to make clear distinguishment between those methods and differentiate coaching from the abovementioned approaches.
Most commonly, coaching is confused with mentoring. However, multiple differences discern those two terms. Whereas mentoring means learning from someone, who has been on the path before, is more directive, and has a form of telling or giving advice. Coaching, on the other hand, means starting conversations that empower the client (Brereton, 2020). That is done especially through great listening skills and the art of asking powerful questions (Shreve, 2020).
Importantly, coaches do not tell the client what to do, but rather try guide the client into discovering what it is that he or she wants (Jacobson, 2017).
Secondly, the main difference between coaching and training is that training is mostly about transferring knowledge, whereas coaching is about enhancing skills (Maestro, 2019). Coaching
8 is also very often confused with counselling. Both of these methods have multiple similarities such as the previously mentioned powerful questions or helping the clients to find answers that work for them. However, there are also many differences. One of the main ones is that while coaching focuses on achieving goals, counselling leans more towards recognising and solving problems (Jacobson, 2017). Also, coaching is not past-oriented but focused on the present and the future, whereas some counsellors can also focus on the past (Martin, 2019).
1.3 The history of coaching
Although coaching might be perceived as a modern method and approach by many, the term coaching has its origins as far back as ancient Greece, with connections to the Socratic dialogue (Hughes, 2003). Similarly, Brunner (1998, p. 516), in his work proposes a question whether coaching could be a modern version of the Socratic dialogue, but many authors argue that the Socratic dialogue is more negative and competitive (Goldman, 1984; Kimball, 1986; Stone, 1988) compared to coaching. In addition, the terms “coaching” and “mentoring” were not used in ancient times (Garvey, Stokes, & Megginson, 2018, p. 13), however, as they were first used in the 19th century.
The earliest use of the word coaching can be traced back to 1849, when W. M. Thackeray used this term in his novel Pendennis (The Oxford Reference Online, 2006). Overall, the word
“coach” started firstly being used in Oxford around year 1830 and it was a slang word for a tutor that helped students to pass the exams (Morrison, 2010). Notably, it is visible that in the 19th century, the term “coaching” had already been associated with performance improvement, similarly as of today (Garvey et al., 2018, p. 14).
Although the word “coach” has been widely used in relation to sports since 1861 until the present time (Morrison, 2010), the term has always been connected to performance enhancement. For instance, in the nineteenth century, it was used in association with developing activities in rowing skills and cricket (Garvey et al., 2018, p. 16). Nonetheless, it is clear that despite a lot of people associating coaching, particularly with sports, it is, in fact, not the way the term “coach” was created (Morrison, 2010).
Although the basics of coaching were formed in the early 1900s, for most of the 20th century, coaching was predominantly associated with psychology. In fact, before the 1970s, the term counselling was used rather than coaching in the business environment, and companies recruited those counsellors to serve as psychologists for one-on-one sessions with managers (Morrison, 2010).
9 According to Hudson (1999, p. 3), the change came in the 70s. As Hudson explains, in the 1960s and 1970s, it was mostly the upper management who were responsible for making decisions, while the middle management ensured they were executed. But if organisations wanted to thrive, more space for flexibility had to be made, and therefore, the focus shifted from hierarchy and control more towards trust and collaboration. Seminars on the topics of teamwork and empowerment took place to make the employees better leaders. Notably, also consultants were invited to work with important people in the companies.
Coaching started appearing in training journals and moreover, the first books on coaching were published. In addition, the term “Executive Coaching” started to be used in the business world (Morrison, 2010). However, the problem was that these activities were not long-term and as a result, their impact never lasted. That is why corporate coaching was introduced in the late 80s and coaches started working with company representatives over a prolonged period. Coaches focused on areas such as visionary leadership, transition management, or executive coaching, and it was at the same time when the professional field of coaching itself was born (Hudson, 1999, p. 4).
Although the 1980s was the decade when coaching gained its importance and started to be widely recognised in literature, the biggest development the coaching industry experienced in the 90s. Ever since then, the coaching boom has been continuous until today, with implementing coaching in various business sectors and becoming a necessity in large organisations.
(Morrison, 2010)
1.4 Basic types of coaching
As there are multiple ways in which coaching is used, it is essential to briefly introduce each of them. I will elaborate on the sports, life, executive, and team coaching (Garvey et al., 2018, pp.
84–85). D&I coaching1 will be discussed in the third chapter in a greater detail.
The type of coaching that a lot of people encounter during their lives is sports coaching, which, as mentioned above, is focused on self-improvement in some sports disciplines (Garvey et al., 2018, p. 14). The second approach is life coaching, which is a method in which the coach helps the client to analyse their current situation and to identify some limiting beliefs and other obstacles, as to help the client to achieve his or her goals in life (Robbins Research International, Inc., 2021).
1 For definition of D&I coaching please refer to the “D&I Coaching” chapter
10 A very commonly seen type of coaching, used especially in organisations, is the executive coaching. According to Auerbach, “executive coaching is a professional relationship between a trained coach and a client (an individual or a group) with the goal to enhance the client’s leadership or management performance and development.”2 (Shared Vision Coaching, 2019) Another important coaching approach to look at is team coaching, which can be defined as a type of coaching that is based on challenging and facilitating a team to maximise its performance and enjoyment, while contributing to organisational goals (Cardillo, 2019).
2 Diversity and Inclusion
2.1 Diversity and Inclusion Definitions
There are multiple definitions of diversity, as different people perceive diversity in different ways. However, the most common way of categorising diversity is dividing it into two dimensions; primary and secondary. Primary diversity covers characteristics that an individual cannot change such as ethnicity, race, and age. Such characteristics are also usually visible at the first sight. Secondary diversity, on the other hand, reflects diversity characteristics that can change over the lifetime, including thinking styles, education, and parental status (Hubbard, 2004, p. 34). A more detailed introduction of both primary and secondary diversity can be seen in the image below.
2 Internet resource, therefore, page number for direct quotation is not included
11 Picture 1 - Primary & Secondary Diversity
Source: Hubbard, 2004, p. 34
It is important to state that whereas those are the most common types used, diversity is not limited to the above-mentioned dimensions. Furthermore, as Molefl, O’Mara and Richter (2021) emphasise, intersectionality also must be addressed. And that means, individuals are not part of only one of the described groups and do not “tick only one of the boxes”. Such examples can be found in people who identify as belonging to the LGTBQ+ community and having a disability at the same time. Therefore, when we look at diversity from the perspective of intersectionality, it is therefore much greater than when addressing and focusing only on the individual forms of diversity. Intersectionality can then lead to either advantages or disadvantages for the individual. For instance, white men compared to women of colour.
Despite definitions describing diversity vary, the following definition provided is suitable for diversity in a business setting and therefore, for the nature of this Master’s Thesis. According to Guion (1999, p. 1), “diversity is a mosaic of people who bring a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values and beliefs as assets to the groups and organisations with which they interact.”
However, according to S. McCarthy (2019), simply putting together people from different cultures may be less effective than having a non-diverse team. That is why inclusion needs to come into being. Therefore, as important as defining diversity, is defining inclusion before moving any further.
12
“Inclusion is involvement and empowerment, where the inherent worth and dignity of all people are recognised. It values and practices respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its members.”3 (Ferris State University, 2020)
While previous research describes inclusion primarily as a feeling of the individual of being part of the processes taking place in the firm (Mor-Barak & Cherin, 1998; Robertson, 2006), Rennstam and Sullivan (2018) offer an interesting perception of inclusion as a collectivist action. It is proposed that employees and other stakeholders in a business play a fundamental role in fighting exclusion (Sandell, 2014). It goes without question that legal action can also influence the forces of exclusion (Rumens & Kerfoot, 2009), however, the authors emphasise that formal steps are not going to secure an inclusive workplace by themselves and support from people throughout an entire organisation is essential. In that way, the burden of creating an inclusive workplace is no longer a responsibility of the individuals, but of the entire community.
After defining diversity, its intersectionality and inclusion, the difference between equality and equity should also be recognised. While equality is reached by treating everyone the same way (providing equal opportunities), not looking at the individual differences and needs, equity, on the other hand, takes into consideration also the specific situation and needs of the person (Molefl et al., 2021).
The concept of equity versus equality can be demonstrated in the image below depicting a bicycle. Equality is expressed here by giving the same bike to everyone, not differentiating whether it is a woman, a child, a grown-up man or a disabled person, whereas equity is visualised by providing everyone with a bike that fits their needs the most. In other words, this example is trying to show that one size simply does not fit all (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017).
3 Internet resource, therefore, page number for direct quotation is not included
13 Picture 2 - Equality vs. Equity
Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017
Even though the concept of equity is becoming more common in organisations and in many roles where professionals are focusing on topics around diversity and inclusion, the initialism D&I is not used anymore, but is replaced by DEI, meaning diversity, equity, and inclusion (Megan, 2021), it may be perceived as a threat by the privileged group, which is something that will be further addressed later in this paper.
2.2 Types of diversity encountered in the workplace
Although diversity can take many forms, the following sub-chapter deals with the most common sources of diversity that are present in the workplace. Amongst them are gender, race, ethnicity, age, LGBTQ+, disability, religion, and diversity of thought. Each of these sources of diversity will be further covered in the following paragraphs.
Gender is one of the most discussed types of diversity in the workplace. Despite, according to data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016), women being more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree before turning 30 and currently, more women being in the workplace than ever before, the imbalance between male and female representation is still significant in companies. This difference is notable especially in the leadership roles, as it was found out that in 2015, only 5.4% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies were women, and they also made up only 20% of board members of such companies (Pew Research Center, 2015). In 2020, the percentage of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies was 8% (Ward, 2020). Kumra and Vinnicombe (2008) explain that a reason women perceive it difficult to get to managerial positions is the masculine stereotype of an ideal manager, associated with assertiveness, drive, and hard work, combined with the fact that it is believed managers should live for the
14 organisation and be readily available at all times. In addition, men are stereotypically perceived to be more competent (Nentwitch & Tienari, 2018). Research by Holgerrson (2003) also shows that recruitment for managerial positions is not a problem that would be based on the stereotypes of individuals, however, it is at the core of organisational practices. Moreover, women are also more likely to experience unconscious bias. For instance, in the recruitment process, some of the questions are still shaped for traditional, male-oriented answers (Allegis Group, 2018).
The second common existing type of diversity in the workplace is race or ethnicity. Despite humans being unable to be divided into “biological races” (Goodman, 2020), the stereotypes and prejudices based simply on one’s skin colour remain and are often used to split people into groups. It is also important to note that race and ethnicity are not the same things, although they are often interchanged. While race is mostly used as a descriptor of one’s skin colour, ethnicity also includes cultural factors. Examples of these can be tribal affiliation, traditions, language, or nationality (Santos, Polomares, Normando, & Quintão, 2010).
The workforce also tends to be diverse in age distribution. Oftentimes, it happens that people coming from different generations are to work together, which on one hand enables them to combine different perspectives, but on the other, alignment of various working styles may be needed. Furthermore, it is very likely that Generation Z (referring to people born between 1965 and 1980), Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation X (1997 to 2012) will need to work together (Dimock, 2019), creating an even bigger need for organisations to adjust their practices to fit all generations. This is caused by many factors, including improvements in health, increased number of white-collar jobs compared to physical ones or being offered retirement benefits at a later age than it used to be (C.S., 2018).
Another source of diversity is sexual orientation. Apart from heterosexuality, it is commonly referred to as the initialisms LGBT or LGBTQ+, where the letter L stands for lesbian, G for gay, B for bisexual, T for transsexual, Q for either queer or questioning and the + for everything else (Miller, 2020). Due to multiple reasons, it is difficult to get a proper number of the LGBT population, however, for example, the percentage in the United States is estimated at 4.5%, in the UK at 2.2%, in Canada 3% and in Japan even 10% (Catalyst, 2021).
Disability is considered a type of diversity too and it is also the one in which people experiencing discrimination is commonplace, including both physical and mental. Many large companies such as Microsoft and IBM are adjusting their hiring process for these groups to ensure the procedure is as inclusive as possible and are so far experiencing great success with this approach (Allegis Group, 2018).
15 Religious diversity in the workplace may be very challenging, but if managed, it can bring many benefits to the organisation. The key to such a result is to ensure the tolerance and acceptance of different religious views as well as considering the time that may be needed to dedicate to various religious habits and traditions (McFarlin, 2021)
Lastly, it is important not to forget about the diversity of thought (S. McCarthy, personal communication, May 6, 2020), which may bring its benefits if the culture in a company enables its employees to share their perspectives and not to be afraid to come up with new, innovative solutions.
2.3 Diversity within individuals
Research carried out by Corritore, Goldberg and Srivastava (2020) bring an interesting perspective on diversity. The authors claim that apart from interpersonal heterogeneity, also an intrapersonal one should be considered. They further explain that intrapersonal diversity does not need to be connected in any way to large differences between people. Morris, Chiu and Liu (2015) state that people are able to identify with several cultural identities as well as that different situations bring up divergent cultural identities in individuals.
In addition, Goldberg and colleagues came up with a tool demonstrating where demographical diversity ends, and cultural diversity begins. Nevertheless, they agree with other experts that where there is greater cultural variability, there also is a bigger capacity for innovation. As the possible disadvantages connected to demographical diversity Goldberg sees that the innovative and different ideas from others will stay only within a particular demographical group.
However, as S. McCarthy (personal communication, May 6, 2020) says, diversity can never be dangerous. It can be counterproductive when not enough inclusion comes with it.
Therefore, companies should rather focus on implementing diversity right, and all aspects of it.
From race, gender, and nationality to thinking styles, and making sure that every individual can flourish within the organisation.
2.4 Workplace discrimination
Before continuing to the sources of discrimination in the workplace, the definition of discrimination itself should be provided. According to the American Psychological Association
16 (2019), “discrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation.”4
Oftentimes, the cause of discrimination is either fear or it stems from misunderstandings. It is natural that our brain puts things into categories to be able to make sense of the world. However, the values that are then placed on these categories are learned. In other words, it is very much influenced by the environment we grow up and live in. The biggest influencers in this regard can then be our parents, our friends but also our observations of the world can play a big role (American Psychological Association, 2019).
According to the Stress in America survey conducted in 2015, individuals that have experienced discrimination on average face higher stress rates than those who have not. Additionally, the person does not need to personally experience discrimination, but the stressor is already being part of a group that is targeted with discrimination like minorities or people in the LGBTQ+
community (American Psychological Association, 2016).
2.4.1 Forms of discrimination in the workplace
Discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, varying from the recruitment process to daily life in the company. As Doyle (2020) states, discrimination can begin as soon in the application process as characterising the preferred candidates already in the description of the job. It can also occur later during recruitment, when rejection of some specific group(s) of candidates occurs. After securing a job in company, the payments of bonuses can be denied or even the regular wage can be affected by paying different amounts of money to equally qualified employees. This specific scenario is a large issue by itself and is being referred to as the “gender wage gap”, when talking about the differences in wages between male and female workers.
Discrimination can also take the form of not allowing the usage of company facilities or when issuing disability, maternity, and retirement leave.
2.4.2 Gender wage gap
Gender wage gap analyses how much money female workers earn compared to their male counterparts. Based on research conducted by Census Bureau in 2018, women of all races have earned 82 cents for each $1 earned by men, also of all races (Bleiweis, 2020). The detailed data are visible in the figure below.
4 Internet resource, therefore, page number for direct quotation is not included
17 Figure 1 - Gender Wage Gap
Source: Center for American Progress, 2020
What is especially notable here are the differences between races. While the average for women is 82 cents, some of the ethnic groups go well below this average. As the figure shows, for Hispanic or Latino it is only 54 cents, for American Indians 57 cents and for black women 62 cents (Census Bureau, N.d.). That shows that the gender pay gap does not explain only the difference between the wages of women and men, but also draws attention to the differences between people of various ethnicities.
The significant wage differences between men and women combined with the previously mentioned lack of women in leadership roles is an example of something called the gendered hierarchy, speaking about the fact that male and masculine are routinely favoured over female and feminine (Nentwich, 2012).
2.4.3 Sources of workplace discrimination
As mentioned above, workplace discrimination can take many forms and whichever one it is, it can be very harmful to employees. The Diversity and Inclusion Study 2019 conducted by Glassdoor (Glassdoor Inc., 2019) shows how common workplace discrimination is in the US, UK, Germany, and France (N. McCarthy, 2019). It specifically looks at workplace diversity in the categories of gender, age, race, and sexual orientation, demonstrated in the figure below.
18 Figure 2 - How Common Is Workplace Discrimination
Source: Glassdoor Inc., 2019
It is visible that out of all four analysed sources of discrimination, it seems that the issue is at its most severe in the USA as well as the overall percentage of people who have witnessed workplace discrimination, which is, apart from the US, also very high the UK (Jackson, 2019).
However, this high percentage in the USA can be influenced by the extent to which discrimination is being handled in the country and the legal coverage, such as commonality of filing formal complaints.
Nevertheless, the main reason for the higher percentages in the US may be because it is permitted to talk openly about race and discrimination. In contrast, in some European countries, it is not considered morally right to, for instance, be asked about race or ethnicity when filling out forms. Such practices, however, lead to a taboo being placed on these topics and therefore, the misperception of society that discrimination in these areas does not exist if it is not spoken about (Essed & Trienekens, 2008). As a result, it leads more towards colour blindness, which portrays the problem to be solved is rather racial recognition than the racial rule (Lipsitz, 2006, p. 24). The following paragraphs will now delve deeper into each of the analysed types of discrimination.
Firstly, apart from the abovementioned Glassdoor study showing that 42% of workers across the US, the UK, Germany, and France have experienced or witnessed racial discrimination (Glassdoor Inc., 2019), according to a study carried out by SHRM in 2020, whereas 35% of black people believe that discrimination based on ethnicity and race exists in their workplace, only 7% of their white counterparts think that there is such type of discrimination present. In research conducted by Coqual’s in 2019, it has been found out that while 44% of white workers
19 have access to their senior leaders, only 31% of black workers have the same opportunity. Also, the Racism at Work survey that was carried out in the UK between 2016 and 2017 (Ashe, Borowska, & Nazroo, 2019) shows that seventy percent of black and Asian employees have experienced racial harassment over the last 5 years (Rigby, N.d.)
Secondly, gender discrimination has already been partially examined in greater detail earlier in the sub-chapter about the gender wage gap. If we should like to generalise the overall gender discrimination happening in the workplace, four out of ten women say that they have experienced some kind discrimination at work, such as not being treated as if they were competent enough or not having as much access to senior leaders as their male counterparts (Pew Research Center, 2017).
Thirdly, in a survey with people over 60, almost 80% of them claimed they had experienced ageism, which refers to discrimination and stereotyping based on one’s age (WHO, 2012). In other words, these people have reported that other workers assumed they would have some problems, such as issues with memory, due to their age. Also, 31% said they have experienced not being taken seriously because of their age (Dittmann, 2003).
Fourthly, regarding sexual orientation, a survey conducted by YouGov and Mercer demonstrates that only 60% of employees feel comfortable enough to share their sexual orientation in the workplace. At the same time, 32% of managers hide that they are a part of the LGBTQ+ community due to the fear of a reaction and possible discrimination (Velco, 2018).
As the Glassdoor research provided and discussed above was conducted only focusing on four sources of workplace discrimination (Glassdoor Inc., 2019), another piece of research taking into account a wider range of discrimination sources will be analysed further below.
20 Figure 3 - Most Common Types of Discrimination
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2018
This research by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2018), shown in the figure above, also points out a high number of disability discrimination in the workplace. According to Smith (2017), disabled people are more prone to working in low-wage settings, some of whom may be in part-time jobs or jobs that do not offer much in the way of stability. Especially disabled people of colour being women or members of the LGBTQ+ community may experience discrimination. However, as mentioned previously, there are companies such as IBM, that are trying to change this issue.
In this graph, notably, retaliation was in this US research at the first place. This refers to a “form of unlawful discrimination that occurs when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee or applicant because he or she engaged in a protected activity, including filing a charge of discrimination with a fair employment practices agency or participating in an investigation of alleged workplace misconduct.”5 (SHRM, 2019)
However, as retaliation is being considered mostly only in the US context, it will not be elaborated further on in this thesis.
2.4.4 Benevolent discrimination
Romani et al. (2019) provide an interesting insight into the concept of benevolent discrimination and elaborate on its harmfulness when performed by HR professionals. According to Skadegård
5 Internet resource, therefore, page for direct quotation is not included
21 (2017, p. 221), benevolent discrimination is “a patriarchal and charitable attitude that constructs and maintains the “other” from this perspective.”
It could be, for instance, explained on the example of benevolent racism. Benevolent racism and discrimination then only help to replicate the already existing order of racial and other social inequalities, especially in describing the other as exotic (therefore, supplementary) and vulnerable, portraying the image of the person as someone who needs help. Thus, it gives the perception as “the other”, from whom it is expected to accommodate in the already established order, in which are the ones performing benevolent discrimination, also referred to as benevolent actors, superior. (Romani et al., 2019)
The authors then further develop this concept and divide it into three dimensions; the act of kindness, the re-enforcement of an established social order, and the expectation of accommodation. I will now elaborate on each of those three dimensions in a greater detail.
Starting with the act of kindness, people performing benevolent discrimination believe that they are doing something good, repairing injustice and thinking of themselves as charitable persons who want to help less fortunate people than them in the social order. Generally, their actions are looked at as a deliberate contribution to the improvement of a situation.
Secondly, it is the re-enforcement of an established social order by both acknowledging as well as denying differences at the same time. Benevolence is highly dependent on the othering concept, which is at the very beginning of establishing differences (Araeen, 2000). This difference is acknowledged in the form of “being part of the same social system”, however, it is also simultaneously denied that it has the same value (Holck & Muhr, 2017; Zanoni &
Janssens, 2004).
The act of benevolence strongly depends on the relationship between the one performing and the one receiving it. For example, it can be visible when migrants arrive in a country looking for work. The acknowledged similarity is their education, such as university degree, but at the same time, it can be denied and not perceived as equally worthy, which further leads to the re- creation of unequal social relationship. In many countries, the migrants are then required to take a local degree, and are treated as the “victims”, which serves to legitimise the provided help or even charity (Villenas, 2001).
The third pillar of the benevolent discrimination is the expectation of accommodation. This pillar refers to the fact that the “foreigners” are expected to fully accommodate to the existing system and accept the pre-assigned position in the hierarchical order in the society. According to Esposito & Romano (2014), and Mutman (2004), the group being on the side of the receivers
22 of benevolence is divested of power, leading to possible issues in case they would wish to further their careers. Moreover, they are expected to express gratitude, not to challenge the existing system anyhow. (Romani et al., 2019)
The concept of benevolent discrimination, and existing research on it, shows that when trying to accommodate people perceived as “different”, it is of utmost importance to reflect upon whether the actions performed by us empower them or assign them a place in the existing social order and expect them to take it.
2.5 Privilege
If addressing discrimination in this thesis, privilege cannot be ignored, as privilege and discrimination are interlinked (Katila, 2021). Before going on to the topic of privilege, it will firstly be elaborated on structural inequality.
Structural inequality is a “bias that is built in the structures of organisations, institutions, governments or social networks.” Similarly, it is also a “condition where one category of people is attributed an unequal status in relation to other categories of people” (Katila, 2021, p. 3).
Privilege can then be defined as “the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits, and choices bestowed on people based on their affiliation with the dominant side of the power system.” (McIntosh, 2020, p. 12).
Privilege is most often talked about in association with white privilege, which then refers to obtaining benefits solely because of the colour of one’s skin. McIntosh also addresses conferred dominance in her work in relation to privilege, which means giving power to one group over the other.
The system of privilege is organised around three basic principles; dominance, identification, and centeredness (Johnson, 2013). Dominance refers to a workplace dominated by a specific group. We can for instance say it is male- or white-dominated. In such an environment, it is the default that men or white people occupy the positions of power. Secondly, identification deals with what is viewed as a norm. So, for instance, when considering white privilege, it defines people that are white as a standard for all human beings. In that logic, everyone else is then perceived as a deviation from the norm (Katila, 2021). Lastly, (white) centredness refers to putting white or some group of people in the centre of attention, like on the front pages of magazines or as the main movie characters (Johnson, 2013). As Katila (2021) points out, if people see others who are not like them in a position of power, in politics, global business, or
23 with a high status in business, it influences the way how they feel about themselves and it is all part of the system of privilege.
When looking at how privilege serves the privileged, privilege in fact grants the authority to say who receives attention, who and what is taken seriously and importantly, the privileged group gets to decide whether or not certain issues of injustice and oppression will be addressed (Katila, 2021). This concept refers to the benevolent discrimination and to the expectation to accommodate in the existing system together with expression of gratitude (Romani et al., 2019).
Furthermore, being privileged also ties to feeling valued and safe in public.
2.5.1 How to shift the focus to the privileged when employing D&I initiatives
Tienari and Nentwich (2012) discuss in their work that power relations play a significant role in deciding what is deemed a majority group and minority or diverse group. In a study from Ostendorp and Steyaert (2009), it is shown that diversity management in organisations in fact helps to reconstruct the diversity which it is primarily aiming to manage. That results not in creating a more equal workplace, as desired, but rather to an even bigger distinction between the two groups. Therefore, diversity management should rather be focused on privilege and power in an organisation, and challenge what is considered as the ideal, instead of creating additional programmes for the marginalised groups. This in practice means that members of the privileged group need to compromise on some parts of their power based on privilege, for which, however, some pressures from outside the organisation, like legislative ones, may be needed.
Shifting the attention from the minorities to majorities and privileged ones will better enable to create inclusion in organisations. The problem that is currently present in organisations is that what is rather looked at is what diverse groups are lacking, such as the local language, than what they are bringing to organisations (Louvrier, 2011). Therefore, minority groups are set as the subject that should change. On the other hand, if focus were to be shifted towards the majority group, the target of the change would suddenly be the privileged part of the society and the practices by which it contributes to the creation of inequalities in businesses (Tienari &
Nentwich, 2012).
Overall, it is visible that differences in organisations are oftentimes created based on some identity categories (such as gender, race, sexuality, or class) rather than on some merit or factual criteria. Thus, “undoing” such categories and bringing about reliance on objective criteria could lead to real change in diversity management in organisations. (Tienari & Nentwich, 2012)
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2.6 Unconscious biases as barriers to inclusiveness
Unconscious biases are “associations that are unknowingly held or expressed without conscious awareness with regards to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, weight, religion etc.” (Birmingham, 2020, p. 28)
Unconscious biases work in a form of extremely quick judgements, which are made without any thorough analysis or logic. It is crucial to note that everyone has biases, but it is important to be aware of them because it is only when a person understands their biases, can they take action. As Van Enkenvoort (2007) suggests, we cannot control the biases we have, however, we can control what we do with them.
2.6.1 Types of unconscious biases
There are multiple types of unconscious biases that can be visible in organisations, as Reiners (2019) proposes, which will be now further described.
The first one is the affinity bias, which is sometimes referred to as a similarity bias because it describes the inclination towards people who share similar experiences, interests, and backgrounds to us. This bias can often be seen when companies hire for the “culture fit”, as they tend to select people they would get along with the most. Therefore, searching for “culture add” rather than “culture fit” may be helpful.
The second, and very common type of bias not only in an organisational setting but also visible in personal lives, is the confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is people’s tendency to favour information that confirms personal beliefs and prejudices, so the person gives more weight to the information that confirms their evidence and on contrary, undervalues the evidence that contradicts it (Noor, 2020). Simply put, confirmation bias then confirms what they already thought of that person (S. McCarthy, 2019). This bias can be seen in interviews, when the interviewer already had some prejudices about the person based on the name, gender, place of origin, or their picture and during the interview is then shaping the questions in a way to confirm those initial thoughts of the applicant (Reiners, 2019). In addition, there is an ongoing debate about whether to include a photograph in a resume or not, due to the desire to avoid judging someone based on their appearance and drawing conclusions before even meeting the person.
The third type of bias is attribution bias, which describes the tendency of people to judge another person based on observations made and previous interactions. That often happens on the basis of people’s assumptions, which are, however, not always correct. An example of that can again be during the interview process. When an interviewee may say something uncommon, it should
25 not be directly perceived as a reason the person is not a fit for the organisation, but rather ask clarifying questions. (Reiners, 2019)
Reiners then further explains a fourth type of bias, referred to as conformity bias, commonly also called peer pressure. The reason for this name is because this bias describes a tendency to act similarly to people that are around us, no matter if the people themselves, in reality, are like us. When a group is asked which candidate they would prefer to be hired, it may happen that people will likely say the same name as the majority does, therefore, the opinion on the candidates should rather be evaluated individually.
The following two biases describe how judgements can be made solely on a single piece of information. Firstly, it is the halo effect, which occurs when people make an overall judgement of the person based on a single trait (Nielsen & Cardello, 2013). Additionally, the horns effect describes a tendency to perceive the other person negatively, after discovering something unpleasant about them (Reiners, 2019).
The bias that can easily appear in both the hiring process and in daily lives is the contrast effect, as it compares two things or people either simultaneously or one after another, which can result in a strong boost of one of them.
Lastly, I would like to shortly elaborate on biases that are tightly connected to the primary and secondary diversity itself. The first one is gender bias, which leans towards preferring one gender among another. One way to avoid this is to exclude all information that may suggest gender from the application, to allow for a less biased judgement to be made. The second bias is called ageism, and it describes a proclivity to have a negative perception of another person based on their age. In the workplace, this can be experienced predominently by people who are in their 50s. This bias has already been elaborated on in the Workplace Discrimination sub- chapter. Thirdly, also name bias is visible in businesses, where particularly Anglo-based names are preferred. Fourthly, beauty bias can be very harmful in making judgements about people, as it is a belief that attractive people tend to be more competent and successful. (Reiners, 2019)
2.7 Social Identity Theory
The Social Identity Theory by Tajfel and Turner (1979) provides an insight into how the in- group and out-group are created, which then further leads into in-group bias and serves as basis for the explanation of the othering concept.
Social identity is a “person’s sense of whom they are based on their group membership(s)”
(Kumar & Makand, 2021, p. 166). Groups evoke a certain sense of social belonging or in other
26 words, a belonging to a social world. As Tajfel (1979) suggests, stereotyping and putting people in groups has basis in a regular cognitive process – the tendency to group things together. By doing so, people pay special attention to two things; the similarities within the in-group and the differences between the out-group(s). That helps to create the distinction us versus them (in- group and out-group). As a result of this cognitive process associated with the categorisation of social environment into different groups, individuals then identify with a specific group.
The detailed process of the Social Identity Theory is depicted in the image below.
Picture 3 - Social Identity Theory Source: Tajfel & Turner, 1979
Now, I would like to elaborate in greater detail on the three key stages of the process, which are social categorisation, social identification, and social comparison.
Starting with social categorisation, as explained above, the human brain has a tendency to put things into categories in order to make sense of the world. The same exact process takes place when it comes to people – we categorise ourselves and others to form an understanding of the social environment. For instance, we can use categories such as black and white. We also identify what is deemed appropriate behaviour based on the group we belong to, nevertheless, to do that, we need to know who belongs in the specified groups. An important note is that people do not belong just to one group, but to multiple ones.
27 The second stage of the process is social identification. After we have managed to categorise ourselves into a particular group, we adopt the identity of that group. Further, we start acting in a way we believe the members of this group should be. As a result, an individual’s self-esteem is then connected to the membership of that particular group.
The last stage is social comparison. When individuals categorise themselves with a group and feel a sense of identity bound to a specific group, they then start to compare their own group (the in-group) with other groups (the out-groups). If a person should then want to reach a positive identity, the group needs to seem distinct from the others, but on dimensions that are positively valued. Furthermore, a person wanting positive self-evaluation needs to try to differentiate between his or her group and the other groups as much as possible. These actions then, however, lead to further discrimination between the individual groups, as the in-group members try to maximise positive social identity. (Tajfel, 1982)
2.8 The “othering” concept
Closely related to the Social Identity Theory is the “Othering concept.” Staszak (2008, p. 1) defines Other as “a member of a dominated out-group, whose identity is considered lacking and who may be subject to discrimination by the in-group.” Building on that, othering then means the transformation of difference into otherness, which further leads to the creation of the in-group and out-group described in the Social Identity Theory. Further distinguishment between the created groups results in the strengthening of the othering phenomenon.
One group is the one representing what is perceived as the norm and being praised (us), whereas the other one being recognised mostly for their faults and often being prone to discrimination (them). The identity of the out-group is strongly based on stereotypes which are simplified until large extent. Importantly, those two sides, being Self and Other, cannot exist without each other.
(Staszak, 2008)
The superior group is the one in charge of placing people into such categories and the out-group cannot create its own norms. These differences in the amount of power the two groups have are crucial to this concept. This has been witnessed throughout history, while for instance colonisers othered the cultures they encountered, to put them into the exotic box, which may be found as useful by the superior group only if leading to their own advantage. The way for the out-groups to get out of this dominated environment is to create their own and positive identity.
(Staszak, 2008)
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2.9 The rising importance of diversity and inclusion in a business setting
Companies have begun to realise both how beneficial it is to have a diverse environment as well as the influences on productivity and innovation. Nevertheless, it is crucial to be aware that diversity itself cannot ensure any of the benefits that will be further mentioned in this chapter without having inclusion in place.
It seems that organisations either already recognise or are starting to recognise the importance of D&I to their business. Based on a study conducted by PwC in 2017, 87% of CEOs promote diversity and inclusion and 80% of them are working on the development of a pipeline of diverse leaders. According to Katz, a major shift from the perception of diversity initiatives earlier and now is that nowadays, diversity is viewed as a core driver of business instead of just having it for compliance purposes (Vaughn, 2007).
One of the reasons that may be supporting this shift is the realisation of companies that having D&I in place is not only the right thing to do, but it is also a good thing to do for the company itself. For instance, the CEO of P&G David S. Taylor says that it is not only a great thing to do, but it also enables the company to grow (P&G, 2018). Further arguments and research on the positive influence of D&I are provided in the following sub-chapters.
2.9.1 The influence of D&I on company’s performance and productivity
Lately, it has been very commonly seen, on companies’ websites and in articles, what the benefits of having a diverse workplace are. Although it is perceived by some that it is a trend to have a workplace that promotes diversity and inclusion, facts supported by multiple studies and research prove its benefits when implemented right. One of those examples is the extensive study conducted by McKinsey summarised in a company report from the year 2019, in which data were collected from over 1,000 large companies in 15 different countries. The findings of this research will now be discussed further.
In the study (McKinsey & Company, 2020), several different aspects of diversity were analysed. In the two following paragraphs, it will be further commented on gender, cultural and ethnic diversity.
Starting with the gender diversity, it was observed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25 percent more likely to be profitable above average compared to companies in the fourth quartile. In addition, it was discovered that the greater the representation of women in the executive positions, the more likely are these companies to outperform. For instance, executive teams with more than 30% female representation were
29 more likely to outperform those having 10 to 30 percent female executives. However, it also was observed that the gap between the “leaders” and “laggards” when it comes to diversity in executive teams is becoming bigger, as half of the companies, previously examined in 2014, have managed to achieve their goals, however, the other half either did not make any progress or even went backwards. Additionally, females are still under-represented in executive teams in all 15 countries where the research was carried out. Similarly, in major industries, female representation is still only 21% and increasing very slowly. Therefore, McKinsey suggests steps that are needed to be taken for action to happen. Firstly, they believe a systematic approach in the form of increasing diverse representation in executive teams as well as accountability for D&I initiatives is required. Secondly, they promote three action steps – equal opportunities, tackling bias and discrimination, and supporting diversity.
Similarly, as for gender diversity, also companies having cultural and ethnic diversity in the workplace tend to clearly outperform. Specifically, companies in the top quartile outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 36 percent in profitability. On the other hand, firms that are lacking diversity, are much less likely to financially outperform their competitors, and this likelihood is only becoming smaller and smaller.
In the following figure, the influence of both gender and ethnic diversity on the financial outperformance of companies is visible.
Figure 4 – Diverse Teams Are More Likely to Financially Outperform Source: McKinsey & Company, 2020
30 Overall, to combine gender and ethnic diversity, companies in the top quartile for both of those, are 12% more likely to outperform the rest of the firms. (McKinsey & Company, 2020) 2.9.2 The influence of D&I on individual’s performance and productivity
Having focused on the quantitative results of how having diversity in place is beneficial for organisations as a whole, now it also should not be forgotten about how having an inclusive leadership can help the individuals within it.
According to a survey conducted by Shapiro, Wells and Sanders (2011), there have been multiple improvements in a company achieved thanks to having inclusive leadership. As is seen in the graph below, having inclusive leadership helped over 80% of the employees to be more motivated, loyal to the organisation and not to be afraid to propose and present their solutions.
It has also helped them to increase their performance and productivity as well as to “go above and beyond”, which is what companies are, or should be, aiming for with their employees.
Figure 5 – Influences of Inclusive Leadership on Individuals Source: Shapiro, Wells and Saunders, 2011
This research shows that diversity and inclusion can have a positive influence not only on the financials of the company, but on the performance of the individuals, which then drives up the overall performance of the organisation.
31 2.9.3 The influence of D&I on teams’ performance and productivity
Lastly, it is important to analyse the influence of D&I on the performance and productivity of teams.
Having a diverse team can be highly beneficial for a company. Heterogenous teams outperform homogenous ones especially when dealing with tasks which require creativity and innovation as well as when team members are required to learn rather than search for a quick consensus (van Knippenberg and colleagues, 2004). Companies that are thriving to innovate and want to be able to exceed their peers should be trying to work with diverse teams. Having members in a team that come from diverse backgrounds can ensure to bring different perspectives to the table, which is crucial especially for decision making and problem solving (Mell, 2019).
The following graph shows the difference in productivity between homogenous and heterogenous teams over time. Important is to note that these results are valid for diverse teams that are being managed well.
Figure 6 – The Impact of Diversity on Team Performance Source: The Korn Ferry Institute, 2016
The graph above illustrates four stages that teams go through – forming, storming, norming and performing. In the phase of forming, the homogenous teams outperform diverse teams, as the formation of the team in which people are thinking and behaving in a similar way does not potentially bring along as many problems as when a various pool of people is suddenly on the same team and need to find a way to collaborate all together. However, by the end of the storming phase, it is already visible that diverse teams become much more productive than
32 homogenous teams, and this trend is becoming increasingly significant when going forward.
The reason the homogenous teams start to stagnate after the rocket start at the beginning, is that they lack the innovation which would help them thrive. On the other hand, diverse teams are much more likely to bring innovativeness in the long run (Halimy, 2018).
2.10 Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Models
2.10.1 The Bersin by Deloitte Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Model
Bersin by Deloitte Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Model brings quite an interesting perspective to where the desire regarding D&I goals meets the reality. Bersin by Deloitte conducted a study with 245 global companies in 2017, dealing with how companies should move from just emphasis on D&I to a strategic focus, to create a truly inclusive culture (Kaufflin, 2017). The model is beside other outputs focusing on the level to which inclusion is implemented in organisations. Shockingly, the study discovered that although 72% of companies would like to have inclusive culture, only 12% of them meet the goal. The report then further explains the main findings, which are visually displayed in the model below.
Picture 2 - Diversity and Inclusion Maturity Model Source: Deloitte, 2018
In the picture above, four levels of inclusion in companies can be seen. By starting from the bottom one, Level 1 shows diversity that is called Compliance-Focused. If companies have this
