Why DEI needs to go back to school

The DEI journey of organisations, from beginnings to maturity follows a common path - but it’s time for a significant change in direction. When I founded Utopia, the immediate business need of organisations was to co-create DEI strategies. Organisations were often at the start of their journey, without a strategy or change roadmap.

As strategies were launched, demand increased for large scale training programmes to empower everyone to be part of the culture change. We worked with teams to build capability in inclusive leadership, inclusive marketing and inclusive practices. Creating cultures where everyone belongs. So far, so good. And the impact we have in organisations around the world brings me joy everyday. There’s nothing else I want to do. 

But - there's an underlying weakness. Humans, and the societies we create, are complex. To embed and sustain positive change we have to tackle the surrounding systems and processes which audit and assess our behaviour. In my experience, whether working with large global businesses or small ones, there are 3 common entry processes that either deny or drive inclusion. They are: recruitment, development and promotion.

“If bias is allowed to run riot through these systems and processes, the impact of training or strategy development is minimal.” 

Take recruitment for example. Mythic lore states that the interview was invented by Thomas Edison in 1921. Edison needed an assistant and, rather than simply ask the son of a friend, he conducted interviews organised around specific questions. Fast track to today. The recruitment process has barely changed. Technology has simply streamlined an existing process...and all the bias baked in over 100 years ago.

We can train Managers to spot bias, we can remove names from CVs to hinder bias. But to challenge the fundamental problem - a recruitment process that's mired in systemic discrimination and bias - we need to redesign the process. And that's hard unless you're a seasoned Design Thinker able to systematically apply design thinking innovation methodologies to your organisations’ practices, policies and processes. 

This is why we have launched Utopia Labs. Inspired by design thinking, we’ve combined our innovation and DEI expertise to create a suite of programmes that assist us to co-create a more inclusive organisation with you. Together we activate inclusive cultures by discovering, designing and re-wiring these fundamental practices, processes and systems.

Back in 2019 we undertook a project with Universal Music to understand how to ensure organisations are inclusive for Neurodivergent people. Out of this came Creative Differences; a handbook on redesigning people processes and systems. It’s still one of the partnerships I’m most proud of today. This is Utopia Labs in action. To go beyond tactical training, we all need to look deeper and activate our Inclusive Cultures to graduate to the next level.

Watch here to find out just how you can do this.