The demand for diversity and inclusion roles rises in 2020

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By U2B Staff 

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A recent report by ZoomInfo, a business-to-business database shows that over the last five years, there has been a 113% increase in the number of executives that hold diversity and inclusion titles in organisations.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are some of the most important elements of a healthy workplace culture. A Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.

However, the disparity is clear: A study by Lean-In and McKinsey found that men and women of colour make up significantly less of the corporate pipeline at every level, compared to their white male and female counterparts.

The report found that white males made up 45% of managers and white females made up 27%. There is a stark contrast with the number of males of colour, who made up 17% of managers while and females of colour only made up 12% of managers.

The report by Boston Consulting Group also suggests that companies with above-average diversity on their leadership teams, in both developing and developed economies, report a greater payoff from innovation and higher income margins.

Diversity and inclusion is an important element in healthy workplace culture and every manager or leader in an organisation needs to understand its importance, and actively implement diversity policies in the workplace.

While the demand for roles in diversity and inclusion has reportedly taken a slight dip during the global pandemic, the numbers are rising again as the BLM movement rages on.

ZoomInfo’s report says that close to 40% of Fortune 500 companies have recently onboarded an executive whose function focuses on areas surrounding diversity and inclusion.

Additionally, the report notes the steady rise in demand for diversity and inclusion roles in the workplace: In 2002, less than 500 companies offered positions for roles surrounding the areas of diversity and inclusion.

However, in 2018, the number rose beyond 2,000, indicating that more companies are making this field a priority.


Why are organisations hiring diversity and inclusion executives?

The job function and expectations for this role differ according to organisation. Generally, the job scope for these roles can be broad and will depend on the type of industry as well as the organisation itself.

However, most executives with this function will oversee the overarching culture of the workplace, ensuring policies and programmes are in place and effective in creating positive change.

These roles are generally responsible for fostering a sense of comradery among employees. These roles are also designed to develop measures that function to assure that minorities within the organisation feel supported.

What are the most in-demand roles with his specialisation?

According to a report published by Glassdoor, the most in-demand roles in diversity and inclusion are largely senior positions.

The top job title companies are hiring in the US are Diversity and Inclusion Director (12%) and the other roles that make up the top 10 job openings are leadership roles like Diversity and Inclusion Manager and Chief Diversity Officer.

The report also highlighted that companies in the US are hiring Chief Diversity Officer roles, and the demand for this role has reportedly doubled in the US over the last year.

The increase in demand for Chief Diversity Officer roles indicates that companies are heavily investing in diversity and inclusion by elevating the responsibility to senior leadership and the C-suite level.