An organisation may recruit people from different backgrounds and celebrate diversity externally, while continuing to reward only one way of thinking, communicating, leading, or succeeding internally. People are invited into the building, but they are still expected to adapt to norms that were never designed with them in mind. The result is a subtle and an important contradiction. We tell people they belong, yet we continue to evaluate success through a narrow set of expectations that reflect the existing culture rather than embracing the diversity we claim to value. I think this is not simply a question of fairness, it’s also a leadership challenge. If organisations genuinely want the benefits associated with diversity, for example, better decision-making, greater innovation, and stronger problem-solving, then they must create environments where different perspectives can be expressed without requiring people to leave part of themselves at the door.
The starting point should be diversity
How often do you tell yourself that you are in your job because you’re the best qualified for it? We all know that HR departments have preferences and often make decisions influenced by biases rather than solely on talent. When talent acquisition teams, hiring managers, and HR professionals keep recycling the same pool of candidates, it raises the question of whether they have truly considered the best person for the job. Based on my lived experience, I do not trust the capitalist system to consistently allow the most talented individuals to rise to the top.
Diverse talent
If you don’t focus on recruiting diverse talent then obviously, you’re not going to have diverse talent, and ultimately, you won’t have a diverse organisation. Diversity is a business imperative and recruiters play a key role. I think diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will be a continuous focus area for recruiters especially because more and more candidates will make job choices based on their assessment of a company’s visible DEI commitments.