6.3 Engage senior leadership and staff in gender equality, diversity, and inclusion efforts
Content
Description of Best Practices
Develop an employee engagement plan to support gender equality and D&I interventions, leveraging the influence of senior managers and other key personnel to act as ambassadors of change and generating understanding, learning and additional buy-in by employees engaging with female talent
Develop KPIs[1] for employee engagement and use the engagement around gender equality and D&I as an indicator for performance management and promotions
Senior leadership and other staff can be included in gender equality and D&I efforts as:
- Mentors or buddies for female employees or students
- Sponsors
- Presenters at school roadshow, job fairs and other activities targeting young talent
- Ambassadors and role models, influencers in internal and external events, campaigns, and communication activities
- Trainers or instructors for formal and on-the-job learning activities, for interns and working students
- Supporters in a change management group
Implementers of part of the gender strategy (e.g., communications develops campaigns as part of their department performance plan)
Challenges of Implementation
Time constraints of senior managers and other key personnel
Cultural or traditional barriers may limit willingness of male senior managers to interact with women
Managers may need support or training to interact with children or students
What Success Looks Like
Gender equality and D&I initiatives are supported by various stakeholders and gain additional momentum
Senior managers and other staff increase awareness through interaction with target groups
Company perception increased as various people walk the talk and are visible as active supporters of gender equality and D&I
Resources and Tools
See best practices related to mentorship, sponsorship, and buddy systems in Talent and Leadership Development.
[1] KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (KPI). Critical (key) indicators of progress toward an intended result. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most. As Peter Drucker famously said, “What gets measured gets done.” (Source: KPI.org)