Irish companies that have worked hard on improving their diversity and inclusion policies in the workplace are beginning to see solid progress, according to the Irish Centre for Diversity (ICFD). This is backed up by solid data from the ICFD’s benchmarking scheme, which includes data from 130+ organisations and 120,000+ employees across the public and private sectors.
Professional services leader Grant Thornton this week announced that it had been awarded 80.8 per cent in the latest Inclusion Score ratings, compared with the national benchmark score of 78 per cent and the leading professional services score of 79 per cent.
Also this week, The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland announced that it had received a Diversity Silver ‘Reaccreditation’ Award from the Centre. The Bureau also revealed that it had received an inclusion score of 91.7 per cent, 2.1 per cent higher than its 2022 score of 89.7 per cent. This is substantially higher than the overall insurance industry score of 81.7 per cent.
The ICFD launched its D&I benchmarking system in August 2023, with updates planned every 12 months. Initial findings revealed that 90 per cent of workers in Ireland felt respected and valued by their immediate colleagues day-to-day; however, two out of five workers do not feel their organisation advances equality of opportunity and just half (51 per cent) of employees believe their organisation is doing enough for diverse groups.
The data released in July 2024 showed signs of progress, however. Findings revealed that the number of staff who have attended D&I training has increased by 6.2 per cent in the last two years, from 55.9 per cent to 62.1 per cent. In addition, 85 per cent of workers believe that colleagues take D&I seriously in the way that they behave and the things that they say, with line managers scoring 83.8 per cent and senior managers 71.5 per cent. It also shows that 91.5 per cent of people think those they work with are accepting of other people whatever their background.
“We are in a unique position working with hundreds of companies across all sectors, and collecting data that covers both diversity of staff and the culture of Irish workplaces,” said Caroline Cummins, managing director, ICFD. “Having such comprehensive and robust data on workplace diversity and inclusion culture in Ireland allows the Inclusion Scores to provide meaningful benchmarks and roadmaps to progress D&I in Ireland. The data shows valuable advances when steps are taken to address workplace challenges – what gets measured gets done, and we have the data that is fundamental to support this progress.
We are seeing huge leaps in creating and fostering inclusive workplace cultures
“We are seeing huge leaps in creating and fostering inclusive workplace cultures and evidence of this is that 100 per cent of organisations that we re-survey are shown to have improved Inclusion Scores by up to 10 per cent.
“Benchmarks give employers additional context to prioritise goals and allocate resources more effectively. Really importantly, for larger enterprises, integrating benchmarked comparisons will enhance their ability to monitor and report on culture, aligning with regulatory requirements.
“The most forward-thinking and sustainable organisations have EDI firmly on the agenda as a business priority – not only for the legal compliance, or the competitive advantage it brings, but because it is simply the right thing to do. Extensive research identifies EDI as being a key differentiator for better outcomes – with direct links to innovation, retention, productivity, engagement, reputation and more.”
Claire Murphy, head of fundraising and partnerships, LGBT Ireland, agrees. “LGBT Ireland is focused on making Ireland the best place in Europe to be LGBTQI+ and a huge part of this includes making workplaces more inclusive. Research shows that diverse teams working in an inclusive environment are more productive, engaged and create a greater impact. Benevity, a social impact platform, surveyed its business users and found that engaged employees are 21 per cent more productive and 75 per cent of employers found an increase in employee engagement after partnering to impact causes that their employees care about. Building a successful Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy has many benefits but in short, it’s not only good for your people, but also great for business.”
Progressive companies are now actively working with a number of active organisations, such as Ahead, which works with and for disabled people to shape inclusive and empowering educational and employment settings. As an example, in 2023, Ahead announced that 53 new graduate placements were supported through WAM, its paid and mentored work placement programme. In addition, 252 graduate interviews were organised and supported for graduates through WAM.
“In 2023, Ahead worked with numerous employers to provide paid and mentored WAM placements for graduates with disabilities, and these employers showed significant engagement in the WAM Programmes employer events,” commented Dara Ryder, chief executive, Ahead, in its annual report. “The team were also very proud to begin work on the development of a national Inclusive Employer Framework, a project that is expected to run until 2025.”
In the meantime, Ibec offers substantial resources to support workplaces with their inclusion practices at all stages of their journey. These are available to every company on its website, ibec.ie.