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Why diversity is good for business and equality

Kate Renner from Wisr shares some tips for business leaders on the best ways to promote diversity in the workplace.
Financy
May 16, 2022

“A company cannot thrive without a happy, well-nurtured workplace and that’s something which goes well beyond tokens.”

That’s the advice of Kate Renner head of employee experience at financial company Wisr, who shares some tips for business leaders on the best ways to promote diversity in the workplace. 

 

Having a truly diverse workplace involves looking into what prevents marginalised people from excelling. Unconscious biases are interwoven into a traditional workplace. It’s a business’ responsibility to identify and break these.

Simple initiatives such as allowing employees to work from home, providing adequate parental leave for both parents, and being flexible with employees’ work schedules ensure
that working mothers, carers, and people with disabilities can work around their priorities while still having a fulfilling work-life balance.

Diversity and inclusion should be embedded in everything a company does for its team to promote a genuinely equal workplace, beginning at the origin of the employee lifecycle.

At Wisr, that looks like running all job applications through a bias filter, preventing any personal preference or unconscious bias.

Many businesses are still using outdated evaluation processes to measure employees’ performance.

These leave room for personal preference and unconscious bias while overlooking worthy employees. Ensuring diversity and inclusion, a key feature of Wisr’s performance evaluation process is self-assessment and reflection.

Performance evaluations stem from the individual, accounting for 50% of the total performance evaluation, with the leader’s perspective offering the second half. For businesses reevaluating their process, I recommend structuring performance evaluations around targets set by the individual during their regular reviews.

It’s no secret that the gender pay gap is still prevalent. A step towards rectifying this involves benchmarking the remuneration of an open role based on externally purchased market data.

There is a set remuneration for roles, not for the people who fill them. At Wisr, that has contributed to our cultivation of exceptional talent whilst promoting a fair, unbiased remuneration process.

The best workplaces are those that are inclusive and psychologically safe. At Wisr, we seek talent from all corners of the world and walks of life. We encourage staff to be their authentic selves, setting the precedent that workspaces should be diverse and advocate for the uniqueness of each team member.

Being acknowledged for this culture is an honour, and as we strive to be part of the change, we hope to see other companies coming on board.

 

Financy is a fearless believer in equality, but we recognise that this socially responsible outcome is best achieved if diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are supported to measure maximum impact.

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Financy
May 16, 2022
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