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All mouth and no trousers – why diversity without inclusion is worthless

Brussels Pride month has come to an end. The streets were filled with rainbow flags – and companies jumped on the occasion to celebrate diversity. In recent years, we’ve seen many companies striving to diversify their workforce and putting measures in place to ensure they’re hiring from a broader talent pool. While it is important to celebrate that companies are prioritizing more diverse teams, the end of Pride month is a good time to ask ourselves some tough questions. Are we giving as much attention to inclusion as we’re spending time on appreciating diversity? How are we taking care of new hires from marginalized communities after they join the company?

Diversity and inclusion are two interlinked concepts — but they are not the same thing. Diversity is about representation. Inclusion means that everyone in your diverse organization feels truly valued, treated fairly, and engaged in your culture. Let me explain the difference by talking about my own experience as a gay man.

PR is quite a gay-friendly industry. Yes, I’ve experienced the uncomfortable moments in interviews when asked about my partner – “What does she do?”. I have probably subconsciously censored myself in certain situations, but most of the time I would confidently refer to my partner as “he”. Even if there have been interviews with no return or follow-up, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t connected to me being gay.

One reason for the PR industry’s gay-friendly character might be the fact that it’s predominantly female. Research has shown that women are more willing to hire people from the LGBTQIA+ community. That said, my experience in making my way up the corporate hierarchy has probably been very similar to that of the talented women who hired me. Women in PR are overrepresented in middle manager roles.

I worked at many companies – agencies and client organizations – where the higher-level positions were still dominated by straight, cisgender men. The “boys’ club” mentality on some levels of the ladder gave me a feeling of not fitting in. It’s a terrible cliché, but networking – with colleagues or clients – often happens around a few beers talking about wives and kids. I always tried to adapt, but I never could stop myself from feeling that I wasn’t part of the club. Yes, I received praise for my compassion and care as a (gay) team leader, but at the same time these terms were also used as justifications for me not fitting the executive role. (Luckily, views on good leadership have changed.)

Let me be clear: I’m fully aware of certain privileges I have. I understand that the glass ceiling has been way thicker for people who identify with other parts of the LGTBQIA+ spectrum – especially the trans community – and for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, for example. The reason I’m sharing my experience is to make my point about inclusion. It’s not enough to create a diverse workforce; we need to be conscious about how our corporate culture excludes certain people. This requires auditing your culture, questioning it, and purposely breaking down barriers to inclusion. It’s not a quick fix: it’s about changing policies, processes, and, maybe most of all, being intentional and consistent in your daily behaviors as a leader. Here are five practical strategies that helped me as a leader on the journey to inclusive culture:

  • Embed inclusivity into your values: Your corporate values should not only reference diversity, but truly articulate inclusive behaviors – that way, they provide the solid foundation for defining actions. Values may seem simplistic, but in my experience, they’re the mantras that will help you navigate through tricky situations and take decisions that seem complicated.
  • Drive change through education: Education makes you and your employees aware of unconscious bias, gain new perspectives, and learn how to be an active ally. Invest in formal courses by expert trainers, but don’t overlook the power of your own people sharing experiences and knowledge – as long as they feel safe and willing to do so.
  • Foster a “speak-up” culture: This is my pet peeve. At Ketchum, our leadership team encourages open communication, and, more importantly, demonstrates that decisions can be reviewed when necessary. Your employees will not challenge the status quo or report misbehavior if they don’t see feedback being taken seriously
  • Practice inclusive leadership: I have advocated for showing vulnerability as a leader long before Brené Brown’s TED Talk. If you show up authentically, you model a safe environment where people will do the same. Empathy is that other key trait of inclusive leadership, but for some leaders it’s too abstract. My advice: curiosity will bring you to empathy – be curious about other perspectives, people’s experiences, and uniqueness.
  • Be honest and engage in dialogue: Employees will see through anything that is just a box-ticking exercise. You need to genuinely want to enhance inclusion for the long term. Again, it’s not a quick fix. Implementing change will be slower than you may have promised, and you’ll make mistakes. It’s your commitment and willingness to learn that will be your ‘trust buffer’ with employees. The real key to success is your diverse employees themselves: establish a DE&I Council, invite feedback, and give them the power to shape and make impact on the culture.

Fostering a truly inclusive workplace doesn’t happen overnight – but a strong starting point is being intentional and authentic about making change happen as you implement these strategies. So, when you’re hanging out your corporate rainbow flag for Pride next year, I hope you’ll be celebrating both your workplace diversity and your progress on inclusion.

Jeroen Fermie

Jeroen oversees the agency’s operations and ensures we have the right capabilities to deliver innovative and high-impact work for clients. He empowers the team to deliver on our mission of delivering work that matters by bringing together the different expertise and client service teams into an integrated communications consultancy.

Jeroen brings 15+ years of experience counselling senior executives across the globe through significant business initiatives such as M&A, restructuring, crisis, and rebranding.

Most recently, Jeroen was the Executive Director of Golin in Hong Kong, leading the firm’s corporate reputation practice. Prior to that, he served as GM for MSL, Executive Director for TBWA in Vietnam, and Communications Director Europe for Campbell’s.​

Contact:

Jeroen Fermie

Managing Director