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New AESC Research Explores the Journey Toward Sustainable DEI
New research identifies how organizations around the world are creating competitive advantage through fairness, inclusion and belonging.
The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) presents AESC gathered insights from 52 interviews with executives around the world, selected for their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. An analysis of these interviews is the foundation of AESC’s report.
The report is broken into three main sections:
DEI Change Model
The eight-step journey to building an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible workplace where every individual feels a sense of belonging is adapted from Kotter’s Framework for Change:
- Inspire Action
- Build a Guiding DEI Coalition
- Align DEI & Business Strategy
- Spark a Movement
- Identify & Address Barriers
- Celebrate Short-Term Wins
- Sustain Momentum
- Create Lasting Change
The DEI Ecosystem
DEI is experienced in the context of one’s environment, relationships with those around them and the structure within which they work. In the report, we share examples of how leaders driving sustainable DEI change and their organizations’ work take a holistic approach by aligning internal and external DEI-informed business strategies.
- Workplace: Within the workplace, all leaders and employees can create an inclusive culture that enhances performance and innovation and strengthens retention.
- Marketplace: Organizations must align their internal DEI strategies with their external DEI engagement by weaving it into their customer, vendor and supplier strategies.
- Community: The greater community (broader culture, social norms and regulatory environment) is a key differentiator in the sustainability of a company’s DEI success.
DEI Lessons Learned
While analyzing the interviews, we found several overarching lessons:
- The positive impact of representation in the workforce is significant.
- Accountability and compliance are compelling motivators.
- A multifaceted approach is more likely to result in a workforce engaged in DEI and ultimately more equitable and inclusive.
- Strong policies that are accessible and most importantly, enforced, are important indicators of an organization’s commitment to DEI.
- Key metrics can help an organization direct its efforts where it will have the most impact.
- Transforming a workplace into one that is diverse, equitable and inclusive is not simple and there are no easy solutions.
- Sustainable DEI permeates an organization and is reinforced in the external environment.
To learn more about the report and its findings or to speak with AESC CEO Karen Greenbaum about the findings, contact Martha Clement Rochford, Chief Marketing Officer, AESC, by email at mrochford@aesc.org or by phone at + 1 (585) 789 0057.
About AESC
Since 1959, AESC has set the quality standard for the executive search and leadership consulting profession. AESC Members represent 16,000+ trusted professionals in 1,200+ offices, spanning 70+ countries. AESC Members are recognized experts providing consulting services in the areas of leaders, teams and culture to the world’s leading organizations. They leverage their access and expertise to place more than 100,000 executives each year in board of directors and C-level positions across industry sectors. Dedicated to strengthening leadership together, AESC and its members share a deep commitment to the highest quality standards in executive search and leadership consulting—for the benefit of clients and the profession. We Shape. Connect. Educate. Innovate. Learn more about us at aesc.org. For AESC’s career service connecting executive-level candidates to the world’s leading executive search firms, visit bluesteps.com.
