DE&I initiatives—5 ways to integrate employees regardless of identity, title or location

Most companies that engage in consumer marketing acknowledge an established DE&I cultural calendar that includes Black History Month, Pride, Juneteenth, Women’s History Month and other significant observances. But it’s too often C-suite employees and staff in corporate HQs—who are statistically more likely to be white, cisgender and heterosexual—who benefit from brand internal communications efforts. For DE&I marketing and communications to truly create change, workers in other sites such as factories and retail, which statistically comprise more Black and brown individuals, need to be integrated. Here are five ways brands can ensure that workers of every identity at every level of the organization benefit from DE&I initiatives: Include all workers—including hourly, contractors and freelancers A significant number of workers in large-scale corporations are not salaried home-office employees. Because they don’t fall within traditional HR streams, they might be excluded from company-wide DE&I efforts and activations. Include everyone on every level of the company in all DE&I efforts, even if it means you have to reframe from the ground up how you communicate with staff. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here Integrate and compensate Employee Resource Groups Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), employee-led associations that focus on underrepresented communities, can help make the workplace more equitable by providing support and professional development. Companies should incorporate these groups’ insights into marketing and client conversations. For ERGs to be truly equitable and inclusive, they need participation from every level of your company, including the shop floor. Employees should also be compensated for their voluntary DE&I contributions, including participation in ERGs. Recognize that not everyone can self-identify In some areas of the country, employees may not feel safe self-identifying as LGBTQ+ or feel they can be vocal on issues around race or reproductive health care. Brands should therefore temper their messages for the environment they’re in, being sensitive to the fact that it may not be physically or psychologically safe to have a LGBTQ+ ERG or an open forum, for example. Remember that while Pride is celebrated nationwide, there are 27 states that lack thorough LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination laws, including Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Foster allyship Make sure that employees benefit from observances created on their behalf—such as Black staffers on Juneteenth. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here If a brand can’t close stores or factory sites for Juneteenth—now a federal holiday—it should at least present options to its self-identified staff for how they can spend the day. Maybe it will be a voluntary day off or, for non-identified staff, a team volunteer day. The key factor is ensuring that people on whom the moment is centering are truly centered. Don’t rely on your workforce communities to educate It is not respectful to ask Black, brown, Transgender and Gender Nonconforming workers or other underrepresented employees to take on the emotional bandwidth of educating white/cisgender peers. There are plenty of educational resources available to which employees can be directed. Remember that if you are bringing in external speakers, pay them an equitable fee. DE&I education is not charity work. True equity begins with an acknowledgment that the playing field is not level in many systemic ways, including within many internal corporate structures. Commemorating Pride or Juneteenth is a start, but make sure your DE&I efforts are truly open to all your staff along with your consumers.

DE&I initiatives—5 ways to integrate employees regardless of identity, title or location

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