Urgency to Implement Diversity & Inclusion Within Ontario Business, say HRPA Members
Data-backed Report By HRPA And Diversio Reveals D&I Insights + Recommendations
TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) and Diversio launch a first-of-kind Report that measures regulated Human Resource Professionals' perspectives and experiences with diversity & inclusion in Ontario business.
Called: Key Insights on Diversity and Inclusion: A Joint HRPA and Diversio Report, the Report identifies opportunities and gaps for implementing D&I programs in Ontario's businesses and offers specific solutions that can be immediately put into place. The Report is backed by data from a survey of over 800 HR Professionals, representing over 250 organizations, and over 20 business sectors in Ontario.
Louise Taylor Green, CEO of HRPA said, "A strong and fully integrated D&I program is simply the right thing to do. But we have found that saying it is 'right' is not enough – we need the data to demonstrate why investment is critical and then we need to back findings with action and agents for change."
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio said, "A general commitment to diversity & inclusion is not enough. Clients, customers, employees, shareholders – everyone expects organizations to make meaningful progress. The way to achieve this progress is to use hard data and metrics to analyze challenges and strategically intervene."
Five Key Findings
The research results and findings confirm what regulated HR Professionals have been calling for and, for many years; namely - that there is an urgent need to move forward with D&I programming and policy. Some of the standout results include:
- Diversity & inclusion is no longer a 'nice to have', it's a 'must do' and HR Professionals are primarily responsible for bringing D&I into the workplace. For example: 73% of consumers will stop purchasing from brands that do not support social justice, 9/10 consumers want brands to take a stand on equality, and 92% of employees expect their CEO to speak out on D&I.
- While HR Professionals work to advance D&I internally, they face their own challenges when it comes to inclusion. For example: 4/10 of all HRPA members who are people of colour have experienced bias from management, and 31% of members who have a disability do not feel fully accepted by their teams.
- HR Professionals have a unique understanding of what is happening across their organizations. For this reason, it is not surprising that when asked about D&I, HR Professionals provide a unique perspective on the continued prevalence of harassment and discrimination in the workplace: For example, 41% of HR Professionals report some degree of harassment and discrimination in their workplaces, while only 16% of all employees across Ontario businesses report the same.
- HR Professionals are essential partners in leading policy and programmatic changes within Ontario's organizations. Based on thousands of data inputs, they identified nine (9) areas where support is most needed, amongst those: Data collection, Employee engagement, Feedback culture, and Leadership diversity.
Data in Action
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio said, "For HR Professionals, their work has never been more important – or more complex – and they require the right data to drive meaningful and fast D&I change within their organizations. We know that what gets measured gets done and HR Professionals require the right tools and support to drive change in their organizations."
Three specific actions HRPA and Diversio are leading as a result of the data generated from this Report include:
- Inclusive Hiring Best Practices: This includes an outline for HR Professionals to ensure inclusive hiring practices that empower all groups to succeed in the interview process are in place. A Hiring Policy Toolkit will be made available in the near future.
- D&I Toolkit: The package of materials includes: Standard Code of Conduct, Zero Tolerance Policy, and members have discounted access to Diversio D&I technology.
- Training: HRPA and Diversio will provide unique training opportunities for HR Professionals and the business community, focused on: Unconscious Bias, Leadership D&I, Allyship and many other important topics.
Taylor Green said, "HRPA has a clear and defined vision for all the work we do; we believe Better HR Makes Business Better. HRPA has made a commitment to prioritize D&I and that is why we are rolling-out a comprehensive series of D&I programs, best practices, and recommendations based on a number of initiatives, including this Report."
About: Human Resources Professionals Association
The HRPA ensures that our 24,000 members and students have the most up-to-date tools and the advanced skills to lead our workplaces into the future. We regulate HR professionals in the public interest. Our members are held to the province's highest standards, so Ontario workplaces can trust us to help unlock business growth and optimize employee potential. Because the HRPA means better HR. For information on the profession visit: www.hrpa.ca
About: Diversio
Diversio is a people intelligence platform that measures, tracks, and improves diversity & inclusion. Our technology platform uses artificial intelligence to uncover bias, recommend solutions, and quantify results. We help our clients get to insights faster and quickly move to action. For information visit: www.diversio.com
SOURCE Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA)
Jordan Covens, Email: [email protected]
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