10 Ways Your Business Can Improve Its DE&I Strategies

Whether you’re constantly improving your business’ DE&I strategies or you just don’t know where to start, there’s always more you can do. According to Voxburner research, 61% of Gen Zers have experienced gender-based stereotyping frequently, and it’s obvious that this needs to change. But what steps can you take both on a day-to-day basis and long term?

In a recent Voxburner+ report we discuss the brands that are embodying diversity and inclusivity, find out what Gen Z expect to see in their places of work and education and explore how your brand can make real, systemic change. Read on to find out 10 ways your business can improve its DE&I strategies.

1. Make all of your employees/customers feel safe and comfortable by providing ‘all gender’ toilets either as well as or instead of the binary ‘male’ and ‘female’ toilets. Newcastle University made this move way back in 2017, so what are you waiting for?! Bonus points: provide sanitary products/bins to all of your bathrooms. 
2. Add pronouns to your email signatures. 31% of Gen Z have been made to feel uncomfortable by an employer because of their gender and/or identity, and pronoun signatures are an easy and effective way for people to share how they identity from the beginning of their work/study journeys.
3. Educate your employees – this will contribute towards making real, lasting change. Take a look at Sephora if you want an example – they were accused of racial discrimination by signer SZA and responded by temporarily closing their doors and holding company-wide training. 
4. Call out gendered language whenever you hear it. ‘Guys’, ‘boys and girls’ and ‘lads’ can be offensive or upsetting to some, so take the initiative and call this out.
5. 46% of Gen Z say it’s important for them to work in a company that’s gender diverse, so make sure you put the work in to make this happen! Boards of governors or senior leadership teams made up solely of white, middle-aged men aren’t going to benefit anyone. 
6. Don’t just celebrate or platform a community just once a year – systemic change comes from long-lasting work. For example, releasing rainbow merchandise during Pride month without donating any profits to LGTBQ+ charities or supporting your LGBTQ+ employees ultimately won’t benefit this community in the long term. Donate money, talk to your employees and put in the work 365 days a year.
7. Engage with the communities you’re platforming in your campaigns! Involve them from creation to execution…after all, they’re the experts on their experiences. 
8. Make sure your key stakeholders are involved in your DE&I work. Financial investment and example-setting have the biggest impact when they come from business leaders, so make sure they’re all truly invested in your campaigns and strategies. 
9. Consider including additional genders on official documentation aside from ‘male’ and ‘female’. Many people don’t feel like that fall into these binary categories, so show them that you recognise them and make everyone feel comfortable at work/school. 
10. Equal pay. We don’t really need to say any more on that, do we?

You can read the full Diversity and Inclusivity | Focusing on Gender + Identity report on Voxburner+. Subscribe now to access the latest reports, exclusive stats and a network of leading youth marketers here.