The Case for Industry-Specific DE&I
There are strong reasons to tailor your culture, DE&I and leadership work to your country or region, or to your corporate cultural heritage. In any case, your sector will also determine what works, and how. Striking a balance is key.
With 25 years of growth, the DE&I field has developed a vast variety of networking opportunities. Local round tables, global initiatives, benchmarking clubs or projects promising ‘quality’ like labels, certifications, ratings or awards. Some of the largest DE&I networks in Europe are found on the national levels. This approach seems obvious as it provides a natural focus on regulatory aspects and enables companies to participate in agenda-setting while benefitting from publicity at the same time.
Discretely under the radar: confidential and concrete
Compared to all visible, if not promotional activities, sector-specific networks function differently. Contrary to promoting their exchange or achievements they often prefer discrete and confidential formats – sometimes even behind closed doors. In addition, industry stakeholders like associations or trade unions have adopted DE&I as a topic and launched studies that describe the current situation or journey as well as perspectives.
Decades of industry-specific DE&I
In the 2000s, key players in the European financial sector – in London and Frankfurt – already exchanged their DE&I experiences quite closely; although separately for investment and ‘other’ banking. In 2007, the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, several sector-specific D&I analyses were published including on European postal or the Telecommunication sectors. In this first decade of DE&I pioneering, these exchanges and reports provided a much-needed mix of safety and peer pressure, and stakeholders were more partners in crime than competitors.
In 2011, 13 executive women from the European CPG and Retail industry created an initiative aiming at driving ‘gender-balanced leadership’ in their sector which evolved into the large Lead network. The first initiative in the oil and gas industry, in 2017, also focused on gender, examining ‘attitudes about gender balance’ in that sector.
In 2016, savings and investment industry leaders thought that ‘progress on achieving greater diversity was taking too long’. Although individual companies were implementing effective initiatives, their success wasn’t shared within the industry or beyond. The resulting ‘Diversity Project’ aims at driving industry progress still today, including on the European level.
Addressing the specificities of a sector
In the meantime, many sectors have developed industry-specific networks which, unlike broader good practice platforms like diversity charters, look at the particular context, assumptions or limitations that co-determine the development of DE&I. In Insurance, for example, the high level of regulation creates a mind-set that looks at diversity in a different way than, e.g., the science-driven pharmaceutical or specialty chemicals industries.
Younger industries, like both tech and renewable energy sectors used to approach DE&I with the assumption of being open-minded, by generational default, and soon were shown that this was as dangerous as incorrect. Today, these sectors are struggling with diversity in leadership, flexible working conditions or cross-cultural collaboration in similar ways than other industries do.
Depending on their journeys, some sectors were taking more time to engage in industry-focused DE&I discourse. The Energy and construction sectors, e.g., embarked on their journeys in 2021 and 2023 respectively. The manufacturing and engineering sectors are feeling the need to explore DE&I beyond their CSR commitments and will probably join the landscape soon.
Determining the impact of industry and other contexts
While every sector determines certain aspects of a business area, from education to customer relations, this is one of several context factors. The regional or local context has very concrete influence whereas the inherited corporate culture with its implicit norms and unwritten rules will have vast impact on any DE&I, leadership or change initiative. Companies need to understand each of the perspectives, their interrelatedness and for sure, their intersections.
Selected further reading
First Diversity Position Paper of the European Federation of Employers’ Association
Business Europe, the EU-level platform for employers’ associations, has created its first position paper on Diversity Management at the European workplace. The ten pages summary calls out several drivers, advantages and approaches for reaching a diverse, inclusive and hence more successful business culture.
Women in Finance in the Gulf region: Similar picture, long journey
A new report by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Middle East has found that a majority of finance professionals believe their sector or function should be leading the way in improving the rate of gender diversity across the GCC region. However, the numbers do not suggest they will any time soon.
https://en.diversitymine.eu/women-in-finance-in-the-gulf-region-similar-picture-long-journey
