The Evolution of DEI: From Setbacks to Data-Driven Strategies

Photo by Ivan Samkov

Emerging from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) gained traction as laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and affirmative action came into effect, prohibiting discrimination in education and employment based on identities like race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. 

Early DEI efforts included diversity training, encounter groups, and the use of hiring tests. During this period, diversity training focused primarily on legal compliance and surface-level awareness. While encounter groups intended to improve race relations, their outcomes were mixed, with some White participants gaining insight into racial discrimination in America and others resisting a process in which they felt attacked. In addition, the implementation of hiring tests, designed to promote fairness, suffered from inconsistent enforcement and frequently overlooked deeply ingrained biases in recruitment processes. Despite well-intentioned motives, these approaches often oversimplified the complex nature of systemic inequality, relying instead on isolated interventions aimed at changing individual hearts and minds.

More recent efforts to address disparities such as all-staff implicit bias training and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) may promote understanding, but often fall short in actually changing explicit bias or behavior. Paradoxically, some instances of implicit bias training can backfire, hampering the advancement of people with marginalized identities. 

The failures of past efforts to effect real change, punctuated by legal battles and shifting cultural norms, continue to shape the evolution of DEI in America. While backlash, economic uncertainty, and DEI's politicization have cast doubts on its future, DEI remains a critical factor in attracting and retaining talent. We found that when employees believe their employer prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, they are 28% more likely to recommend their employer to a friend or colleague and 22% more likely to see themselves still working at their employer in two years' time compared to employees that don’t. Additionally, employers that demonstrate a commitment to getting DEI right financially outperform their peers. 

While the language used to describe DEI may vary (EDI, DEIA, DEIAB, IDEA, etc.), the primary goal remains the same—to create workplaces and communities where all people can thrive. In this article, we’ll clear up some common misconceptions and offer our take on the future of DEI.

DEI is Not a Corporate Culture War

According to the Pew Research Center, 56% of employed US adults believe increasing DEI at work is a good thing. However, opinions tend to be divided along demographic and political lines. This New York Times article attributes some of the recent resistance to DEI to an overemphasis on identity groups.

While recent media coverage suggests DEI is dying, citing recent layoffs of DEI executives across the country, we see things differently. The small and midsize organizations we work with are not scaling back their DEI efforts—in fact, the majority have seen significant gains over the past few years as they’ve prioritized employee needs and implemented their data-informed action plans. For example, between 2021 and 2023, the City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation saw improvements in their employee survey scores for staff overall (+12%), women (+22%), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) (+29%), employees with disabilities (+26%), parents of kids under 18 (+21%), and non-managers (+18%). In addition, ArtsWave, Bethany House Services, FEG Investment Advisors, Freestore Foodbank, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Curiosity, Great Parks of Hamilton County, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and The Ion Center all saw improvements in either their employee survey scores, organizational assessment, or both in their most recent certification cycle. 

Inevitably, DEI will become increasingly important to business leaders in the coming years. For starters, it’s what job seekers want: according to LinkedIn, 76% of employees and job seekers said diversity was important when considering a job offer. By 2045, the majority of the workforce will be Black and Latine/Hispanic. Additionally, women now outnumber men in the college-educated workforce. In order to serve changing markets, organizations will need diverse representation at all levels, as well as the insights and tools to work together and make decisions effectively. However, the lack of a universally accepted standard for effective DEI practices can leave employers and employees feeling stuck—it's not always clear where and how to start. A data-driven approach to DEI can provide leaders with a roadmap—and ultimately, a better return on their investments.

Building and Supporting the Best Teams of Tomorrow

In light of the overturn of affirmative action, many employers are rethinking their DEI strategy. It's worth noting that unlike higher education, the practice of hiring based on race or sex has never been allowed. When executed effectively, DEI should broaden opportunities for those with marginalized identities without limiting opportunities for others. Ultimately, the creation of fairer systems that mitigate bias, foster transparency, and hold all employees—leaders included—accountable to the organization's mission and vision benefits all stakeholders.

For example, when it comes to recruiting talent, employers can proactively build relationships with organizations that serve marginalized communities, such as HBCUs and disability advocacy organizations, by providing value—for example, paid internships, scholarships, and sponsorship. In doing so, they expand their understanding—and ultimately, broaden their pool of potential candidates. They may also choose to require minimum representation in all final candidate slates, making sure to provide hiring managers with the time and resources needed to source candidates. Through the implementation of these kinds of workplace systems, employers are able to effectively cultivate a more diverse workforce. Equity in the workplace translates to the deliberate removal of barriers to participation and progress, putting your organization’s values into action and ensuring your organization consistently thrives by attracting top talent and adapting to the evolving needs of the workforce.

If there’s one thing about traditional workplace systems that will ultimately lead to an organization's downfall, it’s the assumption that everyone has a universally shared experience. Employers dedicated to a data-centric DEI strategy are cultivating more robust cultures and relationships, fueled by deliberate people-focused strategies and innovative tactics that enhance employee experiences. Although disaggregated demographic data cannot establish or enforce quotas, it holds substantial value in understanding and improving organizational culture. In contrast, organizations that neglect to respond to the unique needs of their employees will likely struggle to stay competitive. 

Which DEI Solutions are Worth the Investment?

Understanding your workforce isn’t much different than understanding your target market. Determining what your employees need to succeed takes the right data, insights, guidance, and tools. The key ingredient, though, is executive buy-in. Overcoming resistance from the C-suite can be challenging. However, if you understand their objections, you can build a compelling case that positions employees as a top stakeholder. Focusing on structural change, rather than personal responsibility, will not only lead to more meaningful outcomes, but can also mitigate any perceived threats to people’s positive sense of self.

Now is a great time to revisit the DEI conversation with apprehensive leaders because there’s plenty of new data available about what’s working and what’s not. Otherwise, maintaining inefficiencies of the status quo is sure to result in lower employee trust and higher turnover rates. Even if past DEI efforts haven’t panned out, you can still achieve meaningful outcomes. It’s okay to let go of ineffective approaches to DEI. Workforce demographics and expectations are changing, so it’s wise to adopt a systems change approach sooner rather than later. 

Evolve Your DEI Strategy and Systems

Leaders that resist DEI efforts often don’t realize that they practice the tenets of DEI on a daily basis. At the end of the day, promoting fairness, providing for your team’s needs, and opening pathways to success are good for business. That’s exactly why the best courses of action will rise to the top and set people-centered organizations apart from the rest. DEI isn’t dying—it’s evolving.

Taking a data-driven approach now will give your organization’s leaders everything they need to make better decisions to create a best-in-class employee experience—providing a competitive advantage in a race to the top. 

Ready to explore your next steps? Take a look at what you can do with an Ellequate membership or contact our team today.

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How to Promote Mental Health in the Workplace

Photo by Jopwell

A survey from the American Psychiatric Association shows that only about half of American workers say they are comfortable talking about their mental health in the workplace, and more than one-third are worried about job consequences if they seek mental health care. More than one-quarter of workers are unsure how to access mental health care through their employer. Our own data confirms that while 95% of employers provide employees with access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), nearly 1 in 10 employees struggle to access mental health care services. These findings illustrate that more needs to be done when developing strategies to support the mental health of our employees. 

Providing sufficient mental health solutions and resources in the workplace means making them accessible and affordable while authentically and actively encouraging employees to use them. Because mental health stigma is so pervasive in workplace culture, leaders need to set a new tone by modeling behaviors that promote well-being at the top. It’s also important to recognize that while there are globally-recognized solutions, mental wellness is a highly personal experience and should include individualization where possible. 

How Can Employers Meet the Growing Demand for Mental Health Support?

While influences on mental health live both inside and outside of the workplace, employers have an opportunity to impact the trajectory and outcomes of well-being for their employees. If you’re familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the principle is the same: deficiency needs like safety, health, and employment need to be mostly fulfilled before people can think about growth needs like belonging, connection, and self-esteem. Mental health is among the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid, but since there can be so many barriers to achieving and maintaining mental wellness, these needs are often deprioritized. Many people sacrifice their own mental health to take care of the needs of others or, if funds are limited, prioritize food, shelter, and transportation. Creating a culture of belonging through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work and talking about the mental health solutions available to employees are two ways you can help make those benefits seem safe and accessible to use.

For example, to support the well-being of their employees, one of our clients provided on-site mental health support for around $80 per session—but few employees scheduled appointments. Why? Employees shared in a listening session that while they would like to take advantage of the benefit, they couldn't afford the fee. The intent was on the right track, but it didn’t make the desired impact. 

Understanding how best to support the mental health of employees can be challenging. Below, we explore five essentials to creating a culture where all people can thrive.

5 Essentials to Meeting Mental Health Needs

As Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote in a press release last October, “We have an opportunity and the power to make workplaces engines for mental health and well-being.” Along with his statement, he released a 5-point framework for improving workplace mental health. The Surgeon General’s Five Essentials for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being include protection from harm, connection and community, work/life harmony, mattering at work, and opportunity for growth. 

Using this framework, we’ll outline some best practices and policy guidelines that can support the mental health and well-being of your employees. We’ll also use original data from our employee survey to demonstrate how these issues can disproportionately impact marginalized groups. 

1. Protection from Harm

In the workplace, the two human needs of safety and security call for protection from both physical and psychological harm as well as financial security and job security. While OSHA grants employees the right to a physically safe workplace, psychological safety is a much newer concept—and much harder to establish and monitor. In fact, our data show that 16% of employees do not feel safe bringing up tough issues with their employer. 

Professor Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” We recommend co-creating team norms with your team’s input to promote inclusion and psychological safety. Such norms might look like “rules of engagement” for fair conversation, guidelines for giving and receiving feedback, expectations around risk-taking and making mistakes, and strategies for conflict resolution.

For many employees, bullying and harassment can threaten psychological safety in the workplace. In fact, 23% of employees in our data have reported threats or humiliation, and 6% of employees have reported sexual harassment. Of those who did not report bullying or harassment, 23% said they did not trust the process to be fair, 22% said the behavior stopped on its own, 16% confronted it on their own, and another 16% thought it might hurt their career. As leaders work to create a workplace that’s free from harassment and discrimination, it’s important to establish clear reporting processes and put accountability measures in place to address it when it does occur.

2. Connection and Community

The human needs of connection and community translate to social support and belonging in the workplace. When employees can fully agree with the statement  “I feel respected and valued by coworkers and by my manager,” you know these mental health needs are met.

To promote social support and belonging in your workplace culture, we recommend sponsoring Employee Affinity Groups (EAG) or Employee Resource Groups (ERG). The group format you choose will depend on your organization’s culture and structure: ERGs include employees with shared interests, and EAGs provide a safe space for employees with a shared identity. Members can coordinate professional development activities, identify workplace issues, and advocate for change within the organization. It’s important to note that both types of groups require a committed budget, adequate resources, decision-making authority, and support from senior leadership to be successful.

3. Work-Life Harmony

The advent of remote work has made it much easier for many companies to accommodate their employees’ mental health needs of flexibility and autonomy. However, that’s not always the case; mission-driven organizations in particular struggle with employee burnout, which also stems from a lack of these essentials. While 85% of employers report that they offer flexible work arrangements, 16% of employees in our data set think their commitment would be questioned if they used them. 

Hybrid, remote, and other flexible work arrangements are especially important for women, BIPOC employees, and those who serve as primary caregivers. When implemented consistently and at scale, these policies can reduce the impact of structural inequalities. However, if flexible work policies are not intentionally made available and promoted to all eligible employees, you can exacerbate inequity through proximity bias. Proximity bias is the tendency to favor employees that are physically closer to the organization and its leaders. You can avoid this by measuring outcomes instead of facetime, tracking and comparing the promotion rates of remote/hybrid employees and those working on-site, and establishing team norms that promote inclusion. For hourly and part-time employees, resources for requesting days off and swapping shifts can provide this flexibility.

4. Mattering at Work

When employees are given the tools they need to succeed at work, they are more likely to feel respected and valued. Our analysis of over 6,000 Ellequate survey responses revealed a significant relationship between having multiple marginalized identities (e.g. being Black, having a disability, being a woman) and having more negative perceptions of mattering at work.

Providing employees with the resources they need to succeed is essential to creating a sense of shared purpose. Compared to 12.6% of staff overall, 26% of Black employees with a disability and 28% of White employees with a disability report that they do not have the information, training, and resources they need to do their job well readily available. Black women with children report similar experiences 21% of the time, along with 15% of Black employees overall, and 13% of women. When employees do not have what they need to contribute in a meaningful way, they are more likely to experience stress in the workplace that affects their personal life and less likely to feel safe bringing up problems and tough issues at work.

Similarly, 30% of White employees with a disability and 23% of Black employees with a disability do not believe their manager recognizes their contributions and achievements at work, compared to 10% of employees overall. When employees feel appreciated, recognized, and engaged by their managers, they are more likely to experience psychological safety, as well as feel a sense of value and meaning at work.

To promote dignity and provide a larger sense of purpose, we recommend making paid training and leadership opportunities available to employees at all levels. Change and uncertain times can be destabilizing for both individuals and organizations; giving your employees the opportunity to reskill, upskill, and build resilience to change on the job creates mutually beneficial outcomes. Investing in employee development increases retention, and your team will have more skills to help the organization weather the unpredictable.

5. Opportunity for Growth

The final essential for workplace mental health, opportunity for growth, relates to the human needs of learning and accomplishment. According to our data, 7% of employees feel like they've missed out on a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead because of an identity like race, gender, etc., and 8% disagree or strongly disagree that people from all cultures and backgrounds have equitable opportunities to succeed. 

Though traditional performance management techniques are outdated and disliked by both employees and supervisors, conducting effective performance evaluations and providing feedback on a consistent basis (at least weekly) are the secrets to fostering individual growth in the workplace. Standardizing the performance review process with rubric-based evaluations can help mitigate bias, provide clearer performance standards and criteria, and help ensure assessments remain objective. Finally, equip your managers by training them ahead of implementation to communicate expectations, collaborate on professional development goals with direct reports, and measure progress over time.

Plan to Promote Your Employees’ Mental Health 

While the fundamental human needs that foster well-being are universal, it is crucial to recognize that your team members may require tailored mental health benefits and effective communication to cater to their individual situations. While mental health benefits undoubtedly contribute to addressing overarching concerns like burnout, there are several other workplace issues that also warrant attention. The most effective approach is to evaluate the specific needs of your team and develop a strategy accordingly to address those needs. 

In our exploration of the employee experience, we have discovered how having multiple marginalized identities can impact well-being. One area of interest is pay equity, where we discovered how a lack of pay transparency can negatively impact feelings of belonging and psychological safety at work, specifically for Black women. This finding highlights the importance of considering the unique experiences of individuals with intersecting identities and their impact on various aspects of the workplace. We are excited to announce that an upcoming report will delve into the intersectional experiences of Black employees and shed light on how they differ from other demographic groups. Stay tuned for this insightful analysis that will broaden our understanding of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. (Sign up for our newsletter to get notified when it’s out!)

Whether you're looking to promote employee well-being, increase diversity in your hiring practices, create a more inclusive workplace culture, or gain a competitive advantage in a race to the top, we can help you get there faster and more effectively. An Ellequate membership puts employee experience and workplace systems at the heart of your DEI strategy, while our employer certification provides a rigorous and data-driven standard of excellence that measures both employee experience and workplace systems.

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Beyond Buzzwords: How SMBs Can Embed DEI in Their DNA

Photo by Yan Krukau

Despite the rapid growth of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as an industry in recent years, there is a lack of standardized practice to ensure its effectiveness. This can make it challenging for small and midsize employers to find the right approach to tackle complex and persistent workplace issues. The task of implementing DEI strategies may seem too daunting or costly for these organizations, leaving them unsure of where to start.

We’ve heard stories from leaders that have paid consultants tens of thousands of dollars to help them achieve DEI goals, only to receive a generic report with high-level insights. As a result, they end up with little to show for their investment—no clear action steps and no meaningful outcomes. This lack of progress can be frustrating and demotivating for teams who are genuinely committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplaces.

While larger employers can afford to spend billions of dollars each year on diversity training–with little evidence of progress—and employ Chief Diversity Officers (who are often given insufficient autonomy and resources), small and midsize employers need to make every investment count. They are a critical driver of the U.S. economy, employing over 46% of the workforce. With limited people, time, and money, they must carefully choose DEI strategies that not only align with their needs, goals, and budget, but lead to tangible results. 

In this article, we'll explore practical strategies and investment options that can help small and midsize employers get started on the path to building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Where to Start?

When embarking on a DEI journey, small and midsize employers often focus on the “D” first, believing they need to increase the diversity of their team before they can start creating structural and cultural change. However, this approach fails to acknowledge the diversity that already exists within their organization. For instance, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, and ability are identities that can often be invisible. 

Starting with an assessment of your current team's needs and culture is a smart move for a couple of reasons. First, not only can it reveal issues that you might not be aware of but it can also help you to prioritize growth opportunities so that you can maximize the impact of your efforts. Obtaining clarity on what needs to change as well as why presents opportunities to show your team you're committed to creating an equitable work environment. Second, doing so can save you from making the mistake of hiring individuals with diverse backgrounds as a primary solution to achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion in your organization. This won't solve structural inequalities. In fact, if you bring in new talent without first addressing underlying issues, it is likely that they will feel unsupported and ultimately leave. 

DEI isn’t just about representation: it’s important to address structural inequality before people with marginalized identities join your team. At Ellequate, we focus on the “E” first to build the foundation required to support a diverse and inclusive workplace. 

(Re)Defining DEI

While 79% of organizations planned to increase their DEI budget in 2022, one study found that "roughly 80 percent of companies are just going through the motions and not holding themselves accountable," which some would call “diversity dishonesty.” Your organization can avoid this costly, reputation-destroying approach by getting clear on why you’re doing this work, what success looks like for you, and how you’re going to achieve it. Remember, diversity, equity, and inclusion are outcomes of intentional efforts to create a more fair and just workplace—they are not programs or initiatives. 

Here’s how we define DEI at Ellequate:

Diversity refers to the range of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives represented within your workforce. An organization with a diverse workforce is accountable to the unique needs of its stakeholders, especially those with marginalized identities. 

Equity recognizes that past and current injustices must be addressed through the dismantling and rebuilding of systems to promote fairness and well-being for all individuals, regardless of their background and/or identities.

Inclusion is about creating a culture where difference is not just tolerated, but welcomed and appreciated. When an environment is inclusive, all stakeholders—including those with marginalized identities—feel respected and valued.

Again, we focus on equity first because we believe it’s the foundation and prerequisite for diversity and inclusion. 

There isn’t necessarily a wrong way to interpret these values as long as it aligns with the outcomes you aim to achieve. Ellequate Advisor Cherrie Davis doesn’t use the words “DEI programs” or “DEI initiatives” because these are short-lived, and they can compartmentalize the work into specific departments or committees. Once you make this commitment as an organization, you should be able to assess every decision you make through the lens of your DEI values. Or, as Cherrie sometimes says, “humanizing systems.” She’s optimistic about changing workplace systems and cultures; Cherrie believes that “we will live up to our potential to cultivate an ecosystem that thrives because of our diversity.”

Our highest performing Leaders In Workplace Equity fully embody their DEI values, integrating them into the fabric of their organization across different departments and systems. They understand that DEI isn’t a separate department or an individual function, like HR or accounting, but a set of values, norms, and expectations that extend into every area of the organization.

What Does Your Existing Team Need?

Now that we've established the importance of assessing the needs of your current team, let's dive into how to go about it. For small and midsize employers, starting small and focused makes a lot of sense. However, it's important to avoid the pitfall of picking and choosing “isms” to address first. For example, focusing only on gender or race ignores the reality that people hold multiple identities and often experience compounded discrimination. For example, the experiences of BIPOC women are often very different than those of white women and BIPOC men. Addressing one form of oppression requires addressing all forms of oppression.

Your overarching strategy has to begin with an emphasis on uncovering inequity so you can create better experiences for everyone on your team. When you make assumptions about employee experience or you start with an approach that is too siloed, you run the risk of unintentionally minimizing employees with other shared identities. We’ve seen leaders prioritize much needed efforts to improve the experiences of Black employees in the interest of promoting racial equity and then learn from survey results that their Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander (AAPI) employees feel left behind.

We’ve created an employee survey and organizational assessment that work together to help you understand how your systems impact your people—including employees with marginalized identities—showing you exactly where to prioritize your efforts to have the greatest impact. A comprehensive assessment can also be a great way to gauge employee sentiments about DEI values and start conversations about your organization’s culture. 

It can be tempting to make decisions based on what you see other organizations doing. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to DEI, and the strategies and techniques that have worked for others might not be the best fit for your team. Again, the best strategy for your organization is one that’s focused on meeting your team’s unique needs.

Make Small Changes for Big Impact

Once you understand what your employees are experiencing and how your workplace systems either promote equity or create unintentional barriers, you can set goals and take incremental steps toward transformative change. We’re not aiming for “better than before,” but above and beyond what they have experienced in the past. No strategy that was custom-built for your team should seem “too big” for your organization to handle.

You can do a lot of this work by rethinking systems and processes, which doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. However, it will take time and commitment. Common areas where SMBs create change include their benefits and total compensation package, workplace policies, leadership style, manager training, professional development, and more.

Smaller teams do have some advantages when it comes to DEI work: with fewer people, it’s easier to create personal connections, make evidence-based decisions quickly, and execute new processes with consistency. Most SMB leaders can also make decisions without having to consider other stakeholders. The way we see it, SMBs have the agility and the human touch to lead the workplace equity revolution. 

Get the Data You Need to Embed DEI

If you’ve already had a conversation or two with your leadership team about adopting DEI values or developing a strategy for workplace equity, you’re ready to get started! The next step is to find out what your team needs. 

An Ellequate membership helps small business and nonprofit leaders access data-driven insights into how their employees feel and what they need. Our platform shows you which employees aren’t receiving enough support and what changes you can make to your workplace systems to help them thrive. Many employers are thrilled to discover that meaningful changes require smaller than expected investments of time and money—resulting in an unprecedented ROI. 

In addition, your organization's efforts can have a profound impact on achieving a greater purpose. Our platform helps us collect and analyze aggregated employee survey and organizational assessment data, which allows us to identify what works for specific groups with shared identities across organizations of all sizes and industries. The collective efforts of your organization and others across the country will influence tomorrow's best practices for equity in the workplace.

Don’t just invest in DEI—invest in data-driven strategies that lead to measurable outcomes. Learn more.

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Supporting Employees in a Post-Roe World

Photo by Uriel Mont

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing the constitutional right to abortion, the impact on health, productivity, and the lives of the workforce continues to unfold. It will take years to quantify the many ways this lack of legal protection is affecting the health, productivity, and lives of our workforce. While it is widely recognized that women’s lives are put at risk when they don’t have access to safe and legal abortion, it is critically important that employers understand that the impact doesn’t end there. 

State anti-abortion laws don’t just affect women who are pregnant: they can create barriers for any person who can give birth, including trans employees and women who need specific procedures or medications due to illness—as well those who depend on them as primary caregivers and/or essential workplace contributors. Besides state abortion bans, the biggest barriers to reproductive health care are low wages and insufficient health care coverage. That means that the employees who need the most support post-Roe—especially low-wage employees and women of color—are the ones who are being left behind.

Below, we’ll explore some of the ways workplace systems create barriers to accessing reproductive health care and how to promote a healthy, supportive, equitable work environment for all employees.

Barriers to Reproductive Health Care

Understanding how best to support the well-being of employees, especially those with marginalized identities, can be challenging. Navigating reproductive health care benefits can be a complex process in particular. The following provides an overview of some of the workplace systems that can create barriers to abortion access:

Lack of Health Care Coverage

Offering a comprehensive health care plan only benefits those who qualify—in most cases, full-time regular employees. This means that the most vulnerable employees often don’t receive the support they need. It’s also common for comprehensive health care plans to only cover “medically necessary” abortions and not those that are sought for other reasons, such as personal choice or fetal abnormalities. Of course, in some states, insurance companies are banned from covering abortion services altogether.

What you might not know is that abortion laws can also lead to the restriction of certain medications, even for employees who aren’t pregnant. Medications used to treat arthritis, cancer, and gynecological conditions like endometriosis are also used to provide medication abortions. Care providers and pharmacists have become extremely cautious about controlling access to these medications in anti-abortion states since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Infringement of Privacy and Autonomy

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, some companies were quick to announce that they would cover travel expenses for employees seeking an abortion out of state. However, it’s important to note that the stigma of abortion may deter employees from using benefits even when they’re available. When employers offer funds for abortion travel expenses, they may require employees to disclose their reasons for seeking an abortion, as well as where and when they plan to have the procedure. This can be particularly problematic for employees who live in areas where abortion services are limited or stigmatized. Employees may not want to disclose this information to their employer out of fear it will impact their job security or career advancement opportunities.

Additionally, employers may require employees to use specific transportation providers or book their travel through certain channels, which can further compromise their privacy. In some cases, an employer may even require documentation or receipts related to the employee's travel, which can be a breach of their medical privacy.

Access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is a fundamental right, and individuals should be able to access these services without fear of judgement or retaliation from their employer. By requiring employees to go to their employer for abortion travel expenses, it creates a power dynamic that can be exploitative and may lead to discrimination, harassment, or other negative consequences.

While employers offering funds to cover the travel expenses of abortion may seem like a supportive gesture, it can have unintended consequences that infringe upon an employee's privacy and autonomy. 

Low Wages, Lack of Benefits

Even employers that outwardly support abortion rights can create barriers through insufficient pay and limited access to benefits. According to the Guttmacher Institute, low-income individuals are more likely to experience unintended pregnancies and may face more barriers to accessing contraceptive services and health care in general. Lack of access to abortion care can have severe health and economic consequences, particularly for those who may already face systemic disadvantage and discrimination.

Low-wage employees often do not have access to benefits like PTO or flexible work arrangements. This can make it difficult to schedule appointments, access healthcare facilities, or recover from procedures without facing negative consequences such as lost wages, reduced job security, or disciplinary action. Furthermore, lack of flexibility in scheduling can create logistical challenges for employees who need to access reproductive healthcare services that have limited availability or require travel. This can create additional stress and financial burden for vulnerable employees.

Support of Anti-Abortion Legislation

One of the most insidious reproductive healthcare barriers that employers are at least partially responsible for is anti-abortion legislation itself. Some employers directly advocate for or support anti-abortion legislation by lobbying lawmakers, contributing to political campaigns, or engaging in other forms of political activism. This can have a significant impact on the legislative process, particularly in states where the political climate is conservative or where employers have significant financial resources or political influence.

In addition, employers may indirectly contribute to anti-abortion legislation by supporting or funding organizations or groups that work to restrict access to abortion. For example, an employer may contribute to a religious organization or political action committee that opposes abortion rights, which can in turn influence legislative efforts to restrict access to abortion. In fact, at least 15 of the companies that pledged to cover abortion travel expenses in 2022 also gave money to PACs supporting anti-abortion candidates, effectively helping to pass these restrictive laws. 

What Employers Can Do

Even employers with the best of intentions may find that their policies leave some employees behind. Supporting your employees’ reproductive health care decisions requires more than a couple of quick adjustments. It’s your responsibility to assess every part of your business for alignment with equitable values and overall integrity.

Take the following steps to start the process:

Know your state’s laws. 
Right now, state abortion laws run the gamut from requiring employers to cover abortion procedures in health insurance packages or provide information about them (CA, IL, HI, MD, NY) to criminalizing abortion along with “aiding and abetting” abortion recipients (TX, OK). To make it more complicated, laws regarding employer accountability for abortion services are constantly changing. The only way to make sure you’re in full compliance with state and federal laws is to consult with legal counsel.

Assess your policies.
We’ve shown how pay, workplace policies, and an organization’s giving practices can impact employees’ access to reproductive health care. Creating a human-centered workplace means supporting an employee’s right to make reproductive health care decisions with their doctor, not dictating which services they can choose from. To identify barriers that might limit access for your most vulnerable employees, put yourself in their shoes and ask: “What happens if I need abortion care?” What are my options, and what steps will I need to take?”

“Ideally, companies should make this available as easily as possible and as broadly as possible,” said Loyola Law School professor Brietta R. Clark in an NBC News article, “without someone having to reveal private information about their specific medical condition or treatment.” Remember that women of color and low-wage employees often have limited access to resources: paying a living wage and prioritizing policies that provide access to paid time off and other flexible work arrangements is critical for these groups. In addition, if abortion care is covered by your health insurance plan, consider extending benefits to part-time employees.

Help employees navigate health care benefits.
Navigating insurance plans can be tricky, so supporting your employees means making sure they know what benefits are available and how to access them. Send communications about how to get help with choosing a plan just before open enrollment begins, and make sure your HR team has the time and resources to answer all of their questions. If you’re in a state with abortion restrictions, you might want to create some additional communications reminding employees what kinds of assistance you offer.

Give with integrity.
If your company gives to political campaigns or PACs that are “pro-business,” take the time to find out what other policies or issues those campaigns support. Consider withdrawing your support from candidates advocating for restrictive abortion laws. You might also think about giving to local abortion funds, nonprofits that support women’s health and reproductive health, political advocacy groups, and other causes focused on creating equity in your community.

Create a health care travel fund.
If an abortion travel benefit sounds like the best solution for your employees, consider including it in a health care travel fund that covers any kind of medical service that isn’t available locally. That way you can protect your employees’ privacy while providing support to other employees who may also need it.

You’ll want to develop clear guidelines for employees who wish to access the travel fund that include information on how to apply for funding, what expenses are covered, and any other relevant information.

Ensure that all information related to the travel fund is kept confidential. This may include limiting access to information to only those individuals who need to know. Some organizations outsource their travel funds to third parties so their employees’ information isn’t stored in company databases or accessible to the HR team. Finally, provide education and resources to employees to ensure that they are aware of the travel fund and how to access it.

A Holistic Approach to Well-Being

It’s understandable that employers want to find ways to support their employees in a post-Roe world. However, providing access to reproductive health care is just one example of how you can build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. 

Creating a workplace that works for everyone requires a tailored plan that is data-driven and human-centered. It’s important to have a nuanced understanding of who your employees are and what they need, taking into account their lived experiences and perspectives.

Our prescriptive analytics platform is the only one in the market that examines the intersection of an organization’s operational systems and employee experience to create tailored recommendations that lead to measurable outcomes. With an Ellequate membership, employers of all sizes can build data-driven DEI strategies, access 1:1 guidance and support, and track progress with easy-to-use action planning tools—all on their own timeline.

Even with limited time and resources, you can develop an effective DEI strategy. Learn how your organization can achieve meaningful results.

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Employees Should Be Your #1 Stakeholder—Here’s Why

Photo by Christina Morillo

It may seem like the Great Resignation is old news at this point, especially with a global recession on the horizon. But the mass exodus we saw in early 2021 was just the leading edge of a big shift in workplace culture. Essence and Fortune have both reported that up to one third of workers still plan to leave their jobs despite the threat of recession, and burnout rates now match what they were at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Employees are demanding big changes, including lighter workloads, more caring leadership, flexibility, and better benefits. 

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss these requests because of what it might cost, not just financially but also when considering productivity. What executives and HR teams are really facing is a crisis of priorities. Making the shift to put employees first is a huge undertaking, but it has proven to be a successful strategy for business growth in the long term. In this blog, we’ll take a look at why an employee-first values system is effective, some examples of how this has worked for different organizations, and how to navigate this shift in five steps.

A Crisis of Priorities

Traditional business models put the customer first: “the customer is always right” is so ingrained in U.S. commerce that it may as well be our national motto. The underlying assumption is that making customers happy should create enough revenue to make everyone else happy—but clearly that that isn’t how it usually works out. The only other party with nearly as much sway at larger companies is shareholders, while nonprofits tend to prioritize their donors and grant funders. 

The question becomes: if employees are vying against customers, shareholders, donors, executives, and others for the same dollars and resources, what do you sacrifice or reallocate to grant them more support? But this question doesn’t account for the incalculable cost savings and efficiency companies see when employees are healthy and adequately supported. Your system of priorities and values can be flexible, and it’s not a zero-sum game.

Some of the best examples actually come from big conglomerates of the industrial age. Johnson & Johnson has a legacy of putting employees first. In the past, by providing food and first aid onsite long before anyone else had thought to do this. Today, by offering great benefits like parental leave and childcare. As a result, it has outlived many other companies that were founded around the same time. In contrast, General Electric focused more on creating competitive value propositions and innovations, effectively putting the customer first. They found that customers’ immediate preferences didn’t always match up with the most valuable solutions. The rising costs of innovating with newer technology outpaced the financial strategies they used to fund R&D, and in 2022, GE announced its plan to split into three smaller companies.

How To Invest in Your People

The same principles that worked for J&J and GE apply to companies of every size and scale. To reap the benefits of putting employees first across your organization, you will need to look at your plans in the long term and shift some of your priorities. 

Follow these five steps to create better all-around outcomes by putting your employees first:

1. Understand their needs.
To make a real difference with your team, you need to see from their perspective so you can understand both what they need most urgently and what’s most important to them. These can be two very different things, and it can vary among different groups of employees. This Fast Company article presents a framework to evaluate if you’re happy at work based on five factors: people, value, impact, role, and compensation. You can use the same framework to develop questions and uncover employee sentiments.

Our prescriptive analytics platform pairs a detailed employee survey with an organizational assessment to determine what changes are likely to make the biggest improvement for different groups. For example, in order to meet client demand, a manufacturing company we worked with started requiring their team to work on Saturdays. Our survey showed that employees felt they had no work/life balance: they were burned out and didn’t feel the schedule was sustainable. Making Saturdays optional has begun to restore employees’ energy and job satisfaction, and company leadership has started exploring other ways to increase productivity. However, if employees had been seen as the primary stakeholder from the beginning, the plan to scale the company may have been approached in a different way.

2. Evaluate other priorities.
Remember those other priorities we talked about that compete with employees’ needs and wellbeing—customers, shareholders, and donors? Once you know what your employees need, you can re-evaluate specific policies, processes, and priorities that might be getting in the way. Even values like corporate social responsibility and commitments to your community and environment can outrank employees for time, budget, and resources. The idea is not to de-prioritize these other values and outcomes, but to re-envision what it might look like to achieve them with a strategy that also highly values your employees. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean making sacrifices, but it could mean you have to get creative and find some alternate solutions. In the nonprofit world, donors and grantmakers like to offer restricted funds so they can point to specific projects and outcomes they funded directly. Unfortunately, paying staff and funding basic operations aren’t usually high priorities for donors. The overall effect is that nonprofit employees are often asked to work for low wages and few benefits. With some strategic planning, these same organizations have an opportunity to guide donors in redefining their traditional approach to metrics. In doing so, we can build a compelling case for the exponential impact a donor can have when they shift from the storytelling of supporting a single program’s success to instead showcasing the far-reaching implications of investment in hiring more people to scale the work, retaining effective leaders, and contributing to responsive innovation.

3. Respond intentionally.
Providing adequate pay is a must, but don’t forget that your active commitment to continuously fostering inclusion and reliable access to responsive resources can also make a big impact on employee experience in different ways. When you’ve decided how you will address the employee needs you learned about in step one, treat it like any other initiative. Make a specific plan to roll out this support and determine how you will measure its effectiveness. Create some clear communications to let employees know what you’re doing for them and why, and encourage them to get the most out of whatever new solutions you’re introducing. Finally, develop strategies for sustainability that proactively embed these new solutions into daily practice, such as providing manager training and offering varied modalities of follow-up communication for all employees.

Throughout the decision-making and implementation process, other things are bound to come up that seem more urgent or important in the moment—but don’t let your team become an afterthought. Change your mindset on employee support to view it as a strategic priority: instead of “if we have time,” start saying “let’s make time.”

4. Evaluate unclear, inefficient processes.
There are tons of things you can do to respond to employee needs that don’t cost money but require intentional thought. For one thing, unclear, inefficient processes are a primary source of work-related stress. Less than two-thirds (65%) of workers say work processes enable them to be productive, down from 68% a year ago, and only 63% of employees say their technology helps them be productive compared to 68% last year. Dedicating some time and attention to understanding current obstacles and streamlining processes is good for both employee satisfaction and productivity.

5. Understand that not all employees need the same things.
If you’ve recruited a diverse team (and even if you’re still working on it), your employees are sure to have different lifestyles, families, and life goals that come with different challenges. The same thing is true for every kind of employee support, but especially when it comes to DEI interventions, one size does not fit all. 

In Lily Zeng’s sobering article on The Failure of the DEI-Industrial Complex, they point out that when executives ask for generalized, short-term DEI interventions (the bare minimum), underrepresented employees are the ones who lose the most. The C-suite can take credit for spending money on a solution, but nothing really changes. What organizations should seek out instead are customized solutions that account for different perspectives and needs across different employee groups—especially those employees with marginalized identities (i.e. BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, low income, etc).

Show Your Employees You Care

Many leaders still operate with the outdated assumption that people will (and should) do whatever it takes to get and keep a job. If an employee thinks their workload is too much, there’s someone else in line who would be grateful to have that job. The Great Resignation is hard evidence that that’s changing. People want to build meaningful careers: they expect more than the bare minimum, and they deserve it. 

We believe that an abundance mindset shouldn’t be limited to the C-suite or the employees that are perceived as the most valuable. Employers who meet employee needs in a targeted way, with the understanding that they all need different things, will establish loyalty with their teams to drive success during uncertain times. 

Are you curious about how your systems impact your people? Want to access other proven low or no-cost DEI strategies?  With an Ellequate membership, you can develop a data-driven DEI strategy at your own pace—all for a price that allows you to spend less on consulting and more on implementation.

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SMBs Will Lead the Workplace Equity Revolution

Photo by Moe Magners

Small and medium businesses have always had a strong reputation of treating their employees like people rather than numbers. But the explosion of DEI as a set of values, a profession, and an industry in recent years has changed the conversation. If you were to ask someone on the street which companies they know of that are progressive and forward-thinking, they might bring up Patagonia because of their environmental efforts or P&G’s commercials about trans inclusion. It would seem that workplace equity and inclusion are large-scale initiatives that only mega-employers can afford to dedicate time, budget, and resources to.

At Ellequate, we have first-hand evidence that just the opposite is true. Working closely with SMB leaders on targeted workplace policy changes has given us a unique vantage point on what they can really accomplish.

So here’s the big question we’d like to address:

Can small and medium businesses keep up with big corporations when it comes to DEI?

The simple answer is that SMBs have everything it takes to build inclusive, equitable environments that blow big businesses out of the water. But trying to compare corporate DEI initiatives with the ways SMBs do this work is like comparing apples and oranges and can significantly compromise an SMB’s ability to deliver effective and meaningful DEI outcomes. 

The conversation about corporate social responsibility in general put SMBs at a fundamental disadvantage. Larger employers have the resources to tell the stories they want and to control the narratives—to the point that it becomes a marketing tactic. For smaller businesses, doing right by their people is a strategy to keep the talent that they have. Instead of making things about perception, for SMBs, it’s about everyday experience—the real work required for actual systems change.

To answer this specific question, we’ll have to re-frame things a bit: when you strip away the jargon, what we’re really talking about is whether SMBs can create an environment where marginalized employees can thrive because they receive the support they need to perform at their best.

Bigger Doesn’t Mean Better

Larger employers have led the race when it comes to benefits, particularly things like caregiver leave, parental leave, and sabbaticals. Unfortunately, having a smaller team makes it a lot more expensive to provide these competitive benefits. But the narratives larger businesses create about “responsible” choices they’re making don’t always tell the full story and aren’t always aligned with the actions they take.

When big companies send “woke” messages in their advertising, that doesn’t mean their track record matches up. Pepsi’s ad with Kendall Jenner is a memorable example of hypocritical Black Lives Matter messaging, but there were others on the bandwagon: Target, Zoom, Nike, and Spotify among them. When Roe v. Wade was repealed, many of the companies that issued statements in support of women employees’ reproductive health gave significant amounts of money to Republican lawmakers who sponsored oppressive anti-abortion legislation: Eli Lilly, Comcast, Citigroup, AT&T, and Amazon to name just a few. The same thing happens with rainbow-washing companies that support anti-LGBTQ+ federal and state politicians.

As much as big companies may want to seem benevolent and responsible, serving their shareholders is always their number one priority. There’s still a huge lack of representation on executive boards and in the C-suite. Can you really say that big companies support all employees when they’re actively disenfranchising huge swaths of them behind their backs? Smaller businesses may not have dedicated DEI teams or access to expensive trainings and consultants, but they also don’t have the same pressures to please people in high places. 

A Crisis of Priorities

Because they literally have smaller teams, leaders in “Main Street” businesses and “Mom and Pop Shops” have more of a personal connection to the individuals that work with them. Every employee is important to the function of the team. But there's an interesting assumption that small and mid-sized businesses aren't doing the work because they don't have the budget. Yes, tackling bias and inequality within a national corporation will come with a big price tag. But the money isn’t what’s important: prioritizing equity is key, along with a big dedication of time and commitment to change. 

Again, comparing SMBs with Fortune 1000 companies doesn’t produce helpful insights. A small business owner could read any number of articles and think, okay, well that's the direction we should go. For instance, a SHRM study of Fortune 1000 companies suggests that positioning volunteer work on company time as an employee benefit “can help employees build new and strong relationships with co-workers.” But how do you know that's the right choice for a small team of less than 50 people? 

Limited time and resources are definitely challenges for small businesses prioritizing workplace equity, and being left out of these conversations makes it even more overwhelming for individual leaders. Now what could SMBs do if they had access to more accurate data on how their employees really feel and tailored, evidence-based recommendations on how to serve them better?

SMBs Do More With Data

The only way to know what approaches will work for individual employees is to get an understanding of their unique experiences. You need to get a comprehensive enough picture of what’s going on in your organization through a survey, policy assessment, listening session, or other mode of communication. Starting out with data-informed strategies can save untold amounts of money on trainings, programs, and feel-good DEI solutions that don’t deliver results.

We’ve seen it working in our community of SMBs pursuing workplace equity certification. They’re leading the way when it comes to caregiver leave, parental leave, flexible work arrangements, all the things that larger institutions tout. With an accurate gauge of employee sentiments and needs, SMBs can change a lot faster than big companies because they’re more nimble and flexible. Instead of treating DEI like a budget line item, small and medium businesses often maintain workplace equity as a long-term strategic priority. 

One of our Gold-certified employers, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, has fewer than 60 people on their staff. They were able to increase their paid family leave policy from 6 weeks for just moms to 16 weeks for all parents, including those who are adopting, fostering, or having children through surrogacy, as well as family leave for other situations. A thorough team survey told them that most departments don’t want to backfill for people on family leave anyway because it can be challenging and expensive to train their replacements. They also know that their small team only has 2 to 3 children per year on average. Spending $10k per year to retain talented, dedicated employees and spare themselves the headache of backfilling turned out to be pretty reasonable! 

What Else Can SMBs Do Now?

Our work with SMBs has uncovered a few places where they can make effective changes that are good for both the business and their employees. These two specific action items are basically free, and you can get started on them right now. Check out this post for more free ideas on creating justice and accountability.

Prioritize pay equity.
Pew Research Center survey found that low pay (63%) and lack of advancement opportunities (63%) were among the top reasons Americans quit their jobs last year. Pay transparency laws have also been introduced in several states. There are a lot of factors that go into pay equity and transparency, but all small and mid-size businesses can work on their compensation philosophy and pay equity. Watch this cohort alumni panel recording for the whole story of how GCF rewrote their compensation policy. They guarantee new hires compensation in the top 50% for their role!

Use inclusive language.
Another thing SMBs can prioritize is the use of inclusive language in their materials and written policies. The APA has published a free set of inclusive language guidelines that’s accessible to anyone.

It’s easy to underestimate how much of an impact language has on employee experience: we worked with a team that used an innocuous sports analogy in a performance review document developed by a paid HR consultant. It made a lot of assumptions about the employee reading it (that they watch sports, for one thing), and the overall sentiment came from a deficit approach, implying that there wasn’t much room for improvement. Once we began reviewing the document together through an equity lens, they realized the metaphor was problematic. Not only did they see the issue, they were quick to recognize its implications, make direct connections to quantitative and qualitative employee feedback, and adjust the language and performance review process accordingly.

The SMB Advantage: Targeted Action, Collective Impact

We’re happy to report that more and more small and mid-sized businesses are delivering on the promise of DEI—instead of using valuable resources to advertise their successes, they are investing in their people. Now here’s why we’re so optimistic about the future of workplace equity on Main Street. Our platform generates unique and targeted policy recommendations based on individual employee responses. But what we do with that information on the back end creates collective impact: we can start to see what’s really going to have the most meaningful impact for BIPOC employees or for LGBTQ+ employees across similar SMBs. As more SMBs pursue certification and upload survey and policy data, we’ll start to be able to see those bigger trends. We just haven't had the technology to be able to do it until now. 

At companies this small, every team’s needs are a little different, but we can work towards having better DEI best practices downmarket. 48 percent of U.S. employees work for small businesses: that’s a lot of people. Just imagine what the small business community will be able to do once they know what’s actually going to work. 

We’re thrilled to be able to provide SMBs with the same powerful data that corporations have access to with an annual Ellequate membership.

Want to get started now? Get in touch with us to learn more.

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