Unit 4: Common metrics for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB)

[Alicia_Schmidt]

This article provides an overview of common metrics, measurement of outcomes, and considerations for measurement. This inventory is by no means exhaustive, but may serve as a starting point for companies to begin or review their impact measurement and reporting activities.

This inventory was developed by cross walking metrics collected and used by ACCP, CECP, Benevity, and a random-sample of corporate social impact reports.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) 

• Representation 
• Employee Experience

A Note on Metric Types

Each metric is tagged with a metric type. These are offered to help facilitate thinking and discussion of metrics, however they are not set in stone. Whether or not a metric is an output or an outcome depends largely on the goals of the program or initiative, and its theory of change. See page 14 for discussion of logic models.

Input	Activity	Output	Outcome	Impact
Company Resources: time, people, money, etc.	What Companies do with their resourcesPrograms offered and services provided	Immediate results of the activities: products, services, time spent	Resulting behavior, condition or state of well-being	Change in behavior, condition or state of wellbeing that resulted from the activities
HOW MUCH WE DO
		HOW WELL WE DO IT
			IS ANYONE BETTER OFF?

Category	Metric	Metric Type
Representation	% BIPOC, gender representation, additional identities among new hires	Outcome	How Well
	% BIPOC, gender representation, additional identities of employees	Outcome	How Well
	% BIPOC, gender representation, additional identities in leadership/C-Suite roles	Outcome	Better Off
	% BIPOC, gender representation, additional identities on the Board	Outcome	Better Off
	Pay parity/ pay comparison ratio - BIPOC, gender representation, additional identities	Output	How Well
Employee Experience	# of Employee Resource Groups (ERG)	Output	How Much
	% Employee participation in ERGs	Output	How Well
	# DEIB trainings offered	Output	How Much
	% Employees participate in DEIB trainings	Output	How Well
	% Leadership participate in DEIB trainings	Output	How Well
	% Employee participation in Employee Experience Survey	Output	How Well
	% Employee experience - by demographic	Outcome	Better Off
	% Employee rating of workplace culture - by demographics	Outcome	Better Off
	% Employee tenure/ retention rate	Outcome	Better Off

BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, People of Color

Additional Identities: May include, but is not limited to LGBTQIA+ identities, disability status, veteran status, caste. This reflects the unique geographic, sector and issue priorities of each individual company. See Data & Privacy.

Measuring Outcomes

There is a fair amount of standardization in reporting when it comes to DEIB metrics. Differences will arise in how each specific company defines underrepresented groups (ie: BIPOC, LGBTIQA+, and gender representation), because this is contextual to geography and industry.

There are outcomes for staff and employees – such as satisfaction at work and representation in leadership. But there are also outcomes for the company’s profitability, such as employee retention, employee tenure, ranking on “best place to work” indices, or employer rating sites like Glassdoor.

Measuring workplace culture will be somewhat bespoke, as the exact wording will change based on the company and its focus. However these tend to include things like inclusivity, opinion of management and leadership, and work-life balance.

Data for DEIB outcomes is generally easier to access than other topics (with the caveat of regional data-collection limitations) and is gathered through company documentation and employee surveys.

DEI-Deconstructed offers practical guidance for both measurement, evaluation and implementation of effective DEIB strategies.

Measurement Considerations

Data and privacy

Although data for outcomes may be technically easy to gather, different countries and regions differ in what data an employer is allowed to collect. Additionally, many topics that focus on DEIB initiatives are sensitive, and employees may be wary or resistant to providing information for fear of discrimination. Companies will need to think critically about the specific information they are collecting, the reason for collecting, and how it might increase risk or discomfort to employees.

Targets and year over year performance

There is relatively consistency in this data as it is a prime metric for target-setting and reporting year-over-year performance. As you are reporting on DEIB metrics, it's important to not just look at only the numbers, but the change and progress they represent, as well as asking tough questions like Is this good enough? What information am I missing to represent the company as a whole? 

What makes it hard	What makes it worth it
Reliance on self-reporting Privacy issues & geographic data limitations Appropriateness and cultural context for employee self-disclosure How to make sense of it? Need to integrate qualitative and quantitative data	Making our company a better place to work, and a place to work better Satisfying employees and other stakeholders

 

What data do our member companies collect?

• Board & leadership demographics and representation
• Participation (#, %) in Internal mentorship & sponsorship programs
• Employee engagement survey stats
• Supplier diversity
• Voluntary self identification for gender, languages and belonging
• Workforce Demographics
• Engagement in Employee Resource Groups