Diversity at Deloitte – Plans and Policies

When talking about equality opportunities implemented by companies, we can make a differentiation between two different models, the liberal and the radical one. The liberal model, described by Jewson and Mason, is emphasized on a philosophy of "sameness", where people should have access to and be assessed within the workplace as individuals, regardless of social category.

In the other hand, the radical approach is focused on a "positive discrimination" where employment practices are deliberately manipulated in order to obtain a fair distribution of those disadvantaged groups in the workplace, and it is also focused in achieving not only equality of opportunity but also equality of outcome.

Considering this differentiation referring to the equalities of opportunities implemented by companies, we can see that Deloitte have a liberal approach in their policies, as they have created different programmes to make possible a equal treatment within the company instead of creating discriminatory policies, and, as for the outcome aspect, we haven't been able to find information about what is Deloitte's policy in that matter.

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Gender and Diversity management at Deloitte addresses the needs of a diverse workforce in regards to gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity and national origin by offering programs to that specifically support these groups both internally and externally. The importance of diversity management at the firm is seen through the commitment placed on creating organizational structure, practices, policies, management and financial investment or partnerships that supports diversity.

Deloitte’s annual diversity plan and the commitment to place diversity as the top priority on board meeting agenda’s is allowing the company to live and breathe its vision statement, which is: “ to be recognized internally and externally as a diversity leader, to have leadership that represents the overall labour market, diversity management will be a core leadership competency and a business imperative, talent process will reflect ‘best-in-class’ diversity sensitive processes” (Deloitte, Diversity annual report).

To achieve this vision, Deloitte has created a national Diversity council comprised of senior management across Canada which meets ten times per year to set goals and assess the progress of current policies and practices at the firm (Deloitte, Valuing Differences). To ensure the success of these initiatives they have created a diversity accountability framework to guide and incent progress. One of Deloitte’s most recognized and progressive steps towards diversity management have been the appointment of their Chief Diversity Officer, Jane Allen.

Some key diversity practices within the firm includes; the creation of people networks, diversity calendar, the Diversity Matters blog, their Diversity Round table, a bias awareness toolkit as well as corporate sponsorship and partnerships. Deloitte’s people networks aim to connect like-minded people within the firm to act as mentors and support networks. The creation of the Diversity Calendar was a part of a firm wide communications campaign to communicate the diversity visions and goals for the year.

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The calendar was a huge success, receiving over 4000 downloads (Deloitte, Valuing Differences). The firm has also leveraged social networking tools with the creation of a Diversity Matters blog where employees can speak with the Chief Diversity Officer directly. Moreover, the Diversity Round table was created as an initiative to discuss the issues affecting people with disabilities an addition to Deloitte’s corporate sponsorship of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games.

The bias awareness toolkit is used to educate managers on a range of topics including common stereotypes. It is used in conjunction with mid-year and year end reviews in addition to the policy of employees and partners setting a personal diversity goal for their year plan. Finally, Deloitte sponsors a number of organizations that share their interest and commitment to strengthening an inclusive workplace through programs, and research.

These activities give their professionals opportunities to gain knowledge and expand their networks and also provide them with another way to attract new talent. As part of these relationships, they help fund research and programs that build community and support career development for people of diverse backgrounds. Some examples of current sponsorships include: DiversityInc DiversityInc is a prime source for best practices and solutions to workplace diversity related challenges.

The sponsorship makes it possible to expand the recruiting efforts as well as demonstrate the commitment to diversity in the marketplace. In addition, Deloitte leverages DiversityInc’s benchmarking data and analysis to increase awareness of the most progressive strategies companies and firms are employing, so that it can continue to be a true diversity leader. Working Mother Media Working Mother Media is solely focused on the challenges and tradeoffs that can impact working mothers and women of color.

From their magazine to their robust website and inspiring conferences, Working Mother is a key resource for Deloitte to better understand these challenges and provide opportunities for people to leverage these resources. Deloitte is also an ongoing, premiere sponsor of the Working Mother Multicultural Women’s conference, as well as a sponsor of the Working Mother 100 Best Work Life Congress. | |

These policies and practices are just the beginning of a web of more specific gender and diversity policies targeted to specific minority groups. Overview of Policies & Practices: For Women: Deloitte supports female employees through Canadian Women's Initiative Network (canWin), which offers mentoring and networking sessions, awards to recognize women in leadership roles, support for Career Moms, the Step Up program to support female senior management leadership development, as well as a Women of Influence Luncheon Series.

For Parents: Deloitte’s parental leave guide offers a generous adoption subsidy for new parents and provides maternity top-up payments for new mothers (to 100% of salary for 17 weeks). It also provides a variety of alternative work arrangements that help women gradually return to work after maternity leave (Mediacorp). For LBGT: Deloitte`s Lesbian Bisexual Gay and Transgendered people network is a sponsor and participant in the "Out on Bay St. " career fair and conference for LGBT professionals.

They also work to raise awareness facing Lesbian Bisexual Gay and Transgendered people in the workforce. For those with Disabilities: Deloitte is partnered with the Progress Place community organization which provides temporary, six-month transitional positions for persons recovering from mental illness to help them gain the confidence to reintegrate into the workforce (Mediacorp). For Aboriginals: Deloitte is a member of the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council, which connects Aboriginal owned businesses to corporate supply chains.

The company also hosted an Indigenous Youth Gathering, leading sessions focused on leadership and career counselling. For Immigrants and new Canadians: Deloitte is a corporate sponsor of Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies and a partner with Toronto Regional Immigrant Employment Council that helps new immigrants navigate job search. Deloitte has created a guidebook for employers on hiring immigrants and has created an in-house mentorship program that pairs new Canadian employees with over 100 firm mentors.

Part of Deloitte`s success in achieving their successful diversity management strategy is in part, due to their ability to define a business care for diversity. Their view is that diversity will lead to better work results, greater innovation as well as opportunities to work with a variety of clients. As their clients globalize they will expect Deloitte`s teams to have a global perspective. Teams that reflect this growing diversity will enhance their reputation in the business community (Deloitte, Valuing Differences).

In addition to the ability to use diversity to attract the top talent, Deloitte has also founded a Women as Buyers pilot program which examines the difference in women`s buying approach when it comes to professional services. Understanding the differences in why women choose certain professional service providers over others, especially as more women take on leadership roles, will be essential to the success of the company in the future.

Not only has Deloitte set outstanding policies and practices on diversity management, but they are also committed to continually measuring and monitoring the success of the policies. They currently use a scorecard to track the company`s progress in areas of recruitment, partner admissions, promotions and turnover (Deloitte, Diversity annual report). In the future, Deloitte`s Strategic Plan for 2014 will focus on providing more development opportunities, increasing their knowledge on diversity, tracking progress toward achieving their vision and keeping diversity top of mind and leading their agenda.

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