If companies are serious about diversity & inclusion, here's how to walk the talk

The Mercer report revealed that while 81% of surveyed organizations said they were focused on improving D&I, only 42% reported having a multi-year, documented strategy to make it happen. (Credit: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com)

It’s an old, old story by now: Even though the business case for diversity and inclusion has been proven over and over and leaders in organizations say they’re serious about spearheading initiatives for diverse hires and teams, progress continues to be slow. Employees have taken notice, too—a recent study on company culture highlighted 70% of respondents saying their employers were focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in their companies, but only 50% reported seeing diversity in leadership roles. The same study noted a majority of respondents (41%) saying racial diversity was lacking most at their organizations, while 15% felt gender diversity was lacking.

So, how to move things along? A new report from management consulting company Mercer, which surveyed more than 1,150 companies in 54 countries, sheds some light on actions organizations can take to generate real results on diversity.