DEI Metrics You Should Be Tracking in 2023
Why track DEI metrics?
89% of companies have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments, yet many struggle to make progress on these goals.
Tracking DEI metrics allows companies to identify what they are doing right, what they need to work on, and how much progress they have made thus far. These essential insights can help identify areas for improvement and provide opportunities to track diversity and inclusion across the entire employee journey.
1. Commitment Progress
Are you accomplishing your goals within the intended time frame? To answer this question, track commitment progress—the percent increase in the progress of your goals within a specified time frame. Here’s an example:
2. Leadership
Tracking this metric is a way to ensure you are not only achieving overall representation, but representation in leadership positions as well. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, diverse representation on executive teams is linked to financial overperformance.
To calculate the distribution of representative groups in leadership positions, use the following equation:
3. Hiring Rate
Recent research by economists Judd Kessler and Corinne Low has revealed that employers in some industries, especially the STEM industry, show a consistent bias against female and minority applicants. Paying attention to hiring rates across representative groups ensures that a company’s practices are inclusive in interactions with both current and potential employees.
Here is an equation to keep track of hiring practices:
4. Attrition Rate
The amount of employees that leave a company can say just as much about company culture as the amount who decide to join. According to an article in UPenn Today, a more inclusive workplace could be the solution to the “Great Resignation” — the mass exodus of workers, especially those belonging to representative groups, who have voluntarily left their organizations in the past few years.
To track attrition (turnover) rate, use this equation:
5. Promotion Rate
A research study featured by MIT’s Sloan Management School, found women are 14 percent less likely to be promoted when compared to their male peers.
Fair promotion practices ensure a pathway to representative leadership. In addition to tracking attrition and hiring, be sure to track the promotion rate of representative groups.
The Bottom Line
Tracking diversity and inclusion within your organization is no easy feat, but with the proper resources, measurable progress can be made. Use these metrics to ensure 2023 is the year your organization reaches its DEI goals and lays the foundation for becoming more inclusive.
