Differences Between Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Last Updated April 6, 2021

Diversity, equity and inclusion, collectively known as DEI, have become essential objectives across many types of organizations. The development and implementation of DEI policies ranks among the highest human resource priorities, and experts expect this to continue.

Whether you are currently in a leadership role or aspire to a career in HR or a related field, understanding diversity, equity and inclusion – including the differences between the three – is key to success. While they work in tandem, the three elements of DEI represent three different ideas that a growing number of private companies, nonprofits and public agencies are putting into place.

As noted in a video on inclusion that Villanova University students watch within the graduate-level Diversity in the Global Economy course, DEI is just not about doing the right thing. Studies show “team performance improves by 50% when everyone is included.”

That same point is made by Jameel Rush, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for The Philadelphia Inquirer and adjunct professor of Human Resource Development at Villanova, who said in an interview that more organizations are beginning to understand DEI. “In the last couple of months, chief diversity officers are being hired at ridiculous rates, so a ton of organizations that have not had this conversation previously are now having it,” Rush said.

He also noted that while many people discuss diversity, equity and inclusion, not everyone understands what they mean. Here’s an overview of all three.

Diversity

Diversity means building a workforce that reflects demographics in the real world. That includes hiring people of different races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, socioeconomic status, ages and political affiliations – to name a few. The idea is for businesses to have a workforce that reflects the communities they serve.

Equity

Equity focuses on reducing or eliminating outcome disparities among people in different demographics. An example of this sort of disparity is the frequent situation in which a woman earns less than a man when holding a similar management position. Another example is underrepresentation of certain races in some industries. The idea with equity is to create policies that lead to similar outcomes for all groups.

Inclusion

If diversity is about hiring people of different backgrounds and identity groups, then inclusion is about how you get people from these different groups to work together, creating better business outcomes. A critical component of inclusion involves making people feel their voice is heard and they are an important part of the team.

The Need for Better DEI

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers insight into why diversity and inclusion work so well. They note that 88% of professionals surveyed believe that diversity increases the value of a project team, an incredibly high number to agree on a single issue.

PMI reports that culturally diverse and inclusive organizations lead to higher performance across the board. That said, PMI also reports that only 33% of professionals think their organization has a culturally diverse leadership. Also, almost 60% said they work in organizations without one woman at the C-suite level.

In a report on the impact of diversity, McKinsey & Company found companies that ranked in the top 25% for gender, racial and ethnic diversity had a better chance of financial returns greater than the national industry median.

Understanding the differences between diversity, equity and inclusion can help drive better results. Rush points out that organizations achieve better results when they marry diversity with inclusion, allowing them to “leverage the different points of views and different perspectives to work toward a stronger solution.”

It is important to understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are not merely training or recruiting goals; they are a strategic mindset for leaders. HR and business leaders must evaluate all business goals and objectives from the perspective of all groups and consider all impacted. This is how organizations can truly drive better results as they make DEI part of the fabric of their strategy.

The Center for Creative Leadership offers ways that companies can put DEI to work. They include a focus on making changes that will drive equitable outcomes in an organization, setting clear goals for equity, establishing metrics for measuring success and putting a diverse group of people in leadership positions.

Students can learn about putting DEI policies into place in Villanova’s Inclusion and Diversity Strategy Graduate Certificate program. Graduates from the program have the skills and knowledge needed to lead DEI efforts in a variety of organizations and industries.