Challenges Faced by Organizations during Diversity Hiring

The term ‘diversity’ has gained popularity lately. But companies that just view diversity as fashion are losing out on various advantages and benefits that come from having a truly inclusive and varied workforce. Organizations with diverse natures are happier, more productive, and more competitive within their respective industries. Diversity refers to a team’s diverse perspectives. Diversity, racism, and social justice are part of a bigger conversation. The word includes sex, socioeconomic background, childhood experiences, religion, education, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and life experience. However, inclusion means that everyone should have equal access to education, resources, opportunities, and other treatment based on their unique attributes. A diverse workforce includes people from different backgrounds and countries. The organization also creates a sense of belonging that helps everyone feel like a team member.

What is Diversity Hiring?

Diversity in recruitment, often known as diverse hiring, is an unbiased employment procedure. The method guarantees that no one is judged based on their age, color, marital status, sexual preferences, or any other characteristics unrelated to the job description. Diverse hiring is the first step towards creating a more inclusive and varied workplace culture. To put it simply, diversity hiring occurs when organizations establish a hiring process that gives candidates of varied sexual orientation, gender, race, and other minority groups an equal opportunity to participate in the recruitment process and get hired. Not surprisingly, today’s millennials and Generation Z employees prioritize diversity and inclusion when choosing a company to work for. Furthermore, workplace diversity and inclusion provide numerous benefits to a company, including the generation of fresh ideas, new perspectives, untapped potential, and increased employee engagement, to name a few.

Participants of Diversity Hiring in India

Like our foreign counterparts, India is blessed that it doesn’t have diversity on the grounds of ‘Race’. However, diversity on the grounds of gender, economic background, etc. is prevalent. We have identified three major sections for the purpose of diversity hiring in India. Diverse hiring may involve the employment of Women, People with Disabilities (PWD), and Members of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

1. PwD (People with Disability): The CDC report contains important details about people with disabilities in India. In India, 44% (1.18 Crore) of the disabled population are female, while 56% (1.5 crores) are male. Out of them, nearly 55% (1.46 crore) of the total disabled population are literate females. While 5% of the disabled population is a graduate or higher, 13% have completed matriculation or secondary school but do not have a degree. Graduates comprise nearly 8.5% of the disabled literate population. 9% of male disabled literate individuals hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Literacy rates among the female disabled population stand at 55%. Similarly, 3% of the disabled female population is a graduate or higher, while 9% have completed matriculation or secondary school but are not graduates.

2. Women: According to the World Equality Report, women earn ₹82 for every ₹100 earned by males in India. This is a major distinction between the two genders. Women in India are more likely to abandon their employment after marriage, having children, or due to societal pressure. Their comeback in the business world is tough. Work gaps and industry shifts are one of the reasons. However, the catalyst reports that companies with more female leaders have higher profit margins.

According to McKinsey, organisations with more than 30% female executives outperformed those with 10% to 30% women executives.

These companies were then more likely to perform well than those with fewer or no female executives. All of these figures are compelling arguments to bring women back into the corporate mainstream. Companies like Catalyst having more women in employees are earning higher profit margins.

3. (EWS) Economically Weaker Section: On January 14, 2019, the 124th Amendment Bill to the Indian Constitution was passed, paving the way for a 10% ‘Economically Weaker Sections’ or EWS quota in (a) Central government-run educational institutions and private institutions (excluding those managed by minorities), and (b) Union government employment. This quota was in addition to other quotas in the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backwards Classes categories, which have been in place for many decades. The EWS quota has been in place since February 1, 2019. But while this step filled the education gap for the EWS of the society, there is no data to state if the same gap has been filled in the corporate arena. Lack of opportunities, lack of initiatives, and biasedness might be some reasons for their absence from the corporate arena.

Challenges Faced by Organizations during Diversity Hiring

1. Lack of Data: In spite of the several reports posted on the percentage of literate PwD, women, or some vague data about from Economically Weaker Sections, there is no single database that provides a list of individuals who are looking to be hired, or who are qualified to work. This lack of data is a major hindrance in diversity hiring. The Uber She++ campaign invited diverse applicants for their Uber Star internship. They received more than 700 applications, out of which 338 were People with disabilities. This kind of campaign can help in generating a diverse portfolio for the purpose of Diverse hiring.

2. Hiring and Retention: It could prove challenging to retain and mix diverse people into the company culture once they are hired. This challenge arises as a result of several conscious and unconscious biases among people. However, research indicates that companies that are perceived as being more inclusive and diverse have a 35% higher chance of outperforming competitors. Overcoming this challenge can be done by establishing an inclusive work environment through mentoring programs, onboarding activities, and cultivating a culture that values diverse perspectives.

3. Absence of Diversity in Leadership Roles: The lack of diversity in leadership roles makes it more difficult for diversity programs to spread throughout the entire company. Nonetheless, a study found that diverse management teams generate 19% more income. The execution of systematic approaches to expand the diversity of leadership roles can help address this challenge. A few approaches could include establishing clear diversity targets for leadership roles, offering mentorship opportunities, and encouraging leadership accountability for diversity and inclusion.

4. Internal Resistance: Adapting to changing demographics and developing diversity needs may encounter internal resistance. However, it is essential because diverse teams are said to be 87% better at making judgments. Additionally, diverse teams are better at brainstorming in a crisis. Fostering a culture of constant learning and adaptation by remaining up to date on the latest practices, attending diversity conferences, and fostering open dialogue about diversity and inclusion are all possible ways to address this challenge.

5. Absence of Tracking Mechanism: Tracking and analyzing diversity measures can be difficult, resulting in a lack of understanding about progress. The lack of a tracking method is a significant challenge. However, McKinsey recognizes that gender-diverse organizations are 15% more likely to have higher financial returns, and polls show that inclusive companies generate 2.3 times more cash flow per employee. This challenge can be dealt with by regularly collecting and analyzing diversity measurements. Using recruitment automation tools to help collect and evaluate this data may help in determining the success of diversity initiatives.

6. Overlooking People with Disabilities: According to the Return On Disability Group, while 90% of companies claim to value diversity, just 4% include disability in their programs. This mistake not only narrows the talent pool but also fails to recognize the different views and qualities that people with disabilities can contribute to a team. This difficulty can be addressed by incorporating disability into the company’s employment practices. Creating open recruitment processes, proactively looking for people with disabilities, and making sure the workplace is welcoming and inclusive are just a few examples of actionable approaches. In addition, collaborate with organizations that specialize in employment for persons with disabilities to have access to a larger talent pool. Just like the Vividhataa platform, Geeks for geeks can be a game changer for companies looking for diversity hiring. Currently, Geeks for Geeks has an extensive outreach in the tech community and can help in the diversity hiring process.

Initiatives of Diversity Hiring

Recruiting is an essential activity whose main goal is to differentiate oneself in a competitive market and attract outstanding applicants.

1. Geeks for Geeks: Geeks for Geeks is playing an emerging crucial role in diversity hiring. Geeks for Geeks can assist companies in need by means of our innovative ideas and extensive engagement with the tech community, as it did for the She++ campaign of Uber. It can help in making a portfolio of the various categories of diverse applicants currently seeking to be hired, it can also provide a mentorship program for the women who have a gap in their resume and help in bridging the gap between their knowledge and industry changes.

2. Teksands: Teksands is a leading recruitment agency known for its ability in diversity hiring as well as finding suitable candidates in a dynamic and competitive labor market. According to Tekstands, “Recruiting is a competitive sport, and the challenge is to stand out in a crowded market and attract the attention of top talent.” That is where Tekstands, a Top Recruitment Agency with deep expertise in Diversity Hiring, excels, in finding the right talent in this ever-challenging and difficult talent marketplace.

3. SheWork.in: SheWork.in is an additional recruitment agency that offers employers customized services. The hiring process for high-tech professionals from SheWork.in primarily focuses on the company’s needs and requirements. SheWork.in aims to pair organizations with the most qualified developers, which includes both technical and non-technical expertise. Their objective of empowering women enables the enforcement of diversity and inclusion policies by employers. Employing through SheWork.in provides companies with direct access to qualified applicants who are prepared to make an impact. Additionally, SheWork.in has a track record of retaining 60% of its employees.

4. Avtar: Avtar – The Power of Diversity encourages the employment of women, with a particular focus on recruiting second-career women. Avtar also promotes an executive-level culture that values and embraces diversity and inclusion. Its team partners with the employer company to identify and source for leadership positions the most qualified women in the nation. It facilitates the achievement of gender equality in management. HP, PWC, Amazon, Wipro, Cognizant, Capgemini, et. are some of the known employer companies that have taken the benefit of talent acquisition techniques of Avtar.

5. Vividhataa: It is a DEI Consulting Firm in India, is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy Consultant and Executive Search Firm. As the name implies, Vividhataa means diversity. The company firmly believes in empowering diverse workforces through inclusion and employment. They hold various job fairs for diversity hiring.