Research from RedThread and Mercer shows a robust market for D&I technology tools. Here’s an overview of tools for supporting your diversity and inclusion strategy.
By Sharon Florentine
Senior Writer, CIO
MARCH 22, 2019 03:00 AM PT
Diversity and inclusion technology tools on the rise
Diversity and inclusion are quickly becoming a business imperative. Thanks in part to increased scrutiny from the media and social movements, boards of directors, C-suite executives, business and HR leaders are recognizing how discrimination, harassment, and toxic workplace cultures can negatively impact a company’s brand, its ability to attract and retain talent and its financial performance.
Previously, bias, harassment and discrimination were assumed to be individual failings, and diversity and inclusion concerns were relegated to HR departments. Now it is much more clear that D&I is a systemic, institutional issue that is everyone’s responsibility, said Stacia Sherman Garr, co-founder and principal of RedThread Research, and Carole Jackson, principal of D&I research and products at Mercer, who co-authored recent research titled Diversity & Inclusion Technology: The Rise of a Transformative Market.
“HR has been pushing for diversity for a long time and trying to emphasize the importance of an inclusive culture by showing research on how D&I will increase innovation, performance, how it will help companies compete for talent, but it’s really been those social movements — Black Lives Matter, MeToo, TimesUp — that have really driven the point home,” Jackson says.