A diversity and inclusion (D&I) council is a group of employees, including senior leaders or executives, that acts on behalf of the company to jumpstart and manage the diversity and inclusion process.
The Council works closely with senior leaders to ensure tight alignment with the organization’s overall business strategy and to help institutionalize human capital practices that support and accelerate D&I goals.
The D&I Council helps create strategic accountability for results, provides governance and oversight on diversity efforts, and promotes company-wide communication on progress. The best councils successfully integrate the D&I program with the company’s mission, operations, strategies, and business objectives.
Diversity councils are a critical driver in fostering real organizational change, establishing a dedicated focus on diversity and inclusion priorities, and managing the D&I program. Moreover, they provide platforms for overseeing and assessing the effectiveness of the D&I function and introducing reform when needed.
The primary role of the Council is to connect D&I activities to a broader business-driven, results-oriented strategy.
A diversity and inclusion (D&I) council is a group of employees, including senior leaders or executives, that acts on behalf of the company to jumpstart and manage the diversity and inclusion process.
The Council works closely with senior leaders to ensure tight alignment with the organization’s overall business strategy and to help institutionalize human capital practices that support and accelerate D&I goals.
The D&I Council helps create strategic accountability for results, provides governance and oversight on diversity efforts, and promotes company-wide communication on progress. The best councils successfully integrate the D&I program with the company’s mission, operations, strategies, and business
objectives.
Diversity councils are a critical driver in fostering real organizational change, establishing a dedicated focus on diversity and inclusion priorities, and managing the D&I program. Moreover, they provide platforms for overseeing and assessing the effectiveness of the D&I function and introducing reform when needed.
The primary role of the Council is to connect D&I activities to a broader business-driven, results oriented strategy.
To succeed, all councils require the following:
• Support from senior leadership
• Direct link to the overall business strategy
• Reinforcement of the business case for diversity and inclusion
• Diverse membership
• Metrics to track progress
• Clearly communicated goals and outcomes
• A long-term strategy that drives short-term initiatives and activities
Senior leadership support is vital for diversity council success; without it, councils are unlikely to achieve their goals. While composition of diversity councils can vary from council to council, engagement from senior-level management—ideally the CEO—is necessary if councils are to fulfill their mandate. When CEO leadership is not possible, other senior executives should lead and participate on the team. Because diversity councils are responsible for and accountable to top executive teams, senior leaders play a critical role in providing direction with respect to the council’s mission, strategy, and deliverables.
Councils must clearly link the organization’s diversity strategy with the overall business strategy to emphasize the importance of diversity in and to the organization. It is not enough for an organization to say, “We should look more diverse because customers like that.” Rather, it’s important to ask, “How can
we better reflect our diverse customer base, thus providing them with better service, care, and products?”
Many diversity councils are designed to address gaps in representation or inclusion for specific demographic groups, including women, racially/ethnically diverse individuals, and people with disabilities. Other councils address diversity and inclusion more broadly and consider every member to represent some aspect of diversity: dimensions may include organizational role or level, educational background, communication or management style, geographic location, and demographic group.
A diversity council’s members should mirror the diversity within the organization. Councils should be composed of individuals of different genders, generations, departments, and/or other dimensions of diversity. Leaders of employee resource groups may also be part of the council. Councils may include individuals with diversity expertise who do not work for the organization; these outsiders can provide expertise or offer a customer’s perspective in council discussions.
Tapping a cross-section of thought leaders who represent the full breadth of functional expertise can help an organization clarify the meaning of D&I and its importance to the organization’s overall culture and business strategy.
Diversity councils are often chaired by the CEO, jointly chaired by the CEO and CDO, or solely by the CDO. In all of these cases, the CEO visibly champions the Council’s work.
It is vital to have the right people involved on the D&I Council. The typical council member is a well-connected, very well-respected, highly influential leader. He or she has a great deal of knowledge regarding the organization itself, the challenges and issues associated with specific business units, and has intimate knowledge of the concerns associated with how work gets done.
As a group, the D&I Council reflects a balanced representation of the business. The organization’s leaders work side-by-side with council members to ensure that the overall business plan is fully aligned with the diversity and inclusion strategy.
Through the work of the councils, leaders co-create diversity and inclusion goals, monitor outcomes and strategy execution, and report progress to company leaders and the organization overall.
Responsibilities of the D&I Council should be included in the charter. Responsibilities may include:
• Assist the CEO/CDO in creation of the D&I strategy and key milestones
• Embed the diversity and inclusion function across the enterprise with strong connections to business units and operational divisions
• Clearly delineate diversity roles and responsibilities and provide for ongoing assessment to ensure effectiveness
• Broadly build and share knowledge on D&I successes and impact—build the case for D&I
• Work with Learning department to identify specific D&I education content to be included in employee training and professional development
• Identify D&I barriers that impact recruitment, retention and advancement, recruitment, training, and key assignments
• Create content and custom D&I messages for the Communications team to deliver to leadership, middle managers, and the general employee population
• Act as change agents for the organization—challenge the status quo—champion D&I and promote the company as an employer of choice
The D&I Council also provides support and guidance for employee resource groups (ERGs) and helps ensure that all ERGs are a catalyst for fostering a diverse and inclusive environment and connects D&I and ERGs to the business.
A D&I Council can support ERGs in the following ways:
• Provide assistance to managers and employees that want to start an ERG
• Provide oversight, strategic guidance and direction to the ERG Executive Sponsor, Chair, and Committee Chairs
• Allocate and monitor ERG budget expenditures
• Share industry research along with internal and external best practices
• Assist ERGs with developing a consistent strategy
• Drive awareness and education of ERGs
D&I Councils come in many forms and have a variety of structures and names. For the most part, there are two basic types:
Usually led by the chairman, CEO or chief diversity officer, executive diversity councils are made up of senior vice presidents, vice presidents, business-unit heads or other high-level leaders from all of the key company’s business functions or core businesses. In general, this council develops the comprehensive, integrated diversity strategy that drives company best practices, goals and
objectives, and monitors the company’s progress against those goals and objectives.
Designed to provide greater representation of the diversity of a company’s workforce, advisory or regional diversity councils are often larger than executive diversity councils. An organization may create several such councils to represent multiple business units, locations, or operational components. These councils implement the diversity strategy and policies established by the executive council. They are also responsible for advising company leadership on the company’s
diversity and inclusion needs and the progress of diversity initiatives throughout the organization.
A Diversity and Inclusion Council charter should include certain core elements:
• Vision
• Mission
• Objectives
• Leadership assignments
• Membership criteria
• Responsibilities
• Operational procedures
At xxx, we recognize and appreciate the importance of creating an environment in which all employees feel valued, included, and empowered to do their best work and bring great ideas to the table. We recognize that each employee’s unique experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints add value to our ability to create and deliver the best possible service, technical assistance, and research to clients and partners.
Given that our individual social, economic, and cultural identities shape and influence our experiences and perspectives, it stands to reason that xxx will do its best work by ensuring diversity in our workforce across the various
dimensions of social and cultural identity and by practicing inclusivity in how we work with one another.
The mission of the D&I Council will be to foster an environment that attracts the best talent, values diversity of life experiences and perspectives, and encourages innovation in pursuit of mission.
Using available research and data on effective diversity and inclusion practices, the D&I Council’s efforts will focus on the following objectives.
• Building capacity and competency to lead and manage a diverse workforce
• Creating a work environment that ensures equal access to opportunities for professional growth and advancement
• Developing cultural competence and responsiveness, as an organization, to maximize our effectiveness in project engagements with clients and partners, considering and respecting their unique perspectives, experiences, and
needs.
Our diversity and inclusion objectives, and progress toward achieving them, will be assessed annually to ensure alignment with strategic business objectives.
The xxx D&I Council will have the following responsibilities.
• Conduct a scan of the literature to identify D&I best practices supported by research
• Create opportunities for employees to provide feedback to executive staff about organizational climate and culture (i.e. climate assessments, anonymous satisfaction surveys, focus group sessions, etc.)
• Create opportunities for employees to have meaningful engagement with leadership to promote cultural inclusivity and discuss issues relating to equity in the workplace
• Provide feedback and insight to executive staff on issues of culture, climate, equity, inclusion, and diversity in the workplace, including recommendations and support regarding short- and long-term strategies to meet the organization’s current and future workforce needs (i.e. unbiased recruitment, hiring and retention practices)
• Formulate recommendations for the development or modification of policies and practices that negatively impact diversity, inclusivity, and equity efforts
• Create internal organizational learning opportunities in which employees may voluntarily participate and engage to deepen and develop personal understanding of inclusion and equity at an organizational level
• Identify opportunities for the organization to engage with its broader communities to promote equity, social justice, and inclusion (i.e. community volunteer activities, corporate social responsibility initiatives, etc.)
• Serve as a D&I communications vehicle to senior management as well as across the organization by helping to develop the tone of internal messaging
• Conduct a self-assessment of Council effectiveness during the current fiscal year that describes accomplishments relative to developed goals and chartered responsibilities, challenges and barriers encountered during the period,
and recommendations for solutions.
The D&I Council will have two co-chairs and report to the xxx executive team (i.e. including the CEO, CHRO, CDO). Co-chairs will be responsible for meeting scheduling and preparation, meeting facilitation, follow-up on action items, communication and messaging, liaising with the executive team, etc.
A member of xxx’s senior management team will be appointed as the Council’s sponsor. The sponsor will support the Council by providing guidance to the co-chairs; serving as the link between the co-chairs and senior management; acting as an arbitrator and making decisions that may be beyond the authority of the cochairs and Council members; and supporting co-chairs in presentation of recommendations to the executive team.
Members will be selected by the co-chairs from among employees who express interest in participation and who have approval from their supervisor after review of current workload and consideration of any other factors such as alignment with individual professional development plans. In general, committee membership
should reflect a diverse mix of employees, taking into consideration factors such as race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, etc. In addition, members should reflect different business areas of the organization.
Leading our efforts is our Global Diversity & Inclusion Council (GDIC), which is chaired by the CEO and provides strategic direction on how we approach diversity and inclusion as a company. Our GDIC is focused on growing the diverse representation of our workforce, promoting an inclusive workplace and being a place where all employees have the opportunity to achieve their goals and meet the needs of our customers.
Providing additional leadership to the GDIC is Corporate General Auditor, who serves as GDIC executive vice chair and represents the company’s management team and partners with our Global Human Resources (GHR) executive, to keep the management team informed about the GDIC’s objectives, progress and areas of opportunity. Providing day-to-day leadership of the GDIC are Vice Chairs, chairman of Global Commercial and Investment Banking, Consumer Lending executive and head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions.
Also serving on the GDIC is Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, whose Global Diversity & Inclusion Organization partners with GDIC leaders, GHR and other business and regional leaders to determine priorities and initiatives that position the bank as a leader in diversity and inclusion globally. Further, each line of business and region has its own Diversity & Inclusion Council that develops strategies to support our diverse and inclusive environment.
SGR provides a work environment where each person is valued for his or her perspectives, skills and talents, is treated respectfully, is able to communicate openly and is encouraged to develop to his or her full potential as a contributor to the success of the firm and the communities we serve.
To manage diversity so as to enhance the workplace and, in so doing, achieve competitive advantage.
To lead and guide the diversity management process with respect to policies and practices that achieve the Diversity Vision and Mission of the firm.
Diversity encompasses the unique characteristics, perspectives, skills and talents of everyone at SGR.
Effective diversity management entails maintaining an environment where each person is valued and allowed to contribute to his or her full potential and is required to achieve our mission: to enhance our workplace and, in so doing, achieve competitive advantage.
Everyone at SGR takes responsibility for diversity management and recognizes its importance to the firm.
