DEI Statements: Creating Effective Diversity and Inclusion Pledges

DEI statements showcase a company’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, guiding both internal policies and external partnerships. This article details the essential elements of effective DEI statements and their impact on organizational culture and stakeholder engagement.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. What makes a good company DEI statement?

2. What needs to be mentioned in a strong diversity and inclusion statement?

3. Nine inspiring examples of diversity and inclusion statements

4. Guidelines for writing a DEI statement that follows best practices

5. To sum up

What makes a good company DEI statement?

DEI statements about diversity and inclusion assist your organization in demonstrating your position on DEIB and how you practice it in the workplace. They’re a fantastic method for introducing your company’s diversity and inclusion goal to all interested in or associated with it, including applicants, business partners, workers, and other stakeholders. They’re also becoming a more crucial tool for luring people into your organization from a variety of backgrounds.

Let’s examine some of the greatest DEI statement examples to motivate you.

But first — what is a DEI statement?

A diversity and inclusion, or DEI, statement expresses a company’s formal pledge to DEIB and its activities or commitments.

A DEI statement frequently aims to convey an organization’s position on DEIB to its clients, business partners, and even the public, in addition to its staff and potential applicants.

What needs to be mentioned in a strong diversity and inclusion statement?

Depending on who you question and their tastes, different people will have different ideas about what should be on a good diversity and inclusion statement page.

For this reason, we have chosen several DEI statements from different corporate websites to give you a variety of samples to think about.

These led to the identification of important components that go into creating a strong DEI statement:

Begin with the statement: A diversity and inclusion statement should be succinct and direct. As such, it’s a terrific approach to quickly convey your organization’s position on DEIB to page visitors.

Include details: If you have it, include information in your statement about your company’s current inclusion and diversity initiatives. This offers more concrete proof of your DEI stance. For example, consider the proportion of people of color or women in leadership roles within your company or information regarding the gender pay disparity (if any).

Be open and honest: Admitting that your company isn’t quite there yet in terms of its DEIB goals or that you ought to have gotten to work on them a little earlier is quite acceptable.

Define your responsibilities: Clearly state what you promise to do in the short or long term. Some companies in the examples provided disclosed their primary DEIB commitments and detailed explanations of each initiative. Some people liked to keep their descriptions of their DEI commitments brief.

Enhance your DEI statement by adding resources: Some (big) organizations list resources on their DEI statement page that they utilize to assist their work in DEI. Consider incorporating racial equity strategies, workforce diversity reports, documentation on representation and compensation, etc. Testimonials from candidates or employees might also enhance the statement further.

Ensure that your website is usable: Inclusiveness should be practiced not only in the workplace but also in all your owned media. Make sure that your website complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and has been designed to be accessible to users with a variety of requirements and preferences, including those who are disabled.

Nine inspiring examples of diversity and inclusion statements

Let’s examine the diversity and inclusion statements from the organizations we’ve selected in more detail.

Workday

“Our approach to diversity is simple: it’s about embracing everyone. From cultivating a culture where all employees can bring their best selves to work to deploying diversity initiatives that support all, we’re doing what it takes to build a more equitable workplace and world.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

The diversity and inclusion statement of Workday is characterized by its simplicity. Their message is well-crafted and related to the objectives and mission of the company.

Workday created the VIBE Index to measure and create goals (and act upon the results) related to leadership, belonging, hiring, and other areas.

T-Mobile

“Diversity fuels the Un-carrier spirit. Our commitment to equity and inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience drives us forward every day.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

We appreciate how the company’s D&I statement carefully chose phrases that evoke strong feelings, like “fuels” and “drives us forward.” These make it clearer to the reader how essential T-Mobile believes diversity and inclusion are to the expansion and success of the business.

Additionally, T-Mobile has released their D&I statistics, providing concrete proof for these stirring statements.

Adobe

“At Adobe, we believe that when people feel respected and included they can be more creative, innovative, and successful. While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re investing to move our company and industry forward.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

The three words comprising Adobe’s DEI motto, “Adobe for All,” encompass inclusivity. Crisp, sweet, and exactly right.

The commitment to DEI’s key values of innovation, creativity, and success are succinctly expressed in the statement.

Nonetheless, the company’s openness to the fact that they still have work to do to promote diversity and inclusion makes this D&I statement an example of the finest. Although they’re not always perfect, things are being worked on. No holds are barred; just the facts presented as they are.

Boots

“Our teams, whether in stores or our support office, are amazing – they inspire great ideas, drive new plans forward and help make Boots a fantastic place to work.

Ensuring that we are always recruiting, retaining and promoting a diverse mix of colleagues who are representative of the diversity in our local communities gives us a great opportunity to have access to a broad range of ideas and allows us to give you the wide mix of products you know and expect from Boots.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

This diversity and inclusion statement excels because it puts the needs of its people first. The employees who work there are truly remarkable; they are the ones who propel new initiatives ahead and contribute to Boots being an excellent place to work.

The second section of the company’s DEI mission statement establishes a connection between Boots’ varied workforce and the local community’s residents, or the company’s clientele. Once more, the Boots staff deserves all the praise for making it possible for the company to provide its clients with a diverse range of items.

Spotify

“You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones.

Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all contribute, thrive and be brilliant.

So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

Spotify shows how a simple title can be effective. Additionally, Spotify deftly uses “musical language” to highlight its message and provide a link to the company’s product in its DEI mission statement.

On its website, Spotify provides global gender data for its leadership team and employees. Three-year data is presented to show how diversity and inclusion have changed within the company.

Target

“At Target, our team rallies around a single purpose: to help all families discover the joy of everyday life. That purpose and our inclusion of “all” directly connects to our inclusivity value as a company. We leverage our purpose to champion a more inclusive society that provides a fulfilling place to work and enhances engagement with our guests, communities and suppliers.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

Target does a good job of connecting one of its corporate principles, inclusion, to the company’s purpose, which is to assist all families in discovering the joy of daily life, in its DEI mission statement.

Target also champions a more inclusive society by connecting its corporate inclusion principle to a larger social goal. This DEI statement explains exactly what Target believes in DEIB for its workers, clients, partners, and communities.

Target has also released a summary of its “DEI history milestones” spanning over 20 years, demonstrating its dedication to accomplishing its DEI objectives.

HubSpot

“We’re committed to helping you do your best work. Our promise is to champion diversity, build an inclusive culture and product, and do our part to create a more equitable world. We can’t promise we’ll always get it right, but we’ll always put our people (that’s you) first.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

This is not all that HubSpot has to say. The company’s goal and the reasons it is crucial that they create an inclusive workplace are explained at the outset of the full DEI statement.

Additionally, HubSpot has made several of its DEIB pledges available to the public. However, we have included the organization in our examples of diversity and inclusion statements for other reasons.

This example is notable because HubSpot is dedicated to being accountable to the community and is forthright and honest about its progress.

Nike

“Nike, Inc. is working to build a more diverse, inclusive team that reflects the athletes and communities where we live, work and play.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

Nike’s mission statement, while succinct, effectively communicates two key points: 1) their organization’s core values; and 2) their status as a work in progress.

Adding further material to the page is another factor supporting their claim. This covers the proportion of women in leadership roles, the amount of money they invested in FY21 with diverse vendors, and their goals for 2023.

This one is another great illustration of a company’s diversity and inclusion mission statement that extends beyond its clientele and staff members.

LEGO Group

“We believe the LEGO Group – and LEGO® play – is for everyone, no matter where you come from, what you look like or how you identify.

It’s our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. To succeed in this mission and help all children develop the skills that will help them fulfill their potential, we must continue to play our part in building a more inclusive and equitable world, starting with our own organization.”

What makes this a good DEI statement

Here, LEGO succeeds in three key areas: it distills the statement into a few sentences, expresses the DEI element clearly, and connects it to the company’s (future) goal of empowering and advancing the next generation of builders.

Additionally, rather than just emphasizing its internal priorities, LEGO builds its DEIB with a focus on its social duty.

Guidelines for writing a DEI statement that follows best practices

The DEI statement can be written in various ways, just as there are examples of DEI mission statements. Put simply, there isn’t one correct method for crafting a cohesive message.

We have identified many best-practice guidelines to go by based on the advice in the examples above:

Create a compelling title

This does not mean you must invest several hours crafting an ingenious title. However, try to title your article anything other than “Diversity and Inclusion at X.” “Adobe for All” is a great example of a title that effectively conveys its meaning without being overly imaginative. Another unique title is “Don’t just work here. Belong here,” from Spotify.

Keep it brief and to the point

Try to summarize the main points of the DEI mission statement for your company in a couple phrases. Nike and T-Mobile are two excellent instances of this. Relate it to your values and mission. Nearly every example of a diversity and inclusion statement in this article demonstrates this. Target, Workday, and LEGO Group have done a good job of this.

Think about who your intended audience is

Think about who your company is targeting based on your DEI goals. Are you internally concentrating on your staff, or has your business also prioritized social media, clients, and vendors? When writing your DEI statement, emphasize who your target audience is.

Add a fresh perspective from your company

One way to differentiate yourself from the competition is to include your organization’s special sauce in the DEI statement. This might be accomplished using company-specific vocabulary (like in the examples of LEGO, Spotify, and Nike). Still, it could also be communicated by being genuine (like in the cases of HubSpot and Adobe) or having distinct priority areas (like in the case of Boots and its emphasis on its staff). Most of all, it should convey the essence of your business.

Be truthful

Seems obvious? Maybe it is. However, creating something that presents an unrealistic picture of your organization’s actual DEI status can be tempting when so many people—employees, recruits, customers, business partners, etc.—view your DEI statement.

To sum up

One thing unites this article’s DEI statement examples: they all demonstrate how these businesses implement practical efforts and tactics to advance DEIB at work. This is essential to giving credibility to your statement because it demonstrates to others that you are genuine.

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DEI Statements: Creating Effective Diversity and Inclusion Pledges

What makes a good company DEI statement?

What needs to be mentioned in a strong diversity and inclusion statement?

Nine inspiring examples of diversity and inclusion statements

Guidelines for writing a DEI statement that follows best practices

To sum up

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