Extending the scope of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Diversity, equity and inclusion are areas where many businesses find it difficult to impact meaningful, successful and long-term change. During a Gowling WLG webinar, lawyers discussed different initiatives that various legal teams undertake in order to push the boundaries of DEI in a business setting.

The panel was chaired by Shereen Samuels, the Gowlings DEI leader during the webinar titled "The Future of DEI: How Far Have We Come and What Comes Next?" And asked participants to summarise their company’s journey on DEI so far. Riccardo D'Angelo is the Accenture Canada legal head which is a multinational professional services organisation says when we started thinking about DEI at first we looked into how we could reallocate some of our outside counsel spend towards minority or women law firms but then we got smarter and decided to start pivoting with all our external counsel providers for impact-led transformation.

For the next seven years, each of Accenture’s group had assigned its organiaations tasked with monitoring their document staffing to enable them evaluate companies through this data analysis and set targets. The Outside Counsel Diversity Awards were recently developed by Accenture’s legal department for recognition of such firms promoting diversity within the firm as well as within the world of law. “Accenture aims to become the most inclusive and diverse organisation on earth.” Said D’Angelo who thoughtfully quipped that they must have that equality culture.

By 2025, Accenture wants to achieve gender balance across its workforce while also aspiring for increased ethnic diversity throughout. These goals have been made transparent for purposes of accountability. Moreover, an attempt has been made by the company’s administration to form a pipeline for talent so as to increase diversity at every level involving internships programs etc. At BASF Canada team there is an effort put in place in order to represent different communities in which global chemical industry operates including creating a workforce that represents many different ethnic backgrounds. For many years, it set high targets for diversity in its business and leadership. “To ensure we are on track, I periodically review our targets and challenge us if they are too easy.” Claimed Marian Van Hoek who is the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at BASF Canada.

This team still has plenty of room to grow when it comes to inclusion, hence they aspire developing an inclusive culture and inclusive behaviour across all levels in a company. They also aim to provide tools and resources to C-levels so that their heads of organisations own corporate departments. There is also DEI target for every BASF leader as part of its commercial objectives. That’s why they hold their leaders accountable for creating a more inclusive environment within which, hopefully, these traits can be preserved forever said Van Hoek. This comprehensive approach combines three main areas within CIBC culture: learning inclusiveness talent management and supervision that ensures labor pool ad management mirror bank clients and society groups represented by this financial institution, as well as removal of barriers ensuring conditions where everyone can reach their full potential.

According to Andrea Nalyzyty, SVP, chief compliance officer and head of international regulatory affairs at CIBC, if they are not practicing intentional inclusion, they could be unintentionally excluding. Nalyzyty added that staff perspective from the employees’ point of view, procurement department and the community members that they serve better illustrate this. The bank aims at eliminating barriers to financial inclusion and increasing opportunities for customers. CIBC has set publicly announced representation targets for its workforce and rates success against these goals as a team. They provide hands-on training to their employees in addition to establishing a customer experience team with an accessible centre of excellence within it. Indeed, all the panellists agreed that cultivating diversity can pay ethical dividends. Van Hoek argues that DEI is a crucial business enabler while BASF operates on innovation as its lifeblood; without diversified teams contributing to products, they cannot be creative enough.

Samuels queried where the panellists believed DEI was headed in their businesses and what they expected from their vendors. D'Angelo wants firms like law companies or any other service providers outside the company to step up beyond Accenture’s expectations.

D'Angelo stated that her law firms should look into how many diverse candidates are being interviewed within our organisations across all levels of management so we have something more than just seeing different faces on interview panels. Also according to Van Hoek it is important to note that diversity does not come under fads or fleeting corporate strategies. It is here to stay and will continue shaping the way we work and behave towards each other. To effectively deliver logical council on behalf of our colleagues in business functions we must position ourselves accordingly in legal  technocracy.