How to make a company more inclusive?

People with disabilities, men, women, seniors or juniors, workers from minorities, etc., all have different backgrounds and experiences. It is precisely on the conjunction of these differences that creativity and the ability to bring out new value propositions are based. In a context of profound changes in people’s relationship to work, the most inclusive companies are also the most competitive. 

The employment rate for people with disabilities is only 59.5% for the whole of Europe, compared with 81.9% for able-bodied people. At the same time, the gender pay gap has stagnated at around 15%, with strong disparities between countries, ranging from 3% in Romania and up to 20.9% in Germany, or even 22.7% in Estonia. 

Inclusion, a source of wealth and competitiveness for companies

Beyond the issue of remuneration, the poor representation of women in companies governing bodies continues to raise questions. In France for example, since 2017 the Copé-Zimmermann law has required that boards of directors shall consist of at least 40% of women. However, they remain a very small minority (around 20%) in management committees and executive committees. Not to mention that only one CAC 40 company is currently headed by a woman (Catherine McGregor, CEO of Engie). The situation is no better in other European countries. In the European Union as a whole, only 1 in 3 management positions is currently held by a woman. The proportion of women on boards of directors also does not exceed 27%. 

This situation is all the more incongruous given that, according to the Women Equity Barometer’s 2020 ranking, companies run by women show an average annual growth rate of 30%. This dynamism is confirmed by the firm Deloitte, which points out in its annual study on inclusion that “companies with an inclusive policy generate up to 30% more turnover per employee and achieve higher levels of profitability than their competitors“.  

Inclusive business and work environment

To promote the professional integration of all profiles, and because the difficulty of accepting difference remains a very human failing, HR policies are essential to spearhead inclusion. They must be able to respond to the need for companies to take better account of the uniqueness of each individual who works for them. 

The aim is to create a working environment where the overall performance of the organisation is based on the diversity of its members and the meaning that everyone finds in their work. This will create the conditions necessary to ensure that everyone is fully engaged within the company, and thus the conditions for inclusion. To achieve this, it is essential that each employee feels useful and recognised in his or her own right. This is a prerequisite for a good quality of life at work.  

Inclusive management is therefore based on two pillars: open-mindedness and team spirit. Local managers are the first point of contact for the propagation of this state of mind in the company and are an essential part of the inclusion process. In this respect, opening up these management positions to a greater number of women, people with disabilities or people from minorities is obviously not a neutral matter. Their role will be to promote exchange between employees, avoid silo effects and allow the emergence of new ideas. 

The inclusive company and disability

As Marie Donzel, an independent consultant specialising in inclusion and social innovation, points out, “inclusion is all about challenging the norm“. It is nothing less than a thorough re-examination of what is normal and what is not. For example, depriving yourself of the skills of a highly qualified person just because he or she is in a wheelchair is neither normal nor good for the company’s performance. Taking advantage of the current period to give a new dimension to working from home for people with reduced mobility can be a powerful factor of inclusion.  

In November 2019, more than 100 French CEOs signed the “inclusion manifesto”. Ten major commitments were made by the signatories, including the desire to enable young people with disabilities to benefit from better professional integration through internships and apprenticeship contracts, but also to raise awareness on disabilities among employees and to develop a managerial culture of diversity. 

Inclusive business and recruitment

This is why inclusion must be considered at a very early stage, from the point of recruiting employees. The objective is threefold:  

• To break free from the usual profiles to embrace more atypical ones. 
• Use cross-referencing and role-playing to reveal skills. 
• Look for inclusive potential in candidates. 

By freeing themselves from stereotypes, companies also promote the attractiveness of their employer brand. This spirit of openness often encourages the best talent to join them and get involved. The world’s largest companies have understood this well, and the initiative of French business leaders is far from a unique phenomenon. On the contrary, at the G7 summit in Biarritz in August 2019, 34 major global companies launched a broad initiative called “Business for Inclusive Growth“, convinced that their growth now depends on inclusion.