How AI Helps You Optimize For Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
In recent years, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) has become a focal point for many organizations. Yet, while most leaders would say they’re committed to DE&I, the gap between intent and measurable progress remains wide.
Moving the needle on DE&I requires more than aspirations; it calls for a concrete strategy and tools that empower teams to make a lasting impact.
The many benefits of DE&I ❤️
For most businesses, their DE&I strategy is rooted in the laudable aim to create a fair, inclusive, and transparent environment where employees from all backgrounds feel valued.
However, beyond this ethical imperative, diversity and inclusion can serve as a powerful driver of business performance.
Research consistently demonstrates that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones. By embracing diversity, organizations can enjoy several benefits, including:
Enhanced creativity
Diverse perspectives – teams of people from varying backgrounds and walks of life – inspire creative problem-solving and spark new ideas.
Boston Consulting Group found that diverse management teams generated 19% more revenue from innovation, showing that inclusivity drives creative and financial success.
Improved financial performance
Relatedly, studies link diverse teams to better financial outcomes: there’s a positive correlation between diversity and profitability.
For example, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability, compared to companies in the bottom quartile… and firms with ethnically and culturally diverse executive teams were 36% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
Higher employee retention
Unsurprrisingly, an inclusive workplace environment leads to greater job satisfaction, helping reduce turnover and fostering loyalty.
Gallup found that companies with engaged, diverse teams experience a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 59% decrease in staff turnover – resulting in substantial cost savings.
Increased engagement & productivity
Employees in inclusive teams are more likely to perform better, which (again) translates into stronger outcomes for the business. It’s particularly pronounced amongst younger workers.
83% of millennials, for example, feel more engaged when they believe their workplace fosters an inclusive culture. (Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends)
Quality hires (and a better reputation)
A commitment to DE&I attracts a broader talent pool and strengthens the organization’s brand image, making it a destination for top talent. What a virtuous circle!
According to Glassdoor, 76% of job seekers say a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. (This figure is even higher among Millennials and Gen Z candidates, who of course represent a significant portion of the workforce.)
The obstacles most organizations face 🚧
The challenge facing most organizations when it comes to increasing diversity is not necessarily a lack of willingness to change, but a lack of – or misapplication of – useful, actionable insights.
They have ineffective data: they can’t understand their current DE&I status, or how their various practices within HR might be affecting it.
Without detailed, role-specific insights, leaders may not fully understand the biases embedded in hiring or promotion processes. And, of course, subconscious biases can still shape decisions in subtle ways.
Human biases (subconscious or otherwise) can really impact decisions... and outcomes. In a classic study from 2003, researchers showed how simply changing names on a resume impacted callback rates across different races. Worryingly, White names got 50% more callbacks than Black names.
The answer lies in innovation – innovation you are possibly embracing already.
Transform your data and technology approach and see huge knock-on effects in the fairness of talent decisions, the diversity of talent pools and employee teams, the inclusiveness of your company culture, and the transparency and scalability for the future. And, of course, productivity and profits.
AI is the solution (but approach with caution) 🧐
Alongside the shift toward skills-based hiring, the adoption of AI tools within HR are redefining what’s possible in DE&I.
Of course, hiring based on skills, rather than educational credentials or a simplistic job title match, allows organizations to access a wider talent pool. When the focus shifts from traditional qualifications to skills, candidates from diverse backgrounds are more likely to succeed in hiring processes, leading to a broader, more inclusive workforce.
But what makes the skills-based approach possible in larger companies is AI – powerful, ethical, explainable AI.
It’s worth noting that not all AI is created equal – some HR technologies will use AI to filter out applicants, “read” CVs, and maybe speed up processes, but they won’t really help you widen the talent pool, make fairer decisions, and ensure diversity is prioritized throughout the talent lifecycle.
How AI can help with diversity 💡
A deeper understanding
The right AI-driven tools can help counteract human bias by evaluating candidates based on objective criteria (that is, skills and potential) – including skills people didn’t even know they had.
By analyzing data across an individual’s work history, AI can infer skills and potential, helping you better understand the full potential of each candidate – and match them with roles that align with their capabilities.
Remember: richer information means AI tools can work harder for you. The better your talent data, the better your talent outcomes.
“We have our own bias in how we build search, candidate search functionality across different sourcing platforms. This [AI] allows us to lean into sort of a non-biased approach in terms of, hey, we should include these other skills because they're really relevant and your keyword may be limiting to you. Maybe we’re able to uncover or resurface past candidates that we would never have found with our Boolean search that we know and love so well. So it’s really helped our team think differently about how we approach candidate sourcing.” – Mike Rizzi, Senior Recruitment Marketing Manager, DraftKings
Better recommendations
With that rich, dynamic skills intelligence, AI can “match” people to roles more accurately and efficiently than humans – without the human biases.
The approach works in two directions. While recruiters and hiring managers are shown insights around untapped potential in their workforce, or wider talent pool, candidates and employees can also see opportunities they may never have considered.
Simply being shown these opportunities – “the skills you possess make you an ideal fit for this role at our company” – will often give people more confidence to apply, and then more security in their position if and when they are hired.
And the impact of AI in this realm doesn’t stop at recruitment. AI-driven talent platforms can match existing employees to internal roles, training, and career opportunities, based on their skills and potential – fostering an inclusive environment where it’s clear that employees from all backgrounds can advance. You don’t need to wait for an informal tap on the shoulder.
Again, the right AI tools allow employees to see career pathways and opportunities within their organization that they may not have previously considered. By matching individuals with roles, mentors, and learning opportunities, AI helps create a transparent, equitable environment for career growth.
“I’ve really been an advocate for how technologies and AI-based human resources technology can really help prevent discrimination and further equal opportunity in the workplace.” – Keith Sonderling, EEOC
True explainability
Concerns about AI in HR often stem from fears of automated decision-making that could reinforce existing biases. However, ethical AI, when used with human oversight, can address this by providing explainable recommendations and enabling HR teams to track and mitigate any biases that might emerge.
With Beamery, for example, Talent professionals can see the factors that led to a certain recommendation (skills, experience, seniority, industry) and the relative importance of those factors. Read more about how we ensure our AI is fair, transparent and reduces bias.
By combining AI with a focus on skills and potential, organizations can unlock DE&I benefits at every level, from hiring and retention to career advancement. Leaders should embrace AI as a tool for DE&I while remaining vigilant about monitoring and refining its impact on fairness and inclusivity.
How Beamery can help...
Clients using our ethical AI-powered platform have been able to:
- Reduce bias, by enabling teams to evaluate talent objectively based on their skills and potential
- Match diverse talent to opportunities to move careers forward, with AI inference of skills and potential
- Create skills-focused job and career pathing for candidates and employees – empowering people from diverse groups to have confidence to apply for roles they would not have otherwise considered or felt they had a chance to be hired for
- Use events, talent communities, campaigns for diversity pipelining, engaging target audiences and nurturing talent from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds
- Access insights to monitor DE&I throughout the process and identify strategies and sourcing channels that drive engagement from underrepresented groups