NEW LEADERSHIP NEEDED FOR CHR. HANSEN AS COMPANY SUPPORT FOR EDI IS WITHDRAWN
Resumé: “Last year, our research revealed that 96% of statements issued by Fortune 100 and CEO Action Network companies in response to systemic racism lacked any details that would hold organizations accountable for taking action,” writes Center for Creative Leadership in newsletter. The Chr. Hansen case shows you cannot use EDI for PR purposes alone. Too bad for the board and management. As a contrast read what international service giant ISS did for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Publiceret 29. June 2023. By Peter Horn. Webeditor: Team
Danish multinational Chr. Hansen A/S (sustainable microbial solutions) fell in disgrace, when they announced their withdrawal of support to the Pride movement due to alleged pressure from unidentified customers on the American market thus acting against the EDI Principals (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion/Inclusivity). This calls for serious concern at the board and a new leadership to design the strategy of the future. Otherwise they should have left this delicate matter alone, put the money in their pockets – or used their PR budget on other good causes like the Salvation Army, homeless cats or to feed the poor. But not the LGBTQ+ movement.
Center for Creative Leadership in the latest newsletter on EDI*:
“Last year, our research revealed that 96% of statements issued by Fortune 100 and CEO Action Network companies in response to systemic racism lacked any details that would hold organizations accountable for taking action. Today, the pledges in these statements continue to be important, and organizational accountability for following through with actions that align with their words is critical.”
To get started the actions, Center for Creative Leadership has made an Action Guide for Crafting a Meaningful EDI Corporate Statement & Approach (here in an edited form):
EDI is everyone’s issue: Make it clear that creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment isn’t the work of a small group of individuals. Everyone in your organization plays an important part in creating the culture.
ACTION: Create communityand assign responsibility for action to individuals at all levels of the organization by using words such as “together,” “we,” and “all of us.”
Lead with a “listen-first” approach: Gather important information by listening closely to your internal and external stakeholders like employees, clients, and vendors. Learn their perspectives about historic and current problems, progress, conditions, and requirements, as well as the capabilities and limitations of resources, and how those impact their professional and personal lives.
ACTION: Deploy culture surveys that allow stakeholders to anonymously submit feedback, in a variety of formats (digital, paper, etc.) to ensure that sharing candidly is accessible to all. Examine employee reviews and void adding additional burdens on systematically excluded people by expecting them to provide education, unpaid labor, and/or mentoring to the rest of the organization.
Match message with metrics: Demonstrate that data-informed decisions have been made to elevate equity and assign human and financial resources to provide support for reaching organizational EDI goals. Get specific about actions your organization is committing to – including internally, externally, and publicly. Hold the organization and individual leaders accountable for change by setting goals that lend themselves to measurable short and long-term progress.
ACTION: Create community and assign responsibility for action to individuals at all levels of the organization by using words such as “together,” “we,” and “all of us.”
INTERNAL OPERATIONS
• Implement equitable and proactive recruitment and hiring processes
• Set targets for increasing representation of systemically excluded groups
• Allocate budget for EDI training and development for all leaders
• Conduct pay equity audits
• Establish goals for diversifying vendors
• Define organizational and financial support for Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
EXTERNAL PHILANTHROPY
• Establish an employee matching gifts program
• Provide paid time off for volunteer work
• Incentivize the support of minority-owned businesses
• Consider providing in-kind support, scholarships, and endowments
*EDI stands for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion/Inclusivity. Equity involves creating equal opportunity for all and eliminating barriers like discrimination and bias. Diversity recognizes and celebrates differences, including individual, social, cultural and political differences.
ISS dares where Chr. Hansen doesn’t: International Danish service company ISS celebrated Pride Month at the London Stock Exchange the other day. The company thus dared where Danish biotech international Chr. Hansen’s management and board didn’t. They stopped supporting the LGBTQIA+ community – as they were afraid of “dark forces in the US” and of losing market. So – “money before people”, seems to be the company’s new slogan after bragging otherwise.
According to The Danish-UK Association’s newsletter of July: “As the global Company of Belonging, ISS is proud to help build a safe, more inclusive society and create workplaces that are a place to be you.”
ISS partners with over 40,500 customers in 30+ countries and has 350,000+ employees. In the UK and Ireland, around 35,000 colleagues deliver places that work, think and give.
Read more: https://dkuk.org/…/iss-celebrates-pride-month-london…/