Reflections on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)

An inclusive culture is fundamentally about valuing people. DEIB empowers individuals and enables organisations to benefit from the full spectrum of human talent and experience.

Inclusivity and Belonging – What Does This Really Mean for Organisations?

Marc Lubner’s recent article in the Sunday Times, on Disability Rights being the unfinished business of South African freedom correctly highlights that “we must acknowledge that we have so much work still to do for South African’s living with disabilities”. This is especially relevant considering the recently adjusted BBBEE targets for persons with disabilities (raised from 2% to 3% across all sectors). Organisations aren’t meeting the current goal, so how will they rise to new ones?

The disability sector has a powerful saying that encapsulates much of what I believe about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB): “Nothing about us, without us.”

This phrase comes to mind whenever I hear of yet another racist incident at a school, another child who has been denied education because of their disability, another marginalised leader whose voice has been diminished, or another conference on inclusion that fails to include diverse speakers. Representation matters. Inclusion matters — not just in words but in meaningful, consistent actions.

Lubner points out that despite being three decades into our democracy, “too many South Africans with disabilities remain invisible, marginalised in education, employment and public life”. DEIB calls for multi-level, structural change across all facets of our lives, yet this just doesn’t seem to be happening – at least not fast enough. It’s not enough for schools and businesses to display values of inclusion and equity on their walls. Those values must be embedded in hiring practices, inclusive classrooms/workspaces and reflected in the composition of leadership and governance. And a holistic, strategic approach is essential, one that is intentional, implemented, and tracked. Without this, nothing will change.

Moving Beyond Compliance

The first step in creating meaningful change is to understand the lived experience of diverse people within an organisation.

In Inclusion on Purpose (2022), Ruchika Tulshyan offers powerful questions that leaders (or in contexts where people feel unsafe, an outside party), can ask to create this understanding, and to begin developing an “inclusion mindset”.

  • Do you feel like you belong here? Why or why not?
  • Was there a time when I made you feel included? What did I do to foster that?
  • Was there a time when I could have done more to make you feel included? How?
  • How can I create a more inclusive environment in this team/organisation?

Listening to the feedback is only the first step. Action must follow. For example, if persons with disabilities report not being heard in meetings, leaders must actively create space for their voices to be prioritised.

Working at Multiple Levels for Lasting Change

Too often, organisations wait for a crisis before acting. The usual response is to call in a DEIB consultant (who may or may not be the right fit) or shift the blame to HR for a lack of process or policy. But a true commitment to DEIB requires shared responsibility and a clear strategy, led from the top, championed at all levels, and consistently tracked throughout the year.  This multi-level strategy must take into consideration:

Raising awareness by creating opportunities to hear the perspective and story of the other. I often meet South Africans who say they didn’t realise something was offensive or weren’t aware of a particular disability. Creating safe spaces for conversations builds empathy and connection and challenges our biases.

Secondly, leaders need to model what inclusion looks like in daily practice. They can do this by mentoring young people, using their platform to champion a person of disability, women or people of colour. When leaders model these behaviours, it signals that inclusion is a real priority.

Thirdly, capacitating employees to have the tough and uncomfortable conversations. Many small incidents escalate simply because people don’t know how to engage across difference. This can look like learning about different cultures and practices, expressing that you would like to find out more about a person’s background, and getting to know them better so you can support them. This is especially needed in the case of people with disabilities that aren’t visible i.e. mental health issues and chronic illnesses.  

Finally, exploring what structural changes need to take place in your organisation. Really examine your data. You may have representation, but only in one department or at one level. You may have many persons of disability but no accessible support or spaces for them. If this is the case, look at small ways in which to actively change this. Set targets and engage with organisations/ professionals who have achieved this and learn from their journey.

An inclusive culture is fundamentally about valuing people. DEIB empowers individuals and enables organisations to benefit from the full spectrum of human talent and experience. It’s not just about what employees know or who they know — it’s about who they are. As Lubner correctly says, we need to “reimagine inclusion not as charity but as justice, a fundamental right inseparable from the freedom we celebrate.”

Taegan Devar is an Industrial Psychologist and the Managing Director of Organisational Development company PeopleSmart (www.peoplesmart.global)

PeopleSmart is an Organisational Development consultancy working across South Africa and the continent. The company focusses on leadership development, the design of self-sustaining wellness and safety programmes, Women in Mining, executive coaching, DEI and team building. For more information contact info@peoplesmart.global.