Financy, a Supporter of Gender Equality, Releases Tools to Enhance DEI in Enterprises

Financy, a supporter of gender equality, has introduced a new programme called Impacter to assist businesses be more accountable for diversity and inclusion.

A new cloud-based programme called Impacter, a first in the world, is intended to enable firms self-assess and enhance business outcomes in terms of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI).

'DEI washing' in Australia is a problem, according to Financy CEO Bianca Hartge-Hazelman. "By introducing a tool that can measure this and hold executives accountable for their actions, our goal is to prevent organisations from falsely claiming effective DEI initiatives."

"Despite having the best of intentions, many projects to increase workplace DEI frequently fall short because it is challenging to measure effectiveness and make sure leaders are held responsible for its success. Impacter can provide light on such situation, according to Hartge-Hazelman.

With the help of Financy's new software, organisations can now measure and monitor their DEI status and validate their results in a safe and secure environment. Evidence-based evaluations are provided on a quarterly basis. Impacter aids in holding corporate executives responsible and in compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012's requirements for things like gender pay gap reporting and other diversity concerns.

Through a protected dashboard, the programme offers real-time data and suggests best practises for business planning and risk management with regard to DEI.

In an Excel document, Hartge-Hazelman wrote, "I first created Impacter as an Equality Tracker Tool after growing impatient with the slow rate of change on gender equality issues as noted in the Financy Women's Index, a quarterly snapshot on women's finances and gender equality timeframes."

Impacter was created over the course of 18 months with the help of business professionals, academics that specialise in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the software company software For Good Group. The Impacter tests and special scoring algorithms were developed, tested, and reviewed in collaboration with Financy and the Centre for Workplace Excellence at the University of South Australia.

Late in 2022, over 30 organisations participated in a software pilot, and according to Hartge-Hazelman's analysis of the findings, organisations reported improvements in the gender pay gap, brand awareness, better budget allocation, time and resource savings, staying on top of DEI compliance, and higher staff retention and attraction rates.

According to studies, when workers feel that their differences are recognised, they are more likely to be content, creative, productive, and, let's be honest, more likely to stay with the company. All of these elements contribute to improved company success, according to Hartge-Hazelman.