IoD Ireland's New Survey Reveals Interesting Findings about DE&I Quotas

Institute of Directors (IoD) Ireland has come up with a new survey that states 59 percent of directors i.e., nearly 3 out of 5, believes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) quotas should not be mandatory.

In response to the survey questions, a total of 28 percent respondents answered that they didn’t have DE&I policy in place while citing their enterprise’s size or the belief with which the current legislation in addition to standard practice is sufficient to cover off DE&I.

For establishing an organisation-wide DE&I programme, the respondents expressed 3 most popular objectives that includes enhancing company culture with 24 percent, attracting/retaining talent (21%) and altruism (27%).

Caroline Spillane CDir, CEO of IoD Ireland said, “The results of this survey illustrate beliefs directors now have around DE&I and the supports they feel they need. Boards and business leaders need to look at their governance structures to allow for DE&I – having a policy to begin with, training on unconscious bias, clear KPIs to monitor success and having a board succession plan in place. Additional areas of reflection from the research addressed the importance of assigning DE&I responsibility at director/senior management level.”

While adding to the statement, she stated, “It is important for directors and business leaders to have an inclusive mindset when creating DE&I policy programmes to ensure all elements are included, and not just gender for example. Of those surveyed, one third of business leaders disagreed that the composition of their board took all elements of DE&I into account and no one strand was more important than others. Directors, consumers and employees, should feel that DE&I policies are representative for all, and are not just about simply filling targets, but a genuine mission of ensuring an inclusive and representative organisation. We, at IoD Ireland, will take respondent’s suggestions on board and will continue to offer support and education around diversity, equity, and inclusion for its members.”