Cutting the gap by half would boost global
profits by US$3.7 trillion, along
with workforce ambition and empowerment
TORONTO, March 5, 2020 /CNW/ - A significant gap exists
between the way leaders and employees view progress toward equality
in their organizations, according to new research from Accenture.
Closing the gap will yield substantial benefits for companies and
their employees.
The report, "Getting to Equal 2020: The Hidden Value of Culture
Makers," which includes research across 28 countries, including
Canada, found that organizations
are at an inflection point: Today's workforce cares increasingly
about workplace culture and believes it is critical to helping them
thrive in the workplace (reported by 79% of women and 65% of men),
and a majority of leaders (63%) believe an inclusive workplace
culture is vital to the success of their business.
At the same time, there is a perception gap: nearly three
quarters of leaders (70%) feel they create empowering
environments where people have a sense of belonging, yet only
two-fifths (40%) of employees agree. Additionally, the proportion
of employees who do not feel included in their organizations is 9x
higher than leaders believe (18% vs 2%, respectively).
Most leaders also rank diversity and workplace culture low on
their list of top organizational priorities. The majority of
leaders ranked financial performance followed by brand recognition
and quality at the top of their list of priorities (83% and 70%,
respectively), while only 35% ranked diversity and 18% ranked
culture at the top.
"Accelerating a culture of equality in the workplace has never
been more critical for driving innovation," said Jeffrey Russell, President, Accenture Inc. "At
Accenture, we believe that a future workforce is an equal one, and
our research provides a roadmap for organizations in Canada and all over the world to build a
workplace culture where everyone thrives."
Narrow the gap, accelerate progress
Aligning leaders' perceptions with those of their employees
would yield significant upsides. Everyone would advance faster, and
global profits would increase by US$3.7
trillion.
If the gap were closed by half:
- The proportion of women in Canada who feel like a key member of their
team with real influence over decisions would rise from 1-in-4 to
nearly 2-in-5.
- The annual retention rate would increase by 2% for women to
90%.
- The proportion of women who aim to reach a leadership position
in their organization would climb by 46% to 25%.
The research is especially timely for leaders, as employee
expectations are only set to increase: It found that a larger
percentage of Gen Z, globally, is more concerned with workplace
culture than Boomers (75% vs. 64%, respectively).
"At Accenture, we recognize that when equality is made a top
priority in the workplace, people feel empowered to collaborate,
innovate and support each other," says Zahra Jadavji, Managing Director, Inclusion
& Diversity, Canada,
Accenture. "We are committed to advancing gender equality in the
workplace by promoting women at all levels, offering
flexible work arrangements, including job-shares and part-time work
schedules, to meet our people, where they are at all stages of
life."
The Culture Makers
The global report identified a small percentage of
leaders—'Culture Makers'—who are more committed to building equal
cultures. These leaders recognize the importance of factors such as
pay transparency, family leave and the freedom to be creative in
helping employees thrive.
In the global Accenture study, Culture Makers are much more
likely to have spoken out on a range of workplace issues, including
gender equality (52% vs. 35% of all leaders) and sexual
harassment/discrimination (51% vs. 30%). They hold themselves
accountable, leading organizations that are nearly twice as likely
to have publicly announced a target to hire and retain more
women.
While just 6% of global leaders surveyed are Culture Makers,
they represent a more gender-balanced group compared to the
broader group of leaders surveyed (45% women vs 32% of all leaders,
respectively). Additionally, a full 68% of Culture Makers are
Millennials, compared to 59% of all leaders. They are more likely
to lead organizations where people advance, focus on innovation and
remain committed – and their organizations' profits are more than
three times higher than those of their peers.
Achieving a culture of equality
The report lays out steps to help close perception gaps and
drive progress toward a more equal culture that benefits everyone
and enables leaders to continuously evolve their strategies to meet
changing needs.
The research reaffirms that bold leadership, comprehensive
action and an empowering environment are proven anchors for
creating a culture of equality:
- Bold Leadership – Leaders must truly believe that culture
matters and prioritize it. For example, benchmark progress
toward a culture of equality by setting and publishing targets; and
reward and recognize leaders and teams on progress. A culture of
equality starts at the top.
- Comprehensive Action – Go beyond the data.
Leaders should engage in a meaningful, continuous dialogue with
employees. Consider face-to-face meetings, focus groups, town
halls. Conducting ongoing, real-time conversations with employees
helps to capture feedback and empower leadership to quickly drive
change.
- Empowering Environment – Encourage and cultivate Culture
Makers. Create opportunities for future Culture Makers to
opt-in and take on specific culture-related roles within their
organizations and find ways to bring leaders and culture-minded
employees together to develop specific, actionable solutions.
Read the global report at: accenture.com/gettingtoequal
Methodology
Building on previous Accenture research
that has explored how to build a workplace culture of equality and
the benefits for organizations and employees, the report is based
on a global survey of more than 30,000 professionals in 28
countries; a survey of more than 1,700 senior executives; and a
model that combines employee survey results with published labour
force data. Accenture leveraged it's Getting to Equal research from
2018 and 2019 to create new data and analysis using three steps:
quantifying the perception gap, measuring the impact of the
perception gap on employee outcomes, and measuring the impact of
closing the perception gap.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global
professional services company, providing a broad range of services
in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations,
with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine
unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than
40 industries – powered by the world's largest network of Advanced
Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 505,000 people
serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings
continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and
create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at
www.accenture.com.
SOURCE Accenture