D2 A10 (15min pres)
Tracks
Track A | Ball Room 1 (recorded for In-person & digital)
| Friday, October 25, 2024 |
| 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM |
| Stream A | Ballroom 1 |
Overview
Team level gender diversity and outcomes: understanding the role of an inclusive culture.
(Catherine Leighton, Michelle Kam, Gina Chatellier)
Presenter
Dr Catherine Leighton
Principal Workforce Analytics
BHP
Team-Level Gender Diversity and Outcomes: Understanding the role of an inclusive culture
2:30 PM - 2:45 PMAbstract
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are commonly implemented across organisations. Hellerstedt et al. (2023) posit there are three different logics that drive DEI practices: moral justice, business case and power activism. The business case logic is more commonly used, as highlighting economic benefits of diversity is easier for consultancies and organisations than appealing to an organisation’s call to moral justice (Nkomo, Bell, Roberts, Joshi, & Thatcher, 2019).
The business case for gender diversity is well established in early business/management research showing organisations that embrace diversity reap the rewards of enhanced productivity, increased organisational effectiveness and morale uplift (Thomas & Ely, 1996). More recently, research has highlighted the complexity in understanding these relationships and the correlation/causation dilemma (Ely & Thomas, 2020; Georgeac & Rattan, 2023). This emphasises the importance of understanding these relationships within different contexts.
We conducted research of our Australian workforce at three different time points (2016, 2019, 2023) comparing teams with varying levels of gender representation and inclusion ratings on a range of measures including safety events, workforce experience and productivity. Across these time periods, the insights provide a compelling and enduring case for progressing inclusion and diversity.
For the purpose of the study, teams were considered “highly gender diverse” if they had between 40% to 60% female representation and “highly inclusive” if they had at least 90% of team members self-report that they feel treated with respect. A total of 1067 teams were included in the case study.
Whilst some positive effects are observed for gender diverse teams with low or moderate inclusion scores, greater uplifts are observed when inclusion is also higher. The best outcomes across engagement, enablement and safety perceptions occur in teams that are both highly gender diverse and highly inclusive – resulting in 22.5% greater engagement, 20.1% greater enablement and 17.6% greater safety perceptions, compared to teams with low gender diversity and low inclusion.
Teams that have greater female representation and report higher levels of inclusion:
• achieve better safety outcomes – with positive impacts on perceptions of safety as well as their willingness to speak up and report low level safety incidents; and
• achieve higher engagement outcomes - with associated positive impacts on productivity, turnover and unplanned absenteeism.
The data highlights why building inclusion is critical to unlock the full benefits of diversity, and to improve the experience of all cohorts across our workforce.
The business case for gender diversity is well established in early business/management research showing organisations that embrace diversity reap the rewards of enhanced productivity, increased organisational effectiveness and morale uplift (Thomas & Ely, 1996). More recently, research has highlighted the complexity in understanding these relationships and the correlation/causation dilemma (Ely & Thomas, 2020; Georgeac & Rattan, 2023). This emphasises the importance of understanding these relationships within different contexts.
We conducted research of our Australian workforce at three different time points (2016, 2019, 2023) comparing teams with varying levels of gender representation and inclusion ratings on a range of measures including safety events, workforce experience and productivity. Across these time periods, the insights provide a compelling and enduring case for progressing inclusion and diversity.
For the purpose of the study, teams were considered “highly gender diverse” if they had between 40% to 60% female representation and “highly inclusive” if they had at least 90% of team members self-report that they feel treated with respect. A total of 1067 teams were included in the case study.
Whilst some positive effects are observed for gender diverse teams with low or moderate inclusion scores, greater uplifts are observed when inclusion is also higher. The best outcomes across engagement, enablement and safety perceptions occur in teams that are both highly gender diverse and highly inclusive – resulting in 22.5% greater engagement, 20.1% greater enablement and 17.6% greater safety perceptions, compared to teams with low gender diversity and low inclusion.
Teams that have greater female representation and report higher levels of inclusion:
• achieve better safety outcomes – with positive impacts on perceptions of safety as well as their willingness to speak up and report low level safety incidents; and
• achieve higher engagement outcomes - with associated positive impacts on productivity, turnover and unplanned absenteeism.
The data highlights why building inclusion is critical to unlock the full benefits of diversity, and to improve the experience of all cohorts across our workforce.
Learning outcomes
At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will be able to:
--understand the role of inclusion as the unlock for the relationship between team-level diversity and positive organisational outcomes
--apply the insights of this case study to their workplace/research/consulting in relation team-level diversity
--apply the methodology of this study to their own particular workplace/research area to enable insights relating to team-level diversity, inclusion and organisational outcomes
--understand the role of inclusion as the unlock for the relationship between team-level diversity and positive organisational outcomes
--apply the insights of this case study to their workplace/research/consulting in relation team-level diversity
--apply the methodology of this study to their own particular workplace/research area to enable insights relating to team-level diversity, inclusion and organisational outcomes
.....
Dr Catherine Leighton is a registered psychologist and has over 25 years work experience. Catherine started her career in academia; teaching and researching at the University of Western Australia’s Business School. Catherine’s research is diverse with over 40 publications in areas such as employee turnover, bargaining, engagement, and emotion regulation and more than 400 citations.
More recently, Catherine had a career pivot to industry, taking up a role with BHP in HR Workforce Analytics. Catherine is part of a small team overseeing strategic people analytics work such as strategic workforce planning, diversity analytics, workforce productivity, and turnover modelling.
Catherine has cultivated a unique blend of academic expertise and business acumen. With the steadfast goal of “enhancing workplaces through evidence-based, data-driven decisions”, Catherine remains focused on the transformation of complex analytics into actionable outcomes via better data literacy and improved data communication.
Dr Gina Chatellier
RACWA
Team-Level Gender Diversity and Outcomes: Understanding the role of an inclusive culture
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM.....
Dr. Gina Chatellier, a dedicated advocate for cultivating inclusive and thriving workplaces, is a registered psychologist (Organisational Psychology Registrar) with a doctorate in Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Committed to data-driven decision-making, Gina brings expertise in areas such as people insights, career architecture, learning and development, organisational development, and leadership.
Gina's previous projects include developing a global certification model for delivery leaders overseeing projects exceeding $5 million and creating a career model for software engineers at Deloitte. She has undertaken research on future work trends for a global medical and pharmaceuticals company, reflecting a forward-thinking approach.
Gina's skills also encompass designing organisational structures, implementing behaviour/culture change measurement plans, and conducting 360 Leadership assessments, demonstrated through collaborations with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and senior leaders across various organisations. She's played a role in diverse initiatives, including developing a breast cancer patient journey and conducting a competitor market analysis for OncoRes Medical.
Among Gina's achievements is the Women in Tech WA 2023 Rising Star in AI, Robotics, Data & Analytics award. Her dedication to education earned her a High Commendation for Teaching at the UWA Business School, and she received the Best Paper: Symposium award at the APS 12th Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference. Gina has contributed to scientific knowledge through publications like "Cyberslacking, engagement, and personality in distributed work environments."
Gina currently works as a People Insights Specialist where she uses her love of data to help inform the organisation on how to improve work for its people. She is also an avid animal lover and sits on the board of Safe Animals From Euthanasia Inc. With a background in statistics, recruitment, motivation, job analysis, survey design, teaching, volunteering, and work design, Gina is committed to fostering positive and inclusive workplace environments for everyone.
