SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
Trust in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Article Highlights
An organization’s actions—performed with a high degree of competence and the right intent—can earn trust with stakeholder groups.
An organization needs to continually earn the trust of stakeholders through its actions.
What we mean by “trust” and “diversity, equity, and inclusion”?
Trust is the foundation of a meaningful relationship between an organization and its stakeholders, at both the individual and organizational levels.
An organization’s actions—performed with a high degree of competence and the right intent—can earn trust with stakeholder groups. Competence refers to your ability to follow through on what you say you will do and live up to your promise. Intent refers to the reason behind your actions, including fairness, transparency, and impact. Research shows that competence and intent feed into each other, helping to build and then maintain trust.
We provided the following working definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion:
Diversity: The characteristics with which we are born and gain through experience, both seen and unseen, that make us different and similar
Equity: The outcome of diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression actions wherein all people have fair access, opportunity, resources, and power to thrive, with consideration for and elimination of historical and systemic barriers and privileges that cause oppression
Inclusion: The actions taken to understand, embrace, and leverage the unique strengths and facets of identity for all individuals so that all feel welcomed, valued, and supported
Suggested Actions Tasks to help you prepare
The work should be ongoing to maintain trust levels. Organizations that allow “commitment drift”—defined by Harvard University Professor Elizabeth Doty and Northwestern University Professor Maryam Kouchaki as “perceived systematic breakdowns in keeping an organization’s most important commitments to its stakeholders”—are likely to erode stakeholder trust and eventually the benefits that trust creates. Click here for full article.
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Envirolly is a high growth sustainability research and advisory company, proudly serving sustainability professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help chief sustainability officers and sustainability leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with sustainability teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for you and your organisation.