National Inclusion Week (NIW) is an annual campaign dedicated to celebrating and promoting inclusion in workplaces and communities. It was created by Inclusive Employers, and it provides an annual opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of inclusion, and to help organisations drive sustainable change.

This year’s theme is #ImpactMatters. Impact matters because it transforms good intentions into meaningful, measurable change. It moves our personal and organisational EDI strategies and efforts from “activity” or “initiatives” to purposeful actions that improves organisational cultures and equity for all. Whether you’re just starting your EDI strategy, or are refreshing your approach –  regularly focusing on impact ensures that your efforts lead to positive, lasting results.

Here are three practicable ways to make an impact in your goals to improve equity diversity and inclusion in your workplace:

1. Build an Inclusive Culture Through Leadership and Policies

Ensure that your leadership team visibly models inclusive behaviours and advocates for EDI principles. Develop and implement policies that promote equitable opportunities, eliminate bias, and ensure diversity is reflected at all levels of the organisation.

Examples include auditing recruitment and selection outcomes by key demographic groups to understand the evidence behind the need to debias organisational policies and protocols. Understanding your recruitment pipeline, and the reasons for a lack of representation are key to taking focused and evidence-based action to make a positive impact.

Visible leadership and inclusive policies create an environment where diversity is valued, leading to a more inclusive and supportive workplace or community. When leadership is outwardly committed to EDI and speak about the importance of it often, others are encouraged to follow.

2. Offer regular and meaningful education and awareness

Many organisations offer mandatory EDI training to all new starters. Ask your colleagues what more they need to truly understand EDI, and what specific topics they need more development on to enable them to take personal actions to improve organisational practices.

Implement regular learning opportunities that align with your overall EDI strategy and promote culture change. This can include workshops, speaker sessions, reflective spaces, reading groups, mentoring, and open dialogues. Encourage continuous learning about different cultures, identities, and perspectives to improve self reflection and identification of biases and areas for improvement.

Increasing awareness and understanding, when aligned to an organisational EDI strategy and KPIs can make a change, but it must not be a one-off. A meta-analysis reviewed multiple studies on diversity training and found that EDI training can positively impact participants’ attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours. Short-term improvements were common, but long-term success depended on continued organisational support and reinforcement of EDI practices (Bezrukova, K., Spell, C. S., Perry, J. L., & Jehn, K. A. (2016). “A Meta-Analysis of Diversity Training Outcomes.” Psychological Bulletin).

3. Measure, Monitor, and Adjust Strategies

Use data to track diversity and inclusion metrics such as promotions, representation in leadership, pay gaps, disciplinary data, and colleague satisfaction. Regularly evaluate these metrics and adjust initiatives to ensure progress is being made.

By holding the organisation accountable through measurable outcomes, you can clearly see gaps and areas for improvement, ensuring that EDI efforts are effective and are mapped to your strategic long term goals. Data-driven decision-making is critical to making long-term, sustainable impact.

Regularly discussing how you are working towards these key areas, combined with visible leadership, education, and accountability will serve you well in creating a lasting impact that will lead to a change in culture and impacts for historically marginalised groups in the workplace.