3 tips for collecting DEIB data (and protecting your initiatives at the same time)

No.

That’s the answer to the question “Did SCOTUS’ affirmative action ruling make my company’s DEI program illegal?”, as HBR covers excellently in this article, written by a law professor at the University of California. 

Since the end of June, it’s a topic that’s plagued HR, hiring, and DEI teams alike. But despite SCOTUS’ shadow continuing to cast uncertainty, the wisest path forward for many organizations is becoming clearer. We go into more detail in our exclusive report, “SCOTUS & The Future of Workplace DEIB,” which is now available for a free download here.

Here’s a summary of what legal experts, including those we cite in our report, say:

• Pulling back on corporate DEIB programs could invite more risk, not less – especially when rulings like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis have sent a greenlight to bad actors. 

• “Companies will create greater legal and financial risk by divestment in DEI initiatives than they would by staying the course, understanding what is and is not legal, and continuing to do their part.” That’s from our own head of legal. 

• That’s because bias already exists in many companies’ basic processes and systems, and leaving bias unchecked invites substantial legal — and reputational — risk.

• For context, that’s what we’ve seen in a whole slew of previous Supreme Court cases that have disciplined employers for discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation, age, political affiliation, and ability.

Divesting from DEIB is a big risk. Companies are better off focusing on how best to shore up and protect their DEIB efforts, especially when those efforts are data-driven. As the HBR article reports, “Collecting [employee] data can also decrease legal risk because Title VII prohibits policies that create a disparate impact based on race or gender.” 

Knowing where your problems are — via data — allows you to take targeted, justified action to improve them. We talk more about that in our detailed report.

Don’t let SCOTUS, and the flurry of “DEIB is dead” claims the court has spurred, stop you from improving the way things work at your company, for all of your employees. 

Read on for 3 tips for collecting DEIB data.

3 tips for collecting DEIB data (and protecting your initiatives at the same time)

1. Keep survey participation voluntary, and model it after federal reporting. The EEO-1 report is a requirement for private companies who contract with the federal government and have more than 50 employees. It asks companies to report on the race and sex of their workforce, and has two requirements for doing so: first, that employees self-identify, and second, that employers are clear that filling out the survey is voluntary. Adopting these federally stipulated conditions for your own data collection is a good idea. 

2. Find a benchmark. Collecting data internally is vital — it lets you know the state of things within your company, and the scope of what you should focus on going forward — but it’s helpful to have an external benchmark, too. As Gartner explains, an external measure of representation within your competitors, industry, or region can help you set realistic targets. 

3. Protect the data you collect. However you keep your employee data, make sure that you secure it. Per the Chamber of Commerce, companies must follow guidelines from the Electronic Communications Privacy Act when collecting demographic data, which includes having a written policy on how information is collected, stored, and destroyed. 

For more recommendations, check out our in-depth guide on employee surveys and see which 10 DEI metrics we recommend tracking.