Digital transformation reshapes diversity, inclusion amid pandemic – S&P podcast

As companies accelerate digital transformation moves in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are also driving diversity and inclusion initiatives, speakers said during an episode of "MediaTalk," a podcast by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The combined impact of the pandemic and social justice movements has made companies "more aware of the importance of diversity and inclusion," said Melanie Posey, Research Director for the Cloud and Managed Services Transformation with 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Organizations have become more attuned to how important it is to have diversity and inclusion in the workplace," said Posey, lead analyst on the newly published survey, "Voice of the Enterprise: Digital Pulse, Diversity & Inclusion 2021."

Because technology enables the monitoring, measurement and execution of diversity and inclusion, or D&I, initiatives, digital transformation leaders also tend to be leaders in D&I. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of survey respondents whose organizations are digital transformation leaders have formal D&I programs or commitments currently in place, compared to only one-third of those whose organizations are late to digitization. Digital transformation leaders are paving the way on D&I because "it's the right thing to do and it's good for the business," Posey said.

Digital transformation leaders also demonstrate a greater commitment to increasing the number of women in leadership positions (55% compared to 20% of digital transformation laggards), according to the survey. While women are still underrepresented in organizations' IT departments overall, they are driving digital transformation. Respondents cited application management/support and app developers/DevOps as the IT functions with the most full-time women employees, while IT infrastructure operations is the primary IT function featuring the fewest.

The digital transformation laggards do not appear likely to make D&I inroads anytime soon. According to the survey, 33% of these respondents report that their organizations are not considering creating formal D&I programs. The survey was completed Feb. 25-April 3, 2021, and comprised 490 responses from prequalified IT decision-makers.

Digital transformation highlights the importance of women "lending voices to conversations, having seats at tables and being able to shape and influence products and services" in the tech and telecom industry and beyond, said Nneka Chiazor, vice president of government affairs at Cox Communications Inc., during the podcast. Chiazor chairs the Diversity Committee at the Virginia-based Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

Progress aside, significant challenges remain regarding IT workforce diversity. One in five respondents surveyed think their organizations are not doing enough to promote workforce diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, despite intensified focus on D&I at the overall workforce level, fewer than half of the respondents report a similar commitment to D&I at the leadership level.

On the programming side, there is "a rising awareness from the viewers of not only who is on screen, but who is behind the camera," said Julie Ann Crommett, founder and CEO of Collective Moxie, an equity and inclusion strategy firm.

In 2020, a year when more than half of the top films released straight to streaming, films with at least 21% minority cast members enjoyed the highest online viewing ratings among all racial groups in the important 18-49 age category, according to the "Hollywood Diversity Report 2021" from University of California, Los Angeles, published in April.

"You're seeing an ever-increasing demand for stories that reflect our world as it is and as it will be," said Crommett, who is also a former vice president of multicultural audience engagement at the Walt Disney Studios.

The "Hollywood Diversity Report" also found that women and people of color gained ground in all tracked job categories: lead actors, total cast, writers and directors. But Crommett noted that people of color and women are still underrepresented as film writers and directors, and those in such roles typically helmed lower-budget films.

"We are seeing the trends all in the right direction in terms of audience engagement, accountability, and representation. We've got to keep it going," Crommett said. "The media industry has to keep producing more and more diverse and global content."