Perspectives
Can you see me?
Inclusion is about seeing our differences and embracing them as strengths
At Deloitte, we want everyone to know they can be themselves and to thrive at work - in every country, in everything we do, every day. This can only be achieved by providing a workplace culture characterized by inclusive everyday behaviors and built on a foundation of respect and appreciation for diversity in all its forms.
Explore Content
We created a series of films which tell individual stories from members of under-represented groups. While the characters are fictional and are played by actors with similar lived experiences, the films represent the authentic stories of many people and were created to help us all understand that we are all a sum of our parts and experiences—and that our words and actions have an impact on others. We want people to take a moment to walk in someone else’s shoes and to think.
Respect & Inclusion at Deloitte
We are committed to supporting and empowering all of our people in achieving their full potential and to delivering our global purpose to make an impact that matters, each and every day. At Deloitte, we know how important it is that all our people can live and work freely as their true, authentic selves, and we are united against any form of social injustice.
We believe that an inclusive culture, underpinned at all times by respect, provides the foundation for a diverse and vibrant organization and understand that providing this workplace environment for all our people is a long-term commitment. We also understand that diversity requires deliberate action when it comes to the way we work. Whether through embracing the power of allyship, or by making our processes more inclusive, we are taking clear and consistent action to achieve the aspirational diversity goals that we have set for ourselves.
Our Global Executive and Board have committed to a number of global diversity goals. Progress against these goals is measured through a formal assessment to hold leaders accountable for their focus and effort in delivering our global inclusion strategy. Using these measures, progress on diversity goals is discussed at Executive meetings on a regular basis.
Here's how we’re taking action:
Deloitte leaders strive to achieve gender balance across the organization. We have set aspirational goals for all Deloitte firms and have developed consistent initiatives spanning the entire career lifecycle—from recruitment, promotion and succession processes to mentoring, sponsorship and agile working. Deloitte firm CEOs have committed to deliver on these initiatives and report progress to the Deloitte Global CEO, Deloitte Global Executive and Deloitte Global Board of Directors on a regular basis.
At Deloitte, we want everyone to feel they can be themselves at work, without fear of discrimination or prejudice. We want our LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans and more) people to feel confident in being who they are and empowered to thrive within Deloitte and within the societies Deloitte serves.
Deloitte has proudly endorsed the UN’s Standards of Conduct for Business in Tackling Discrimination against LGBTI people (the UN Standards) and is taking actions to further LGBT+ inclusion aligned with core areas of these standards. In line with the UN standard to act in the public sphere, Deloitte is also proud to be a member of the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality.
We believe the power of ‘allyship’ is a critical element of LGBT+ diversity, whereby our people support the rights and wellbeing of their LGBT+ colleagues. Allyship isn’t just passive support, but part of our everyday actions – visibly and vocally supporting LGBT+ people inside and outside of Deloitte. Allyship was a key theme in our Pride 2020 global Pride campaign.
Deloitte believes that supporting mental health is a critical aspect of inclusion and is working to address the stigma that still too often exists within society on this topic. The organization recognizes the importance of Deloitte people knowing where and how to seek support when they are experiencing mental health challenges and being comfortable they can raise such concerns without fear of stigma. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Deloitte Global to develop and roll out a series of podcasts focusing on ways in which Deloitte people can look after their mental health, focusing on common challenges faced during periods where people may be feeling especially worried, isolated or overwhelmed.
Deloitte is proud to be a founding member of the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health, a global business-led coalition being established to both advocate for and accelerate positive change for mental health in the workplace.
Deloitte stands against systemic bias, racism and unequal treatment. We take seriously our responsibility to listen, learn and lead the change we wish to see in the world. Within our organization, we continue to drive global and local initiatives to increase Black and Ethnic Minority representation, from recruitment to learning and development, career progression and mentoring. One of the ways we are taking action is by ramping up our substantial investments in the US, including an additional $5 million dollars of contributions and pro bono commitments, to a number of organizations that are fighting for social justice, tackling employment and wealth inequality, and creating educational opportunities for underserved communities. We are also a founding member of the Change the Race Ratio campaign in the UK, focused on increasing racial and ethnic participation in our businesses.
At Deloitte we are building an environment where people with both visible and invisible disabilities can actively and fully participate and demonstrate their abilities in the workplace and society. We have launched a number of awareness-building, coaching and education programs to enable professionals with disabilities to reach their full potential at Deloitte. We are cognizant of the benefits of neurodiversity and actively seek to harness the benefits of our people’s diversity of thought. We also take action to make sure our recruitment processes are inclusive of people with disabilities and that we are able to tap into this diverse talent pool.
Our shared values at Deloitte include, “Take care of each other” and “Foster inclusion.” One of the ways we bring those shared values to life is by promoting allyship, which means visibly and vocally standing up for the rights of others, addressing bias and unacceptable behavior - and using your voice to effect change. It goes far beyond expressing passive support - it is a long-term commitment to advocate for others. We want these films to inspire everyone to make a concerted effort to better understand the obstacles which individuals from under-represented groups can face and consider how they can provide support. Support from allies is critical to fostering a truly inclusive culture where everyone feels comfortable being their authentic selves.
We recognize that topics related to diversity and inclusion can be sensitive and people may worry about saying the 'wrong thing' or offending someone. This can lead to people avoiding these conversations all together. An inclusive culture relies on our people staying open to having these conversations. As such, we have developed a series of conversation guides which provide practical tips and guidance to help all of our people feel more confident having conversations about common diversity-related topics, including race, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.