United Nations’ Summit of the Future: DEI is not going anywhere

Next week, the United Nations (UN)-hosted Summit of the Future convenes in New York — a four-day event that will see global leaders and stakeholders create a new Pact of the Future, meant to update sustainability commitments according to worldwide developments and conditions.

The scope of the summit is far-reaching, but will have effects in workplaces close to home, by advancing discussions around DEI, financial and economic wellness, and youth involvement in leadership.

“We often hear the question ‘Will we continue to focus on equity and inclusion in our workplaces?’ In a way, that has always been influenced by whether or not the broader society cares about this,” says Elysca Fernandes, director of human resources research at McLean & Company.

“It's been something that candidates and employees continue to evaluate their organizations on — whether their practices are inclusive and equitable. And I think that if there's a reignited conversation about it coming from the summit, ideally, we should see more of a focus on continuing to be inclusive and equitable within various institutions, across industries.”

The summit, which the UN calls a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for the international community to grapple with important questions,” will focus on global cooperation on key issues such as sustainable development, technology, and workplace equity.

It acknowledges that past UN accords, such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals of 2015, are no longer perceived as effective or sufficiently fair, and hopes to rectify that.

Conversation means renewed commitments to DEI strategies

Canada’s progress in the area of Sustainable Development Goals has been flagging — an indicator that renewed commitment to DEI strategies will be imminent, says Fernandes.

“This creates a bit of a renewed conversation on ‘What does it take for everyone to thrive? Where might experiences with health and well-being vary by demographic? Who is vulnerable in these cases, and how do we account for that, rather than dismiss that?’” she says.

“That goes right into being more of a trauma-aware organization. We often talk about when employees are raising challenges, are you saying, ‘Well, that seems like a you problem, it doesn't seem related to work, exactly,’ or are you responding empathetically and really using that information to connect, build well-being programs, create connection in an organization?”

According to the Canadian Indicator Framework, which reports Canada’s progress on the goals, there are several key points that show deterioration, including the percentage of Canadians who are “satisfied or very satisfied with their life” and who “perceived their mental health as very good to excellent.”

Employers will become increasingly expected to support employee health and wellbeing as national discourses evolve, says Fernandes, as initiatives such as the UN summit continue to bring these issues to the forefront. Human resources leaders who want to be ahead of this curve should prioritize analysis of broad trends and popular discourse, she says: “[It’s about] knowing what's going on in society, what your employees — who really often care about not only their workplace but their societies — what are they going to be asking about? What might they be focused on?”

HR leaders should lean into their employee listening strategies, she says, with the intention to respond to that information with a refocus on increased health and well-being supports, as well as including employees in decision-making processes around DEI as a sustainable goal.

“Conversations around the summit may create a bit of a renewed focus on DEI or renewed passion in employees as well,” says Fernandes. “So, if organizations have an opportunity to involve employees in being part of the solution, it's a great time to reignite those conversations too.”

Global talent: expanding horizons

The summit is also expected to touch on globalization and the opportunities it presents for tapping into international talent. Although traditional expatriation has been on the decline, forward-thinking HR leaders should be gearing up to match their workforce with global expansion, says Steve Degnan, retired CHRO of Nestlé.

Sustainable development and “stronger participation of developing countries in international economic decision-making” will result in corporate investment in up-and-coming nations, he says — an opportunity for organizations to inject global talent and experience into their talent base.

“This might be a way to enter some markets you ordinarily would not have entered, use some talent you would not ordinarily have used, and perhaps send some people on assignments, on expatriation assignments, to those markets, which helps make them a better, more insightful person and more useful to your company,” says Degnan.

International expansion has obvious economic and social benefits for regions into which the expansion is occurring, Degnan says, but there are also benefits to an employer in the way of more rounded and enriched employees.

“There's research that proves people who have global exposure become better contributors [to their] companies, everything from innovation to logistics and having insights on any number of things,” he says. “It makes your business better, it makes your talent base better to have people working for you that have had those kinds of experiences.”

If the agenda of the UN summit is any indication, globalization is going to become more of a standard of operations for organizations than it already is, says Degnan, and HR professionals can prepare for that by ensuring they have the infrastructure in place to be a strong international employer with the capability of supporting employees working in other areas of the world.

“Do you have policies and the know-how to help your people travel and/or visit other countries or live there, and support them while doing so?” Degnan says, adding that employers engaging in globalizing their workforces will help to accomplish what the summit is setting out to do — including more developing nations in global economics.

“Whether it's the way we're doing it today, digitally, or whether it's physically by building infrastructure in other countries, I think that's a win-win for everybody, and it leads to everything they want to accomplish at that conference,” he says. “If we do more of it, it'll lead to a more peaceful approach, it'll lead to more infrastructure being built. But it's got to begin with people being willing to engage across boundaries. I think the rest will follow from there.”

Spotlight on well-being and ‘decent work’

One of the central topics expected from the summit is the concept of "decent work" or “good” or “quality” jobs.

This idea, which focuses on stable, full-time jobs that pay well and offer security, aligns with ongoing efforts in Canada to improve labour rights and access to quality employment, says Fernandes.

Additionally, there’s growing anticipation that trauma awareness will gain more attention in workplace discussions, she adds. The realization that organizations must address the broader social and historical issues affecting employees — whether it's intergenerational trauma or societal challenges — is becoming increasingly important, and the summit will only strengthen that discussion.

“In Canada, [it’s about] recognizing that there is intergenerational trauma of Indigenous communities, above and beyond the general population,” says Fernandes. “Both through decent work, gender equality, some of the goals in combination, that will recognize that organizations can't just ignore trauma, ignore the impact of societal events as well as governments or institutional practices on vulnerable populations. We may see more recognition there.”