Data is ‘king’ when it comes to DEI. But should it be? We think it’s time, in DEI comms at least, to move away from statistics and use the data to tell real human stories, that’ll make people feel something.
I read this recently.* There’s nothing wrong with it, even if it is a little bland. I don’t think it’s doing anything for the company, but it doesn’t make them sound terrible either.
In fact, the only real problem I had with the organisation that wrote it was how they chose to ‘prove’ what they were saying:
Now, at face value, it doesn’t sound too bad. But my approach to statistics is to flip them, and then to convert them to fractions. So, what these stats actually tell us is:
That’s the problem with using statistics. In fairness, it’s not a problem for just one company – far too often I see organisations trying to ‘prove’ how diverse and inclusive they are with stats like these. It took me all of 30 seconds to flip and convert them in my head. It would take the average person (who is likely far better at maths than me) half that time.
Now, the easy solution is just to turn your percentages into percentage increases. Saying “the percentage of people who feel they belong has increased by 5% since last year,” sounds a lot better than saying nearly a third of people don’t feel they belong.
I’ve taken some (roundabout) inspiration from Jeff Bezos. I recently heard him say this: “When the data and the anecdotes disagree, the anecdotes are usually right.” Apply that thinking to this situation, and what I hear is a call to focus on anecdotes.
Here, that means the stories that people have to tell. I don’t mean the people stories we might be used to seeing. I mean real stories, told by real people, sharing real life experiences, positive and negative.
Stories that people can connect with. That resonate with them. That’ll make them feel something. More than any statistic you can provide, that’s what’ll make a meaningful difference. It’ll make your DEI comms feel ‘real’.
* A slight little white lie - I changed it a bit because I didn’t want to name and shame.