Woman with red hair writing on a white board

Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng / Unsplash

How to Set Diversity Goals: 8 Examples of DEI Goals for Work

Articles May 8, 2023

Creating an inclusive, culture-centric organization might be an ongoing journey, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t milestones along the way. In fact, the only way to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout a company is to set meaningful, measurable, and achievable goals to mark your progress.

But, what should those goals be? If your organization is struggling with this question, you aren’t alone. Many factors influence the most appropriate and effective DEI goals, including the size and type of the company, the industry, workforce demographics, and the priorities of senior leadership. While every organization must decide which goals are right for them, we can suggest several DEI goals for companies that address common workplace challenges.

Why are DEI goals important?

It’s easy for DEI leaders to get caught up in their day-to-day agendas and skip over the critical step of defining what success looks like in clear and quantitative terms. By setting diversity and inclusion goals, DEI leaders help their companies recognize where progress is being made and how that progress advances bottom-line business objectives. In other words, goals help DEI leaders prove the return on investment of their efforts.

Identifying the company’s objectives and setting DEI goals for the workplace help build consensus and ensure everyone is working together. Clearly defined DEI goals inspire strong commitment from individuals as well as a sense of team camaraderie and mutual purpose. Goals promote interdepartmental cooperation as every department within the organization can better understand how they can best contribute to success. The clearer your organization’s DEI goals are, the better everyone can collaborate to reach them.

Team of business people sitting together in discussion around conference table. Diverse business group having a meeting in boardroom.

How to set diversity goals

Tags

Shelley Willingham

Shelley (she/her) is a Certified Diversity Executive and Chief Revenue Officer for The Diversity Movement. She enhances customer value, competitive differentiation, and revenue.