Current Status of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Swiss Companies

Abstract

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the work environment is a growing topic. More and more companies have become aware of the topic and are ready to make changes to guarantee a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone. As a concept, this requires deep familiarity and commitment from the company's leaders, so that it can be tied to the company's corporate strategy and people in the organization can profit from. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how Swiss companies implement the best DEI practices, and at the same time examine which ones emerge as best working practices. The theoretical framework of the thesis focuses on examining the purpose of Diversity, Equity, and inclusion. It delivers advice on how to build a working strategy and an overview of the DEI situation in Switzerland and its characteristics. The research part consists out of DEI reports’ analysis as well as interviews held to get a better understanding of DEI in Swiss companies. The research results show that the investigated companies are familiar with the successful implementation of DEI. One of the most important success factors of a DEI strategy is its implementation and alignment with the main corporate strategy. Furthermore, employees and especially line-managers need to be educated and sensitized for the topic while managers are leading by example. Concretely formulated DEI goals can then be measured through KPIs. The overall identified goal of the companies is to achieve a diverse and inclusive culture which leads to a comparative advantage.