As part of their leadership responsibilities, CIOs should leverage their influence and technology resources to take an active role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to Gartner, Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe disruption from the\u00a0pandemic<\/a>\u00a0and social injustices have raised employee expectations\u00a0when it comes to DEI,\u201d said\u00a0Rob O\u2019Donohue<\/a>, senior research director at Gartner. \u201cCIOs have an enormous opportunity to use their position as a digital business leader to support marginalized groups and meet\u00a0executive commitments<\/a>\u00a0with action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gartner recommends that CIOs and their direct reports focus on four key actions to advance DEI in the enterprise and in their communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Challenge Existing Thinking on DEI Programs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CIOs must take a strategic and self-reflective approach to their involvement in DEI initiatives, identifying a shortlist of DEI priorities that will have high impact and that IT can directly influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CIOs should challenge their IT teams to answer different questions on DEI, such as, \u201cWhat are the barriers to increasing diversity in the technology profession?\u201d or \u201cWhy do women tend to drop out of the technology pipeline as their careers progress?\u201d CIOs should select initiatives to become involved with where there is a collective passion and aligned sense of purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Develop an Array of Partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CIOs can advance diversity within IT by forging connections with educational institutes and nonprofits to help pivot or accelerate marginalized groups into a technology career. These partnerships can offer training and access to technology, which supports the creation of a diverse IT\u00a0talent pipeline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, CIOs can develop partnerships with sourcing, procurement and other stakeholders to ensure the diversity of their organization\u2019s technology suppliers. Gartner defines a diverse supplier as a business that is at least 51% owned and operated by individuals that are part of a traditionally underrepresented group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSupplier diversity offers advantages to the organization such as new approaches to digital transformation,\u00a0increased innovation<\/a>\u00a0and new channels for procuring goods and services,\u201d said O\u2019Donohue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forge Connections to Overcome Digital Inequities in the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn many parts of the world, one of the biggest barriers to equity is technology access,\u201d said O\u2019Donohue. \u201cThe digital divide has been even more visible since the pandemic hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n CIOs should identify technology inequities in the local community or in other regions of the world and leverage partnerships and internal resources to help close the gap. Address inequities by offering access to technology services, applications, and\/or technical expertise. For example, consider partnering with a local school in a lower-income neighborhood to provide laptops and tablets to students, or volunteer your employees to host an introduction to coding bootcamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strengthen IT Community Inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CIOs and their IT leaders can use their influence to reach out to marginalized groups within their teams to instill a sense of inclusion. Supporting employees through coaching initiatives or Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), such as a \u201cWomen in Technology\u201d community, can help to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs members of the C-suite, CIOs are uniquely positioned to provide key executive sponsorship and allocate resources for ERGs, mentoring and other inclusivity efforts,\u201d said O\u2019Donohue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gartner clients can read more in the report\u00a0\u201cAdvancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Society: How CIOs Can Play a Pivotal Part.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional analysis on how CIOs respond to adversity and discover digital business strategic planning tools and techniques to achieve business continuity will be presented during\u00a0Gartner IT Symposium\/Xpo 2021<\/a>,\u00a0the world\u2019s most important conferences for CIOs and other IT executives. IT executives rely on these conferences to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome business challenges and improve operational efficiency. Follow news and updates from the conferences on Twitter\u00a0using\u00a0#GartnerSYM<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner IT Symposium\/Xpo include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n October 18-21| Orlando, Florida<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n October 25-27| Sydney, Australia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n November 8-11| Barcelona, Spain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n