Deloitte’s new diversity, equity and inclusion strategy aims to increase the number of women in senior leadership by revolutionising parental leave, elevating part-time work and making managers at all levels more accountable.

For more than 20 years, professional services organisation Deloitte has made gender equity a priority. The company aspires to achieve 40:40:20 gender representation at all levels by 2027. 

This commitment has had a significant impact. Already, women work in 50 per cent of all roles up to management level.

However, in 2021, Deloitte realised that achieving change at higher levels was more difficult. 

The proportion of women working as senior managers and directors was plateauing at around 30-35 per cent. This, in turn, affected female representation at partner level.

Deloitte decided that a dramatic solution was needed. So, the company charged its People and Purpose team, led by Pip Dexter, with reinventing Deloitte’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The result was a powerful new strategy, which delivered a three-pronged solution. The first was an innovative and forward-thinking parental leave program. The second was the elevation of part-time work. The third was making leaders at all levels more accountable for gender representation. 

This strategy, named Making Work Work for Families, was a finalist in the Best Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy category in the AHRI Awards 2023.  

Going deep to understand the root causes of gender inequity

Before undertaking the reinvention, the People and Purpose team delved deep to uncover the root cause of the challenge.

“While we had – and still have – 50 per cent representation at more junior levels, why was it that as women progressed through their career they were dropping out of the organisation?” says Dexter, who is a speaker at AHRI’s virtual upcoming International Women’s Day event. 

To find out, the team examined data, best practice and academic papers. In addition, they conducted extensive consultation with employees – comprising more than 30 listening sessions and a survey of hundreds of participants from across Deloitte.

“We pride ourselves on designing people policies for our people and with our people,” says Dexter. 

“So, we ran a lot of focus groups and interviews.”

“It’s part of our philosophy that every man who is caring for a child is creating an opportunity for a woman who wouldn’t otherwise have it.” – Pip Dexter, Chief People and Purpose Officer, Deloitte

Deloitte’s female employees repeatedly reported they wanted to feel sure they could have children without sacrificing their family’s wellbeing or their career trajectory. 

Their priorities were flexibility, the ability to work part-time and ongoing support, such as ways to manage care during school holidays. 

Further, employees sought support at all stages – from planning to start a family, to returning to work, to looking after children during schooling, to caring for ageing parents. 

Read HRM’s article on how to support the ‘sandwich generation’ of employees caring for both children and parents. 

“One of the interesting insights was that women were starting to make choices about whether they would stay at Deloitte before they were pregnant,” says Dexter. 

“So, we knew the target audience, in many regards, was made up of women who were considering having a family.”

Innovative, forward-thinking parental leave

Armed with this insight, the People and Purpose team turned their focus to innovating Deloitte’s parental leave scheme.

Though the ‘target audience’ was women, the goal was to make parental leave – and the return to work – more accessible, flexible and easier for both mothers and fathers. 

“The research shows that people still think caring responsibilities need to be done by [a woman],” says Dexter. 

“It’s part of our philosophy that every man who is caring for a child is creating an opportunity for [their partner] who wouldn’t otherwise have it.”

This opportunity can provide a woman with the time and space to pursue her career – so, it’s essential to achieving female representation at senior level. 

Deloitte’s new scheme gives every employee access to 18 weeks’ parental leave, including superannuation, from day one – and there are no waiting times between periods of parental leave. 

On returning to work, parents receive a support payment which, Deloitte believes, is the first of its kind in Australia. This enables parents to work three days per week while being paid for four, or four days per week while being paid for five, for up to 12 months. 

“[Most parents] struggle with time and money – the cost of nappies, that you’ve gone down to one income, that when you return to work you have no time,” says Dexter. 

Returners also receive coaching sessions – and are relieved from financial KPIs.

“A lot of people worry about KPIs,” says Dexter. 

“‘I’ve been out of the business for 12 months; how can I come back, juggling my new life as a parent, with the same expectation?’”

Once children are at school, parents enjoy flexibility during holidays, with the option of working compressed or elongated weeks. 

In addition, the Deloitte Families Hub, an online platform, provides interactive resources, webinars, podcasts and courses, covering working dads, raising toddlers and teens, elder care and other subjects. 

Elevating part-time work

Given that many new parents struggle with time, it’s often the case that one decides to work part-time – and, more often than not, it’s the mother.

“The majority of our part-time workers are female,” says Dexter. 

“We have to break down this concept of [the] ‘breadwinner’, because you’re both breadwinners. How do you manage this together? 

“For a lot of next-generation families, both parents work part-time, both parents contribute [financially].” 

That’s why the strategy elevates part-time employment for all genders. 

The People and Purpose team developed a part-time playbook, which provides role-modelling, advice from part-time employees and guidance for leaders.

“We have a number of partners who’ve progressed their career while working part-time,” says Dexter. 

There’s also a part-time plan. This empowers employees to talk to their leader to clarify and agree on expectations about schedules, workload, communication, career progression and boundaries. 

“If you work part-time, we adjust expectations accordingly, so there’s no adverse treatment,” says Dexter. 

Making leaders more accountable for gender equity

As well as revolutionising parental leave and elevating part-time work, the People and Purpose team increased the accountability of managers at all levels.

“[Managers] must ensure 50 per cent of our hires at senior level are women, and that when we’re promoting at senior level we have gender balance, and that 50 per cent of people in our succession pools for leadership are women,” says Dexter. 

Further, gender targets are now incorporated into the financial plans of Deloitte’s 1000 or so partners in Australia. 

“We have to break down this concept of [the] ‘breadwinner’, because you’re both breadwinners. How do you manage this together?” – Pip Dexter, Chief People and Purpose Officer, Deloitte

Breaking down gender norms

In just 18 months, the strategy has started changing the way new parents at the company share caring responsibilities. 

There’s been a nine per cent increase in men taking 18 weeks’ parental leave in a block – from 15 per cent to 24 per cent. 

Further, the percentage of men returning to part-time work has grown by 20 per cent. 

“This is something I’m really proud of,” says Dexter. 

“The way you’re going to break down gender norms is with more dads taking on caring responsibilities.

“If we’re seeing more men taking blocks of parental leave, they’re getting deeper explorations of the realities of caring for kids, and making greater connections. 

“More men returning part-time is also really valuable, because, [presumably], they’re taking on shared caring responsibilities.”

Read HRM’s article on how to tackle ‘flexism’ against fathers who work reduced hours to care for children.

These shifts also have the potential to inspire cultural change. 

“What we’re doing is encouraging more men to walk in women’s shoes and understand the challenges of what women have done for decades – or centuries,” says Dexter. 

“I’m super passionate about that because I feel like, through our research and conversations, we’ve got to the heart of the issue – we’ve crafted our policies to address some of the real challenges that families face.”

Advice for HR professionals to champion gender equity at work

According to Dexter, the first step to addressing gender inequity is uncovering the driving forces behind it.

“Try to understand the root cause – because every business is different,” he says. 

“We asked ourselves why diversity was struggling to thrive at senior level, and, by analysing the causes, we were able to design a solution to address them.”

Secondly, it’s important to “rumble” with a challenge – and be open to counter arguments.

“You want to co-design with your people, but you also want to engage with the naysayers,” says Dexter. 

“It’s important to have conversations, and listen to criticism and consider [it].”

Finally, HR and employers should remember that jumping in the deep end is sometimes necessary. 

“Just do it,” says Dexter. 

“If [a policy] doesn’t work, you can wind it back – but you have to try it to find out.”

Hear more from Pip Dexter along with a range of other experts, including Sam Mostyn AO and Professor of Gender and Employment Relations Marian Baird AO CAHRI at AHRI’s International Women’s Day virtual webinar on 12 March. Sign up here.