How Inclusion and Diversity Can Sustain the Petrochemical Industry
Business
In October I had the opportunity to write an article about
inclusion and diversity for a special edition of ICB Magazine to
mark the European Petrochemical
Association's (EPCA) 2020 annual meeting. As co-lead of RBA Pride, of
which ICIS is
a part, I jumped at the chance to share my thoughts and experiences about what
it's like to be gay in my industry, as well as celebrate some of the
achievements being made in this still very straight white male-dominated
business:
I joined ICIS in 2012 at the age of 32, and made the
decision to be out and open about being a gay man from the start. I had “come
out” to my parents at age 26, and to myself in my late teens. But in the eight
and a half years I’ve spent at ICIS, where I’ve been lucky enough to travel to
some fantastic places and experience some amazing cultures, I have also found
myself having to make the decision to “come out” time and time again. For many
of you reading this article, I hope you are sitting there thinking, “Well,
what’s the big deal? I know loads of gay people at work, or in my social group,
or in my family, and this shouldn’t even be an issue in 2020”.
However, for a gay man or woman in the business world, the
decision to come out to your colleagues, your managers, customers, suppliers or
contacts, can often be one you feel you need to judge, carefully, each and
every time.
Because, as a gay man or woman, or a bi-sexual, transgender,
queer or non-binary person, as a person of colour, or of a certain age, or with
a visible or non-visible disability, or even as a heterosexual woman, you are
already in the minority in the petrochemicals industry, and this can change
your perspective on how you feel you will be perceived and treated by those you
are engaging with. And it can lead to anxiety, feelings of exclusion, of not
belonging in a particular workplace or environment, and a feeling of being on
the outside, and ultimately, not feeling safe to be your whole self at work.
And it has been my own perception of how I think people will
react to my sexuality, and fear of exclusion or discrimination because of it,
that has stopped me in the past from being my true self in the business world.
But as I’ve grown older, and as I have seen diversity and
inclusion in the chemicals industry grow, I am now much less inclined to hide
my truth from the people I conduct business with – even if that business has
taken me to a country where I could face the death penalty because of my
sexuality. This is still the reality of the world we live in, even in 2020.
I&D makes for richer companies
Let’s look at some figures. A 2016 Credit Suisse study for
Open for Business’ “Strengthening the economic case” report showed that LGBT+
inclusive companies have stronger share price performance, and a stronger
return on equity. Put simply, companies that are more diverse and inclusive
make more money.
Looking beyond LGBT+ inclusivity, McKinsey’s 2020 report
“Diversity wins: How inclusion matters”, states that “the relationship between
diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has
strengthened over time”.
The report shows that in 2019, companies “in the top
quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have
above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. This
percentage rises to 36% for a company in the top quartile for ethnic
diversity”.
On the flipside, “fourth-quartile companies for gender
diversity on executive teams were 19% more likely than companies in the other
three quartiles to underperform on profitability”.
As well as better financial performance, inclusive and
diverse companies attract and retain the best talent.
The Open for Business report shows senior executives are more attracted to LGBT+ inclusive companies, with one in two claiming they want to work for a company that advocates LGBT+ rights.
For non-LGBT+ applicants, the study showed that, when
deciding where to work, 72% of non-LGBT respondents in the US said it was
important that an employer have an LGBT+ non-discrimination policy, and that
72% of allies across multiple markets said they are more likely to accept a job
at a company that’s supportive of LGBT+ employees.
It is wrong to say the chemicals industry is not strongly
focused on I&D, but there is much more that can be done to amplify the
excellent work already being done.
Open for Business listed chemical companies Braskem,
Indorama, Orbia Advance (formerly Mexichem), Petrobras and Reliance Industries
on their Global Challengers list, stating they promote equal opportunity
employment with specific mention to sexual identity and gender orientation.
One company leading in this area is Dow. With two leaders,
including chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling, on the OUTstanding 2019 LGBT+
Executives list, (the only chemicals company to feature), the company is
already in a good place to talk about the importance of I&D.
Katja Wodjereck, commercial director for Europe, Middle
East, Africa and India for Dow Industrial Solutions said: “I&D is not an
afterthought, but a catalyst that enables our business success, and over the
past five years, we have truly integrated inclusion into what we do from the
top down.”
The company has worked hard to build its I&D
credentials, establishing 10 employee resource groups (ERGs), including PR!ME
for employees of 50+ years of age, creating the role of chief inclusion officer
with a direct line to the CEO and seat on Dow’s leadership team, and inclusion
councils to drive change from the top.
“Our president’s inclusion council, an executive-level team,
is responsible for defining and driving our overarching I&D strategy… and
sets the tone for the organisation,” Wodjereck said.
Dow’s senior leaders inclusion council influences change
through senior mid-level leaders, who, said Wodjereck, are often the change
resistors. And the joint inclusion council proactively engages with the 10
ERGs.
“Inclusion focal points in each of our businesses, functions
and geographies help embed, sustain and implement the strategy across the
company,” Wodjereck added.
Dow has worked hard to create a culture of inclusion that
allows all employees to feel safe, and has visible role models across the
business that employees can look up to.
In an interview with EPCA in July, Anna Littmann, partner at McKinsey & Company said: “Highlighting women leaders can help companies to attract more female candidates, as it will help them realise that, as a woman with children, it is possible to be successful.”
A company’s culture is a key element for creating a strong
I&D base, as ICIS CEO and President Dean Curtis can attest to.
“You are unable to get diversity unless you have inclusion
and culture as key,” Curtis said.
“A psychologically safe and inclusive culture promotes
innovation and financial results through difference of thought. This isn’t just
about gender, race or creed but background, beliefs and experiences. This will
ultimately improve innovation and outcomes which statistics prove to be true.
We all have a role to play here every day,” said Curtis.
More work to be done
2020 has been a chaotic year, with many employees facing a
whole new (home) working environment, which can include a feeling of isolation,
or being cut off from the world, either in their personal or work life. This
feeling of not being seen, or physical or mental isolation from the working
world, can be something that minorities can experience every day in the
workplace, as Wodjereck points out.
“Anyone of us can feel excluded in certain moments at work
or outside of work, and my personal observation as a female leader has been
that many times exclusion is not an active intention of a male colleague or
business partner, [but] rather a consequence of not knowing what it takes ‘to
walk in the shoes’ of being a female leader in today’s world and many times be
a minority around a table,” she said.
If you are not intentionally including you are
unintentionally excluding – a phrase that sums up I&D very well.
Wodjereck stresses the importance of dialogue and listening
to each other.
“If we listen to someone that feels excluded, we can start
to understand - and only when we understand, we empathise and can change,”
Wodjereck said.
The good news is, chemicals companies are listening,
evidenced by the existence of many I&D executives, and by EPCA’s own
diversity programme “Talents of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow”.
Daniel Bowes, regional talent acquisition manager for EMEA
at Hunstman points to I&D being a key discussion point at leadership level
in the company, showing businesses realise the value of being inclusive.
Talent acquisition and retention is perhaps one of the
biggest areas where a company can argue for more investment in a I&D
strategy, especially if it is linked to another major topic for chemicals –
that of sustainability.
Brain drain
The chemicals industry is facing a problem – “brain drain”.
It is approaching a time when a lot of industry veterans are looking at the
next steps in their careers, either reducing work hours, a move to a new area,
or stepping away from the professional world altogether. With them goes
knowledge, and the chemicals industry is struggling to bring in new blood to
fill the gaps.
However, the topic of sustainability could draw in the
industry experts of tomorrow, who passionately care about and want to shape
their future world by being part of an industry that has the power to do so.
Increasingly, companies are realising that sustainability
and I&D go hand in hand.
“Petrochemicals is declining in Europe and is often not seen
as attractive as biochemical engineering [or] renewable sectors,” Bowes said.
“We should not forget, inclusion is also a dimension of
sustainability. This is why I would like to see the same focus that currently
is on sustainability to be deployed also for I&D,” Wodjereck added.
The discussion around sustainability is having a major
impact on the chemicals industry. Attracting the best and brightest talent and
combining that with the huge wealth of knowledge already in the industry is one
way of ensuring the industry sustains as markets change.
As both Wodjereck and Bowes point out, diversity is also
about inclusion of different ways of thinking, and having a business policy
that embeds I&D from top to bottom is one way of making sure the ideas keep
flowing and the answers to the challenges faced are found.
“Promoting sustainability in our industry is likely to give
us more opportunities to attract a more diverse workforce,” Bowes said.
ICIS’ Curtis also sees a confidence issue in an industry
that, by all rights, has a lot to be proud of.
“The industry can do more to believe in itself - in the deep
purpose of the industry and the role everyone who works in it plays,” Curtis
said, highlighting the impact it has on the global economy, on global trade and
supply chains, to the solutions of the future including electric vehicles,
recycled plastics, and sustainability.
Plus, Curtis said, the industry should not underplay the
important role it has in tackling the coronavirus, including providing
packaging, personal care and hygiene products, and the protective equipment
needed around the world to fight the spread of the virus. This is something the
industry should be proud of.
Moving in the right direction
Every industry has a lot more work to do across the whole
spectrum of I&D, but it is very encouraging to see steps are being taken
and, overall, businesses are moving in the right direction.
The huge amount of support from major corporations for the
Black Lives Matter movement after the shocking deaths in the US of George
Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed and Breonna Taylor show that, in 2020, the
public and employees alike will not sit back and let racism go unchallenged,
but will tackle it head on.
I hope the Black Lives Matter movement, as tragic as the
catalysts that ignited it are, has made everyone take a step back and consider
what it really means to be truly inclusive and diverse.
I have seen, heard and taken part in difficult conversations
around race, and I have seen my black colleagues speak out openly about the
struggles they face every single day because of the colour of their skin. And I
have seen my white colleagues supporting them, asking questions, educating
themselves, and most importantly of all, just listening to what is being said.
And the fact that my colleagues have felt brave enough to
speak out at work shows the importance of having a diverse, open and safe space
to embolden and encourage people to feel included, and bring their whole selves
to work.
So let’s celebrate the likes of Dow and its ingrained inclusiveness and diversity, the likes of Huntsman, ICIS and EPCA – and every single company in the chemicals industry – that is having these conversations and creating safe spaces that will allow I&D to be truly embedded in the chemicals businesses of today and into the future.
