To boost diversity, equity and inclusion, ‘we need to take a fresh look’, head of Hong Kong equality watchdog says
- EOC chief Ricky Chu tells Post’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit 2024 that DEI initiatives have to become ‘essential value propositions’ for successful firms
- DEI is a concept used by firms and organisations to ensure their practices and policies can cater to the needs of employees and customers
Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) chairperson Ricky Chu Man-kin, speaking at the Post’s “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit 2024” on Thursday, said DEI initiatives had to become “essential value propositions” for successful businesses and organisations.
DEI describes a concept used by firms and organisations to ensure their practices and policies can cater to the needs of their employees and customers.
“However, there is always room for growth and improvement, and we need to take a fresh look at DEI now to further increase its impact,” he said.
“At the EOC, we believe we can achieve this by adding the letter ‘A’, which is accessibility, to create a new framework, DEIA.”
Chu noted that accessibility had almost become synonymous with barrier-free facilities for people with disabilities, adding that the idea should be broadened to include universal design principles, creating better tools, services and built environments.
Differing from barrier-free design, which would mean replacing and removing barriers through modification, universal design focuses on creating products or services that allow anyone to use them.
“Consider the automatic door as a simple example, not only does it make entering and exiting buildings easier for individuals with disabilities, but also for the elderly, parents with children,” he said, noting that it even helped those with their heads down scrolling on their phones.
Chu said that to kick-start the conversation on making the city more accessible, the watchdog had released a guide on universal design for the catering industry in October.
It had also launched an award scheme for companies and organisations with outstanding contributions and performances in providing an accessible built environment and wider adoption of the concept.
The Universal Design Award Scheme, he noted, would receive applications starting on Thursday.
The commission is also starting discussions on digital accessibility with the catering sector. It is also conducting research on digital accessibility for the ethnic minority community.
Meanwhile, Chu said DEI initiatives must also become “essential value propositions” for successful businesses and organisations following a shift in the factors people considered a good job and work environment in recent years, especially after the pandemic.
“A healthy workplace culture, being valued as an individual, and receiving personalised support at work, these are the factors that [have] now become top priorities for many people to consider as well,” Chu said.
“Under the circumstances, diversity, equity and inclusion [initiatives] are not just optional add-ons, they must become an essential value proposition for any successful business or organisation.”
The pandemic accelerated changes in the workplace, with remote working becoming common. Attitudes among workers shifted too, with more caring about their well-being and having flexibility.
Discussing mental health in the workplace on a different panel, Bonnie Cheng, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong Business School, noted that employees could also influence company culture.
“You can create your own teams and you can form your own basis of psychologically safe places where your colleagues bond together and have that kind of social tightness where you can share issues around mental health and workplace wellness,” she said.
“And hopefully that catches on at the top levels.”
