In the past few years, one thing has become apparent: it is no longer enough for organisations to merely say they value diversity; they need evidence to demonstrate their commitment. In our digital-first ecosphere, an organisation’s website is typically the first point of call for potential investors, partners and customers. This prompts the question: How well does an online presence reflect a genuine commitment to diversity?

This is a tricky one, because currently there is no clear, standardised way to benchmark how effectively an organisation’s web presence reflects their commitment to diversity initiatives. Companies love to sprinkle the words “diversity” (and its cousins, “equity” and “inclusion”) across their webpage, but it can be difficult to see where the organisation is at with regards to their DEI commitments. More to the point, it can be difficult to offer advice for improvement, without a clear framework.

This is where this research, “Virtual Diversity Assessment: Enhancing Inclusiveness of Organisational Websites”, comes in. We have analysed the official websites of 150 organisations recognised as “Inclusive Employers” by the Diversity Council Australia (DCA) in 2023-2024, and measured how well they communicate their values. In doing so, we created measurable criteria for what we have called “Virtual Diversity”.

So, How Do We Measure Virtual Diversity?

Our approach was inspired by DCA’s criteria for inclusive employers – awareness, engagement, inclusive organisational climate, inclusive leadership, inclusive teams, and exclusion. We focused on key pages of the websites and assigned points based on the presence of DEI-related content on specific webpages.

Think of it like a scoring system:

With these metrics, we developed the Virtual Diversity Index for each organisation, offering a quantifiable way to assess and benchmark these organisation’s online representation of diversity and inclusion.

What We Found: Room to Grow in the Digital Space

Our analysis of these 150 organisations gave us some solid insights into how the values of diversity and inclusion are being communicated online. While a massive 92% of organisations have a dedicated section or page for their DEI commitments, we quickly uncovered that these messages are not always delivered consistently across the entirety of their website.

• Most Visible Efforts: Organisations are doing a great job showcasing DEI-relevant content on their Career page (82% of the organisations), Home page (73%), and Company Values page (54%). These are clearly seen as crucial spots for public messaging and attracting new talent.
• Blind Spots: DEI-relevant content was much less visible on the Leadership page (15%) and Our Teams / People page (29%). This indicates that while organisations talk about these crucial values, they might not always be demonstrating who embodies these values.
• Below the Median: By tallying up the scores for all pages, we calculated the Index for each organisation. We found that over half of the organisations (54%) scored below the median, highlighting the need for many of them to improve their online DEI communications. (You can check out the index score of each organisation in our paper!).

Beyond the Index, we also investigated one feature crucial for inclusivity: multiple language options. We found that only 28% of the organisations offered their website in more than one language. Unsurprisingly, global organisations tend to provide multiple languages, while most Australian-based organisations tend to have English-only websites.  

Deep Dive into the Blind Spots: Leaders and People

As per the above, our findings revealed two areas specifically where diversity-related content is notably lacking, and this presents opportunities for improvement.

Leadership page

With only 15% of organisations featuring diversity-related content on their leadership page, this was the smallest proportion across all our criteria. It’s understandable, to some degree, that these pages often focus on organisational structure or leader biographies, these may not naturally lend themselves to diversity content. For those that do mention diversity, this term, plus “inclusion”, “gender” and “equality” were most common.

Our Teams / People page

Only 29% of organisations include diversity or related terms on the Our Teams/Our People pages. When they do, the most common terms and phrases were “diversity”, “inclusive culture”, “social inclusion”, and “inclusive workplace”. Other mentions included “gender pay equity”, “equal opportunity” and “belonging”. This suggests a sense of general awareness, but not, perhaps, a consistent effort to connect diversity initiatives directly to team members.

Why Does It Matter: Boosting Organisational Communication

This study shines a light on the methods organisations use to communicate their commitment to diversity on their websites. While most are doing well on main pages such as the Home, Company Values, and Careers pages, there’s a significant opportunity to improve in other key pages.

For all organisations and those writing page content, here’s what you can do:

• Mirror Your Values Online: If you’re committed to diversity internally, your website should reflect that! Specifically, by increasing diversity-related content on the Leadership and Our Teams / People pages, you’re not just making a statement; you’re showing your commitment through the stories of your people who embodied these values. This builds trust and authenticity with visitors.
• Benchmark & Improve: Use our Virtual Diversity Index and our insights to see where your website content stands. Is your diversity representation clear on your Careers page but missing from your Leadership profiles? This study offers specific areas for improvement, helping you make data-driven decisions to improve your online communication.
• Beyond the Website: Remember, your website is a powerful front door, but it’s part of a much bigger picture. Our research also supports the idea of integrating internal survey feedback to get a truly dynamic and accurate reflection of your organisation’s DEI efforts. This ensures your online presence aligns with your actual workplace culture!

The main take-away here is clear: for your DEI commitment to feel genuine, it needs to be visibly demonstrated by your own people in your teams and your leaders. For a complete picture of our analysis and insights, check out the full paper!

Until next time…!