Inclusive people development: Identifying, measuring & overcoming invisible barriers to DEI progress

Credit: Gorodenkoff Productions OU/Adobe Stock

Inclusive people development (IPD) is the process of growing knowledge and skills for employees while simultaneously removing barriers such as access to social capital and opportunity, so that all employees are empowered to do their best work. And while research recently commissioned by Torch shows that most companies have committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals as an immediate or short-term priority, they face significant and often invisible barriers to achieving them — barriers that are affecting retention, promotion and equitable pay rates.

In the context of business’s commitment to achieving DEI success, it’s important that employers understand better what’s holding them back from improving these key metrics. After all, aside from a moral imperative to act, a wealth of independent analysis shows that more diverse and inclusive workplaces perform better on financial metrics.