SML x Meera Somji on the Power of Data in DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become critical to the success of organisations, both ethically and strategically. Clusivity is one company leading the way in using data to foster more inclusive workplaces. In this exclusive interview with SML, co-founder Meera Somji discusses Clusivity’s mission, and how data-driven DEI initiatives are reshaping organisations.

SML: Can you start by telling us a bit about Clusivity’s mission and the story behind how it came to be? What gap in the market did you spot that led you to create the platform?

Meera Somji: Clusivity’s mission is to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces through data, empowering organisations to make informed, impactful changes that help every employee thrive. The idea behind Clusivity emerged when Andrew, my co-founder, and I were colleagues at Smartxpo, helping clients make data-driven decisions about products and pricing in the exhibitions industry. In the summer of 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, we decided to run a research programme with DEI leaders and Black professionals in the industry to shine a light on existing issues and amplify the positive changes being made. We learned that there is a significant gap in how data was being used to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) challenges. Data is the language of senior leaders. So the lack of DEI data was holding back change and stopping people from growing and thriving in their workplaces. This gap inspired us to create Clusivity.

SML: What inspired you personally to focus on DEI and make it the core of your work with Clusivity?

MS: My personal motivation comes from a mix of my professional work, voluntary work, and academic studies. I’ve personally witnessed how success is often designed for people from particular backgrounds. Even when people from underrepresented groups break through, they face structural and systemic barriers. These experiences led me to pursue a master’s degree in gender studies, where I focused my research on labour market inequalities. I wanted to understand, on a deeper level, what can actually be done to build more equitable workplaces and unlock wider systemic change. This combination of professional experience and academic insight has driven me to believe that data could play a transformative role in addressing these hidden inequalities.

SML: Why do you think DEI isn’t just a moral obligation but a strategic one for businesses? What do you see as the key benefits for companies that prioritise diversity and inclusion?

MS: While there are many benefits, the most impactful for me is the improvement in employee retention. When you create a workplace where employees feel valued and want to grow their careers, you significantly reduce the costs of replacing those you’ve invested in and trained. Moreover, companies that prioritise diversity and inclusion attract top talent during recruitment. According to Monster’s Global Future of Work report, 62% of employees would decline a job offer if they felt the company didn’t support diversity, and that figure jumps to 75% for Gen Z. Finally, it is undeniable that organisations that benefit from a diversity of thought are more future-proof, better equipped to adapt to emerging trends, serve their customers more effectively, and drive innovation in their products.

SML: There’s a lot of talk about how diverse teams are more innovative. Can you give us any examples or data from Clusivity that show how diversity can contribute to innovation?

MS: One phrase I really like is “biased decisions are bad decisions”. Our work involves reducing biases, which ultimately leads to better decisions. All of these better decisions deliver innovation! One of the ways that I see this is with my clients in the exhibitions and tradeshow industry. I’ve seen several examples where diversity and inclusion strategies at events (e.g. promoting diverse speaker line-ups) has led to incredibly innovative panels and activations at events, bringing in new audiences! The teams have seen their events grow with new attendees and new pools of sponsors.

SML: How does creating an inclusive workplace affect things like employee engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction?

MS: The answer to this lies in truly understanding the experiences of your employees. Not assuming that all your employees have the same experiences. I love to say, your workplace culture is not the same for everyone at your company. It varies, because it is shaped and influenced by your industry, your leadership, your managers, where your employees are based, as well as the systemic and structural barriers that operate against people from marginalised groups. To improve engagement, retention, and satisfaction, you need to diagnose what is stopping your employees from thriving at work, and to do this, you need to take a DEI lens to capturing employee feedback. If you take this type of data-driven approach, you’ll see improvements across all of these metrics.

SML: What are some of the most common challenges organisations face when they first start their DEI journey? How does Clusivity help them navigate these?

MS: As I mentioned before, each organisation faces different challenges based on their size, industry, history, and their people. When they begin their DEI journey, however, everyone has the same challenge: where to begin? DEI is not about running initiatives. It’s about building a strong organisation where all your employees feel confident to build their career. Clusivity helps organisations begin their DEI journey by diagnosing what they need to do first.

SML: Are there any misconceptions about DEI that you often come across when working with companies? How do you address those?

MS: Back in 2022 everyone was telling me, but inclusion can’t be measured! How can you measure “inclusion”? It’s so wishy-washy. Immediately I felt like this doesn’t make sense, because we measure people’s perceptions, experiences, and sentiment all the time. I realised that this was an excuse not to do the work. In fact, inclusion is very easy to measure if you ask the right questions, in the right way (for example, completely anonymous), and for the right reasons.

SML: How crucial is leadership’s role in driving DEI initiatives? What practical steps can leaders take to create a more inclusive culture?

MS: Leadership are absolutely fundamental. Again, of course, I start with the fact that leaders need (and want!) to start with the data. What is our culture currently? How does this vary? Where do we want to be? Then comes the strategy, and the most important question, who will lead this? Who will be accountable for this goal? And am I giving them enough investment to achieve this? Those are the questions that senior leaders need to be asking and answering.

SML: How does Clusivity use technology to support companies in their DEI efforts? How can data help in measuring progress and ensuring accountability?

MS: Our recently published impact report goes into more detail, but basically, we take organisations on a 3-step journey. We use technology to diagnose the key challenges faced by employees that are stopping them from progressing in their careers and thriving at work. We equip our clients with the right resources, training and skills to address these challenges. Lastly, we use technology to measure the impact of these changes, empowering companies to communicate their progress to their employees, customers and communities. It is our persistent focus on measuring impact that makes us different from other organisations. To measure progress and ensure accountability, we rely on asking the people who know best – your employees. Our tools help employers listen to their people and understand their experiences at work, investing in the right places to make a difference.

SML: What are the key metrics or indicators that organisations should track to measure the success of their DEI initiatives? How do you help clients develop and track these metrics?

MS: I think this is an evolving area. Traditionally DEI has not been data-driven. And not every part of DEI has to be data-driven! But when a company can point to improvements in employee retention, employee engagement, it makes it much easier to keep up momentum. We all want to see outcomes in our work. We’ve developed the Clusivity Equity Index to give organisations an overall KPI to measure the level of inclusion on an ongoing basis, since other KPIs (like retention) can take a long time to improve. We calculate a set of scores covering the diversity of the workforce, diversity at senior levels, and employee views on progression opportunities and workplace culture. One single data point can provide a useful way to map where an organisation currently is and to measure progress.

SML: Do you see differences in how DEI is approached across different industries? How does Clusivity tailor its approach to meet industry-specific challenges?

MS: Every organisation is at a different stage when it comes to DEI. Naturally we see Clusivity index scores are influenced by an organisation’s industry – whether it is male-dominated, for example. Other factors play a big role – whether offices are located in large cities or more rural areas, the size and age of the organisation. Fortunately, the tools we have developed are applicable across all sectors. The questions we ask are relevant to workers in any field. We allow companies to tailor certain questions to make sure the results can be interpreted. We take the approach of empowering organisations to understand their own workforce and their own results, and then we put those results in the context of their industry and their population in order to identify the right areas for improvement. We look at best practices and evidence-based recommendations within the industry to develop the action plan.

SML: How do you think DEI efforts within organisations contribute to wider societal change? Can businesses really be a force for good in this area?

MS: Definitely. I have worked with enough businesses leaders to know that there are better workplaces and worse workplaces. Better jobs and worse jobs. Businesses that are seriously interested in building stronger organisations – with higher retention, more satisfied staff, and better results – are providing better and better jobs for their employees. How someone is treated at work – by their managers, their colleagues, and how their work is valued – makes a huge impact on their life, their wellbeing, and their family’s wellbeing. That is the type of broader societal change that DEI contributes to.

SML: For companies just beginning their DEI journey, what advice would you give to ensure long-term success and sustainability?

MS: I sound like a broken record, but measure where you’re at right now so that you can celebrate the small wins along the way. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And if you can’t celebrate small wins, you and your team will lose momentum. Measure progress, celebrate wins.

SML: Where do you see Clusivity going over the next few years, in terms of growth, innovation, and its impact on the DEI landscape?

MS: What a nice question! Our goal is to become the leading provider in actionable DEI data & analytics. As a result, I see the team growing (we’ve hired 3 people this year!) and our client base expanding into new sectors. I see us continuing to listen to our clients to develop new tools that help solve their problems – this year we developed 2 new tools, our self-ID platform and our Worker Protection Act Assessment (check our impact report for more). We’ve also been awarded a UK government grant to build AI-powered tools that make it easier for companies to take action. Ultimately, we are an impact-driven company, and we will measure our impact based on the inclusion scores of our clients improving! If their inclusion scores are improving, more and more of their employees are being supported to thrive.