Episode 73 – Driving Fairness and Equity in Talent Management
Join Michelle Sequeira, CEO of Included, and Henrike von Platen, CEO of FPI in this engaging coffee talk as they discuss the importance of embedding fairness and equity into talent management processes.
Michelle shares insights from her 15 years of experience in embedding fairness into talent management, highlighting how data-driven decisions can dismantle bias in recruitment, performance, and pay. From debiasing performance reviews to advocating for full-time equivalent pay for part-time workers, Michelle shows how companies can turn inclusion from a “fluffy” concept into measurable impact. She urges organisations to collect and use data meaningfully, challenge assumptions, and prioritise equity across the employee lifecycle to close persistent pay and opportunity gaps.
Learn about strategic and sustainable approaches to drive change and create thriving workplaces. Don’t miss out on these valuable insights! You can watch directly at this link, or catch up with a summary below:
Fairness in Action: How Inclusion Can Close Pay Gaps
At the heart of Michelle’s message is a simple truth: inclusion isn’t fluffy – it’s measurable. By integrating fairness and equity into core talent management systems, companies can drive real change. “It’s about embedding fairness into recruitment, performance, and promotion processes,” she explains. These are areas where bias often creeps in – consciously or not – and where data can shed light on systemic issues.
Recruitment and Pay Transparency
Michelle emphasises recruitment as a key starting point. “We’ve seen many organisations where women enter the company at lower salaries than men, despite having similar qualifications,” she notes. A simple change – like removing salary history questions from application processes – can have a big impact. It prevents historical bias from being perpetuated and helps narrow pay gaps over time.
She also flags disparities in how part-time employees are paid and treated. In several organisations, part-timers – who are often women or caregivers – receive reduced benefits compared to full-time colleagues. Adjusting policies to ensure full-time equivalency helps establish fairness across contract types.
Debiasing Performance Management
One of the most powerful examples Michelle shares concerns performance reviews. A large organisation claimed to promote fairly, but when Michelle’s team reviewed three years of performance data, troubling patterns emerged. “Black male colleagues consistently received lower ratings on a five-point scale,” she recalls. This not only affected perceptions of performance but also decisions on promotions and bonuses. Her team’s intervention – analysing and debiasing the performance review system – had a significant positive effect on fairness and pay equity.
Data as a Mirror
Michelle encourages organisations to embrace data, even when it’s uncomfortable. “Firms often say, ‘We don’t have the data.’ But you do, or you can collect it,” she insists. She highlights the importance of collecting not only diversity data but also data related to employee experience and outcomes – like access to training, promotion rates, and usage of policies. Even in countries with strict data privacy laws, proxies and anonymised insights can help identify trends and gaps.
The Real Challenge: Seeing What You Don’t Want to See
When asked about the biggest challenge companies face, Michelle doesn’t hold back. It’s the reluctance to look in the mirror. “Organisations have to challenge their own systems and biases,” she says. Whether it’s realising all your ‘high performers’ are men or recognising that employees with disabilities are overlooked for advancement, the first step is acknowledging the issue.
Michelle closes with a call to action: use data not just to tick boxes, but to build inclusive workplaces where everyone thrives. “We’re all human. We have biases. But we can challenge them—with data, structure, and intention.”
