Financy software to reduce ‘DEI washing’

A new software from gender equality solutions provider and creator of the Women’s Index, Financy, has been launched to help organisations improve their approach and outcomes regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Titled Impacter, the software allows businesses to measure and track their position relative to certain metrics by reviewing their DEI initiatives, including their gender pay gap, which are then scored and weighted through evidence-based quarterly assessments.

Businesses can also access real-time data, reporting capabilities to ensure compliance with gender pay gap standards and other diversity considerations under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2023, and recommendations for DEI best practices on one centralised dashboard.

Financy chief executive, Bian Hartge-Hazelman, said the software is working towards limiting the presence of ‘DEI washing’ in Australia.

“Our goal is to prevent organisations from falsely claiming effective DEI initiatives by introducing a tool that can measure this and hold executives accountable for their actions,” she said.

“Although well-intentional, many initiatives designed to improve workplace DEI often fail because measuring performance, and ensuring executives are held accountable for its success, is difficult. That is where Impacter can provide clarity.”

The software, developed in association with DEI professionals, tech company Tech For Good Group and the University of South Australia’s Centre for Workplace Excellence, underwent pilot testing late last year with over 30 organisations.

Participants were polled about the assets and capabilities they would want as part of a tech solution that supports the improvement of business outcomes through DEI consideration.

The results showed that 78 per cent of respondents wanted “tools to analyse their DEI position, set goals and compare against industry benchmarks”, 56 per cent wanted “financial performance tools to measure the business case for DEI objectives”, 44 per cent wanted employee KPIs to involve DEI metrics, and 22 per cent wanted achievable targets to support DEI performance.

Hartge-Hazelman said organisations that participated in the pilot reported improvements in gender pay gap, brand awareness, budget allocation, time and resource savings, DEI compliance, and higher staff retention and attraction.

“Studies show that when employees feel valued for their differences, they are likely to be more satisfied, innovative, productive and let’s be honest, more likely to stick around. These are all factors that boost business performance,” she said.

“I first designed Impacter as a Equality Tracker Tool in an Excel document after becoming frustrated at the slow pace of change on gender equality issues as noted in the Financy Women’s Index, a quarterly snapshot on women’s finances and gender equality timeframes.

“The Equality Tracker Tool was given the tech boost it needed when Financy partnered with the Tech For Good Group to develop the software. Through my work with the Centre for Workplace Excellence in the University of South Australia, we now have the Impacter tool ready for the Australian market.”