Q & A To have diversity, there must first be a strategic imperative

In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Deloitte Asia Pacific’s Chief Talent Officer, Elizabeth Faber, talks about moving the needle on diversity in a large, region-spanning organization.

- Mint Kang

In September 2018, Deloitte Asia Pacific, when it was formed, created a new role for the specific purpose of overseeing all people and partner matters in the entire region, from Australia and New Zealand to Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Taiwan: the Chief Talent Officer. The firm appointed one of its partners, Elizabeth Faber, to the position, with a clear mandate: create a more diverse and inclusive culture across APAC.

Faber, who has spent her entire career in various roles and geographies with Deloitte, is a long-time advocate of diversity and inclusion and has hit the ground running in the new role. One of her earliest initiatives as Chief Talent Officer was to create an AP Talent strategy to enable one of the key firmwide strategic priorities to create a culture of inclusion and growth. This proved so effective that in mid-2019, less than a year after her appointment, Faber was awarded the prestigious Diversity Champion Award at Campaign’s third Women Leading Change Awards. She also made it to the HRD Asia Hot List 2020 as a leader who has advanced the standing of HR in her organization.

People Matters asked Faber about her thoughts on how Deloitte’s D&I practices have played out to date, and some of the factors that help organizations succeed with an inclusive strategy.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

Q What are your thoughts on the D&I landscape in the Asia Pacific region? How has it evolved over the years, and are things where they should reasonably be?