By Allwork.Space, Written by Cecilia Amador de San José
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a term that’s been around the workplace for decades. However, it’s relevance for the future of work is unparalleled for various reasons. Among them is technology and globalization; we live in an interconnected world where diversity and inclusion can no longer be ignored. Secondly, social, political, and cultural movements are calling for increased diversity and inclusion within organizations, from small businesses to large multinational corporations.
In the past, diversity has been a metric that many organizations have strived to “meet”. This is changing in modern times.
Diversity and inclusion have become an integral part of business success and a key component of business strategy.
Research has found that diversity is advantageous for businesses, not only is it the right thing to do, but it has also been shown to increase creativity, innovation, profitability, and it equips businesses with better problem-solving abilities.
Bringing people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, genders, ages, and disabilities provides organizations with the unique advantage of having different perspectives, ideas, and experiences that can not only lead to greater collaboration, but can also lead to better ideas, innovative solutions, and create a much more empathetic and resilient environment.
Needless to say, research has shown that organizations that have prioritized diversity and inclusion within their business strategy tend to outperform those who do not.
A 2019 McKinsey analysis found that “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.”
The analysis also found that “the greater the representation, the higher the likelihood of outperformance. Companies with more than 30 percent women executives were more likely to outperform companies where this percentage ranged from 10 to 30, and in turn these companies were more likely to outperform those with even fewer women executives, or none at all.”