A diverse business community!

You are rather good at optimising, innovating and growing. Credit where credit is due. Now, a word about something that could lift you higher still: diversity, equality and inclusion. At the moment it tends to get parked in side projects. A spot of e-learning here, a pleasant seminar there. All very nice. But surely not quite enough?

Business unusual

What if you moved it right into the business strategy? Global forces are doing their level best to reduce diversity and inclusion to political sausage-making, while "merit" and survival of the fattest are busy pulling the wool over our eyes.

The facts rather beg to differ. Diversity and inclusion deliver stronger finances, happier staff and a greater impact on society. Consider this a friendly challenge: come along and help make the place better.

Profitability

Cast an eye over a couple of McKinsey reports. In 2020 they found that firms in the top tier for gender diversity on their leadership teams are measurably more likely to post above-average profitability. The same goes for ethnic diversity.

The 2023 report made the case stronger still. Diverse boards delivered better performance on both counts. This is not fluff and feel-good. It comes from data on over 1,200 companies worldwide.

Innovation

Hold on, we are not finished yet. The World Economic Forum has found that firms putting real effort into diversity pull in quite a bit more revenue from innovation than their less diverse counterparts.

In plain terms: more diversity, more creativity, better problem-solving. That is what we are trying to say.

A positive internal culture

Throw in a pleasant bonus while we are at it: happier staff. McKinsey notes that diversity lifts the sense of belonging, pushes down the grumble factor and fosters a warmer culture. That tallies with what we see on the ground ourselves. It draws in talent and lifts engagement.

Social impact

McKinsey argues it leads to a greater positive mark on society as well. Which stands to reason, really. Engage across a wider slice of society and you tend to reach it.

It pays off

So, dear business community, kindly stop treating diversity and inclusion as a "side activity". Bake it into recruitment, decision-making and culture instead. Start by measuring the effect. Set goals tied to your KPIs. Get your leaders involved. Widen the candidate pool, train people to spot and handle bias, and remember to celebrate the wins. It pays off. Financially, humanly, and in terms of being a proper member of society.

Consider yourselves hereby challenged. Come and help build a business community where everyone wins. And while you are at it, you will be helping to build a more robust society in these decidedly wolfish times.

So, who is game?