Somebody who thinks a little differently can help see problems as opportunities and inspire a creative energy within the group’
Before we launch into answering this question, it is very important to understand what both diversity and inclusion mean.
Below is a definition:
Diversity means all the ways we differ. Some of these differences we are born with and cannot change. Anything that makes us unique is part of this definition of diversity. Inclusion involves bringing together and harnessing these diverse forces and resources, in a way that is beneficial. Inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect, and connection—where the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives are harnessed to create business value.
Organisations need both diversity and inclusion to be successful.
T Hudson Jordan Director, Global Diversity & Talent Strategies Pitney Bowes, Inc.
There are many factors that can be included in diversity: gender, age, race, ethnicity, accent, religion, native language, socio econonmic class etc… the list is endless.
So why is diversity and inclusion importance. The evidence speaks for itself – and so does the everyday experience of businesses across the world. Diversity and inclusion lead to more innovation, more opportunities for all, better access to talent, and better business performance. High Performing Teams are typically diverse, unconscious bias is reduced and organisational culture improves.
I have summarised the five reasons why diversity and inclusion are imperative for any business.
1. Diversity and inclusion are quite simply the right thing to do
It’s about creating equal opportunities for everyone – and we can all see signs of progress. But the statistics make it equally clear that there’s still a long way to go.
Take gender equality. Women account for 60% of college graduates but only 3% of leaders worldwide. Women and girls also represent two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.
2. It’s good for business
Companies that embrace diversity gain higher market share and a competitive edge in accessing new markets
- If organisations don’t manage diversity properly, they’ll get left behind
Today, workplace equality is front-of-mind for businesses, governments, regulators, society, and – most important of all – the vital talent that will drive their future success. So companies that don’t focus on this aren’t just at risk of being out of date, they already are.
4. Diversity plugs the talent gap for businesses – and is also good for society
Today, one of the biggest concerns for CEOs worldwide is not having the right people torun and grow their businesses. So they’re starting to look to diversity as a way to address this issue.
Good workplace diversity doesn’t just benefit the businesses themselves, but also the economies they operate in – a fact underlined by research from the non-profit organisation Catalyst. This shows that increasing the level of female employment could help raise GDP by 5% in the US, 11% in Italy, and 27% in India.
- Diversity and inclusion bring us all opportunities to learn from others and grow
By working with people from different backgrounds and with different experiences and working styles, we learn and get another view. Diverse views make for better decisions, and thus drive a high-performance culture.
The benefits of diversity are clear and unarguable. But this does not mean that embracing diversity is always easy. That’s why we all need to show leadership and hold ourselves to account.
Diversity is a journey – and we don’t kid ourselves that we’re near our destination yet. But we’ll keep raising the pace, energised by the fact that this is a business-critical journey that is also the right thing to do for our business, our people and our communities.
At Churchill Square Training & Development we have several courses that can help you understand Diversity and Inclusion, including ‘Diversity Training: Celebrating Diversity in the Workplace, this can be undertaken as part of a one day instructor led workshop or a short 2-3 hour elearning module. We also can tailor an Insights Discovery Beginning the Journey to improve self-awareness and enable a fuller understanding of diversity and inclusion.