The business case for diversity and inclusion is stronger than ever, with research regularly proving its positive effect on financial performance, creativity and innovation, and employee wellbeing.
Here are five resources that showcase D&Is benefits – and you can share as proof to those who think it’s just a corporate feel-good measure…
Companies with diverse executive teams posted bigger profit margins
In this study, McKinsey & Co. examined the financial data of more than 1,000 major companies across 12 countries, as well as the gender and ethnic makeup of their workforces.
The research found companies with diverse executive teams gained bigger profit margins compared to companies with relatively little diversity in their leadership.
Read the full article from the Wall Street Journal
How diversity makes us smarter
Have a read of this article by the late Katherine W Philips – a renowned American business theorist and the Reuben Mark Professor of Organizational Character at Columbia University’s Business School.
“Diversity enhances creativity. It encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision making and problem-solving. Diversity can improve the bottom line of companies and lead to unfettered discoveries and breakthrough innovations. Even simply being exposed to diversity can change the way you think.”
Read the full article on Scientific American
How diverse leadership teams boost innovation
In this study by the Boston Consulting Group, findings reveal increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to better innovation and improved financial performance.
Companies with above-average diversity on their leadership teams reported a greater payoff from innovation and better financial performance.
Read the full article on Boston Consulting Group’s website
The other diversity dividend
In this article for the Harvard Business Review, Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali describe the research around diversity and improved financial performance and provide recommendations on how to reap the business benefits of diversity.
Read the full article on the Harvard Business Review
Infographic: diversity and inclusion equals better decision making at work
Check out this infographic by Cloverpop – an organisation whose mission is to help companies transform their decision practices for improved leadership performance, business innovation and employee engagement.
They studied 588 real business decisions made by 184 teams in a wide range of companies over two years.
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