Diversity: What is it good for? Absolutely Everything
When considering a new job opportunity, research shows that roughly 64% of candidates research the organization to see if it’s a cultural fit. Among the top concerns is a diverse company where they can relate to and see people like themselves. A diverse workplace brings brightness and innovation, and that diversity is the sunshine that makes things grow.
What is diversity in the working world? Diversity is employing, retaining, and promoting people of different ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, and levels of education.
Studies show that a diverse work environment is fantastic for the bottom line. Companies with a diverse workforce experience up to 35% greater financial returns than their less diverse counterparts.
People with diverse, global insights and perspectives educate internal employees and clients and reach new and important customer demographics. This creates conversations about unexplored and new ideas. Organizations demonstrating greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture new markets.
Diversity heightens creativity in the workforce, and creativity increases innovation. The power of an inspired team to innovate creates game-changing results.
Increased creativity also inspires unique marketing strategies. Companies embracing diversity are 1.7 times more innovative. Customers connect and are more likely to buy from companies depicting culturally and ethnically diverse people. Diversity in advertising creates a positive reputation, increases marketplace awareness, and leads to an increase in clients.
What else can diversity do? Glad you asked: Diversity also improves team performance. Diverse leadership drives team success across all channels of an organization. A Deloitte article showed that inclusive leadership improved team performance by 17%. Diversity offers a powerful team advantage and inspires growth in the competitive marketplace.
Companies that embrace ideas and practices from diverse perspectives through diverse employees create a culture of inclusivity. Employees become ambassadors, and internal company advocacy attracts talented, ambitious, and diverse professionals. It’s the circle of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. And it’s a beautiful thing.
