Many companies are striving to be more inclusive and diverse. 16% of corporate directors surveyed believed their companies scored “excellent” for recruiting a diverse workforce. 83% believed companies should do more to promote diversity.
Of course, there are many businesses that believe they are doing well. Why is diversity important, read here:
What is an equal opportunity employer?
“An employer that pledges to not discriminate against employees based on race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.”
To be considered an equal opportunity employer means respecting diversity, inclusion, and equality while understanding the difference between those terms themselves.
Diversity is about recognising that there are differences between people and acknowledging that it’s beneficial to have a range of perspectives in the workplace.
Inclusion is valuing those differences and allowing anyone and everyone to thrive at work without the need to conform while still being able to perform to their full potential.
Why is diversity important?
Greater innovation
Different backgrounds and experiences mean more ideas, creativity, and financial results. Members of diverse teams see things in a variety of ways and are inclined to recognise new and different market opportunities. They tend to create more unlikely ideas and are capable of empathising and therefore marketing more effectively towards even more demographics.
In simpler terms, more diversity generally means understanding your customers even more. It’s also worth mentioning that women control 40% of wealth globally. They also influence up to 80% of all purchases made. Having more women than before in your workplace makes a lot of sense considering how much they’d have to offer considering these statistics.
Boosted Morale
It’s been shown that employees generally feel happier in an environment that promotes inclusivity and diversity. Boosted morale will usually translate to a major increase in productivity. Diversity is also a huge factor in employee retention with studies showing that a diverse workplace has 5.4 times high employee retention.
Diversity has also been linked to an improved company culture - where every employee feels empowered and feels free to bring their ideas to the table. This will unlock an even more vast array of ideas to clash and meld together, allowing for even more creativity and cooperation. It’s important that all your staff feel as though they matter and that their opinions carry weight. When your employees feel valued, they are more likely to work harder to prove themselves. It’s a lot better than them feeling restricted and this will most definitely lend itself to an increase in productivity from them and those they influence.
Furthermore, a diverse workplace will tend to lead to more teamwork. Teams will be equipped with a higher variety of skills, backgrounds, talents, and perspectives and these will all be allowed to mix and influence how everyone on the team thinks. Thus, these team members will have the chance to learn even more from each other than they otherwise would in a less diverse workplace. Not only that but it’s been shown that these ideas will lead to a more productive place of work than competitors lacking in such forward-thinking ways, with less diversity and inclusivity.
Reputation
Being a more diverse and inclusive business will mean a better corporate reputation. Social exclusion and a lack of inclusivity can limit business markets and growth.
Nowadays, more and more employees have a tendency to step back and look at their company as a whole, considering the image the company has. Related to the earlier point of employee retention, employees are more likely to leave when they lack trust in their company. Again, a lack of diversity, equality, and inclusivity is a major factor here.
Similarly, clients/customers are less likely to do business with a company that seemingly refuses to endorse diversity. This is especially so if they feel their own ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and/or disability isn’t shown to be reflected in the workforce of that company.
Furthermore, 47% of the millennial generation say they actively look for more inclusive employers before accepting employment.
Of course, there are many businesses that believe they are doing well. Why is diversity important,, read here:to your business. As time goes by, equality is becoming a more and more important subject, especially in business. We believe that it is important to endorse diversity and inclusivity in business and that more companies should be doing their part to include people from all walks