Our Time To Act

Why is diversity important?

There are a lot of reasons why diversity and inclusion are important.  There are social justice reasons, there are theological reasons, there are physical and mental health reasons and compliance reasons.  There are a number of very strong business case reasons, but I want to briefly touch on some of the key reasons why diversity and inclusion are now more important for organizations and communities than they ever have been before.

1. There is a New Competitive Advantage:  In the past, most organizations in most industries were able to pursue competitive advantage through internal productivity and efficiency.  Productivity and efficiency are still very important, but they offer little opportunity for real advantage.  Because of technology, changing cost structures and other factors, there are very few things you can do regarding productivity and efficiency that your competitor cannot duplicate.  Today, the real opportunity for competitive advantage (for organizations, industries and communities) is found in the area of creativity, creative problem solving, design and innovation.  The research on innovation tells us that diversity and inclusion are critical ingredients.  Some good reading on this point:  A Whole New Mind | Daniel Pink, The Rise of the Creative Class | Richard Florida, The Difference | Scott Page, The Myths of Innovation | Scott Berkun, The Medici Effect | Frans Johansson
   
2. There is a BIG WAVE Coming:  We are approaching an unprecedented generational transition.  There are a lot of people starting to talk about generational diversity and the looming transition, but we probably do not understand all of its implications.  The baby boomers, which are the largest generation are getting ready to start leaving the workforce and they will be taking a lot of experience, knowledge and expertise with them.  At the very least this means a significant amount of volatility in leadership as some organizations are expecting to lose 50% of their senior leaders in the next 5 years.  This makes diversity and inclusion more important because it is greatly increasing the need to understand and leverage generational differences, but also because the next generation of leaders is going to be much different (demographically, cognitively, philosophy of leadership, etc.).  Some valuable reading on this point: Leveraging the New Human Capital | Sandra Burud, Workforce Crisis | Dychtwald & Erickson, Motivating the Whats In It For Me Workforce | Cam Marston.
3. There is a Whole New Workforce Coming to Work...Tomorrow:  In addition to other large demographic changes, The Bureau for Labor Statistics now estimates that by the end of this calendar year, 70% of new entrants into the workforce will be women and People of Color.  So...if you are not good (as a team, organization, industry or community) at attracting, engaging and retaining women and People of Color...you are going to be competing for an shrinking portion of the available talent.  So, it will not longer be enough for organizations to talk about how much they appreciate / embrace / value / live / love / leverage diversity...they are going to have to actually do stuff.  These changes in the demographics of the workforce are also attached to important changes in buying power and who it starting new businesses.  Since most companies do not provide diversity and inclusion training, support diversity councils or affinity groups, or have an actual plan...it is easy to find a place to start making and demonstrating a real commitment to diversity.  Some valuable resources:  Diversity Inc., Building on the Promise of Diversity | Roosevelt Thomas, Competency for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners | The Conference Board, Diversity Executive
   
4. There is a New Contract:  There has been a shift in the balance of power, with employees (current and potential) now having more power than they had in the past and employers having less.  This is because of layoffs and right-sizing, it is because of corporate scandals, it is because of the war for talent and other factors.  This is making diversity and inclusion more important because it means that employers are (if they want to be competitive in the war for talent) needing to do more to meet the unique needs of employees (current and potential) and groups of employees, whether that be Gen Y, working parents, African American or GLBT employees.  Good reading on this: Leveraging the New Human Capital | Sandra Burud, Why Work Sucks | Ressler & Thompson, The No Asshole Rule | Robert Sutton, Leadership and Self-Deception | The Arbinger Institute
   
5. We Are Not Blind:  We are not blind to race, gender, age, title, etc. and we should stop trying to convince ourselves and each other of this.  Our communications and interactions with other people are heavily influenced by our social identity and their social identity as we perceive it.  Rather than denying this we should appreciate the fact that it is more about human nature than about good or bad intentions and realize that will a little bit of awareness and intentionality, we can counteract much of this.  Some suggested reading and resources for this point:  Race in the Workplace, Blink | Malcolm Gladwell, Social Cognition | Ziva Kunda, The Heart of Whiteness | Robert Jensen, Privilege, Power and Difference | Allan Johnson, Social Intelligence | Daniel Goleman,
   
6. We Need Better Decisions:  In addition to driving innovation and breakthrough solutions, the research also shows that diversity generally (people have to be able to get along and communicate with each other) leads to better decision making and keeps groupthink in check.  If you take a look around at the world of busines, education, politics, healthcare and elsewhere...I think that you can agree with me that we need better decisions.  And we kind of need them now.  Our decisions, our lack of transparency, our process for selecting and supporting decision makers, are all failing horribly to meet our needs.  We need better decisions and one of the things that will help us move in that direction is more diversity and inclusion.  Good reading on this:  The Difference | Scott Page, The Wisdom of Crowds | James Surowiecki, Mavericks at Work | Taylor & Labarre, Wickinomics | Don & Williams, Group Genius | Keith Sawyer
   

This is why.  This is why (among other reasons) diversity and inclusion are so important to the continued success and evolution of our organizations and communities.  This is why it is our time to act.  We have to act, because we know.  We know that diversity and inclusion are critical components for success and we know that it is time for a new approach to human potential and a new kind of leadership.  It is Our Time To Act. Act or be left behind.  How will you act?  What will you do?

What will you do?  Will you do something to remove the barriers to diversity in your organization or your community?  Will you shatter stereotypes, challenge assumptions, ask big questions?  Will you seek out more diversity in your personal or professional life?  Will you begin asking potential employers, potential employees, potential vendors, potential partners what their commitment to diversity is?  Will you go to work today and ask about pay equity, or what the plan is regarding diversity?  Will you ask why there is so little racial, ethnic, gender diversity at the level of senior leadership, when we say that we love and embrace diversity?  What will you do?