Why Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace is Good for Business

Realizing the full human potential of diverse teams in your organization requires inclusive thinking that is mindful of unconscious biases that can stymie growth.

The lifeblood of every organization is its employees. Diverse teams, all with their own unique skill sets and capabilities, can come together to share their experience and create something greater than the sum of their parts. But to get the best from someone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious belief, we must actively include them so that they can contribute to their fullest.

“Today, digital technologies are moving into the heart of everything we do, changing the way people work, live and how they innovate,” says Sarah Kaiser, Employee Experience, Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Fujitsu. “In a globalized, hyper-connected and multi-cultural society, diversity and inclusion are key drivers of employee engagement and productivity, talent acquisition, innovation, and growth.”

We know that diversity is good for business. A McKinsey report (Click here to read why Diversity matters) proved it, finding that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity were 35 percent more likely to generate above average returns, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15 percent more likely to have above average financial returns.

But there’s room to go beyond these traditional demographics and understand that everyone has a unique identity that influences how they work most productively. Whether you look at the cultural or economic background, disability, age and gender identity (i.e., transgender or gender non-conforming) or introverted and extroverted personality types, everyone needs something different to feel like they belong and are valued. If we’re not acting to include people, then they often feel excluded and find it hard to fulfill their potential.

Incorporating everyone’s needs

Inclusion should be about a lot more than a legal requirement to provide a room for prayer or a gender-neutral restroom. Those things are important, but at heart, inclusion is more about incorporation than accommodation.

If we accept that people perform at a higher level when their comfort, orientation, and beliefs are considered, then we should strive to ensure they’re free to work in a way that plays to their strengths. Why enforce a rigid structure, when affording people choice about how they work most effectively and supporting the choices they make gets better results?

“Diversity and inclusion enable businesses to thrive and grow,” added Kaiser. “Tech companies like ours can only continue to innovate when they have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. This is because they can draw on a greater number of perspectives and ideas to challenge groupthink and make something new. Plus, it is easier to provide world-class service to our customers when we reflect their diversity more accurately.”

Listen to people. Try to blend different workstyles, needs, and approaches into a cohesive whole that truly empowers people.

Level the playing field

We can’t divorce diversity and inclusion from the concept of equal pay for equal work. In some countries such as England, pay equality is a legal mandate.

The foundation on which you can build a welcoming and engaging workplace is a level playing field on pay. There’s no reason that race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, personality, or any other variable that’s irrelevant to the role should influence the wage.

Look at the industry at large and your employees internally and benchmark different roles. Quite simply, if the pay isn’t commensurate with the work performed and responsibilities, then it needs to change.

Tackle unconscious bias

People have a natural tendency to categorize the world around them. We evolved to be good at forming quick impressions and making decisions with limited information because it helped us to survive when danger was ever present. But this leads us to favor people we think are more like us. It leads us to make decisions based on assumptions not on facts.

It’s important to question our unconscious bias, and that starts with simply being aware of it.

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