The Reality of Diversity – And Why It Matters

With so many companies that purport to highly favor diversity, but fails to execute it well, nothing will work until every individual working there feels like a part of the group.

It’s beyond a mere gesture; it also makes business sense. Research has shown that diverse teams are more innovative and improve company profitability. According to McKinsey, businesses in the top quartile of executive-board diversity were 35% more likely financially to outperform sector medians . Inclusive groups make better business decisions 87% of the time according to other studies.

Diversity is an action, inclusivity is a cultural concept while belonging is a state of being. Change does not begin with top-down leadership; it begins at all levels. We can be leaders if we wish, as well as take care of people we know. Once you believe you fit somewhere, your work ethic steps up because it becomes personal too. As a middle manager or supervisor, you play a crucial role in promoting belonging in the workplace. I got some tips from leaders who prioritise diversity for people from different backgrounds to bring their unique strengths at the table.

Think differently about diversity. Diversity goes beyond gender and skin color; ethnicity and mindset matter too. Gina Grillo, President and CEO of the Advertising Club of New York argues that one main obstacle to diversity is “we tend to promote people who we feel comfortable with”, which often translates into people similar to us.

Accordingly, data suggests that positions of power continue being dominated by race and sex: Over 72% white males serve as CEOs in the largest Fortune 500 companies while African American women are less than 1%.

Lauren Wesley Wilson says: "the [advertising and communications] industry is dominated by white women through middle management and white men at the top." “In public relations and advertising firms for instance, there are hardly any black people occupying leadership positions if any at all.Resumes submitted by hiring managers often seek like-minded people. It is not about diversity or difference but similarity and compatibility.”

Be intentional. Bring in diversity to the meetings; bring it as part of jobs too. In order for us to have different kinds of employees, we should all be bringing people to work who are different from ourselves.

Inclusivity means ensuring that everyone is included in everything you do and feels a sense of belonging irrespective of gender, race or sexual orientation. This serves both employee morale and productivity: Concealing our true identities has been shown to significantly impair our professional performance according to studies. We must embrace diverse perspectives and allow employees to express themselves if we want the diversity initiatives to succeed.

It’s not exactly an autopilot system. “Autopilot is being around people who think and look like you, it’s a very dangerous thing” said Hayden Kristen, the Chief Partnership Officer at IGNITE in the Dreamforce Equality Lounge. It's all about being present…It means you have to do things differently on purpose.

"Prepare Yourself to Feel Uncomfortable". Admit that having diversity is going to be tough. Antonio Lucio, CMO of HP Inc., quoted during Advertising Week at Girls Lounge in reference to this notion that leading diverse groups is fun and easy “and everyone’s going to hold hands and sing kumbaya.” He has made diversity a top priority for HP Inc. and their partners because he feels it is extremely difficult.

An MIT study found that in terms of performance, diverse teams beat out homogeneous teams every time. “What I found incredibly interesting [about this research] was that homogeneous teams felt great during the process but lost, whereas diverse teams felt miserable until they finished and met their target.” Nobody tells us how difficult it is…but hey this will work better though.

Middle managers can help by modeling diversity goals as well as helping their team overcome obstacles while working towards them. Pinterest found that when managers are educated on why diversity matters more employees are willing to try new things in support of related causes.

Empathy used for leadership. Paying attention to employee emotions fosters inclusivity and ensures success with different kinds of teams. Making your employees feel heard helps retain anyone from any background because feeling issues outlast job tenure. There are studies showing 40% of workers quit within 30 days of starting employment somewhere else. They wouldn’t do this if they felt connected from day one e.g., through leaders checking on them or mentors giving guidance.

Change must be accountable for itself too. We must start recognising our unconsciousness so we can become more consciously inclusive than before we were. We will change when we start being answerable to ourselves.

Companies should have metrics to track how well they are doing in terms of meeting specific goals. Some companies have incorporated diversity into their review processes so that they can reward themselves for meeting diversity targets. For instance, the National Diversity Agenda of Kaiser Permanente concentrates on creating a racially diverse workforce. Their efforts have not been in vain; about 60% of employees at Kaiser are people of color and the company has no racial majority among its workers so far. What internal diversity targets can you set as a middle manager and how will you track these results?

Lastly, treat your employees like your family members, embrace individual talents and respect one another’s weaknessness while fostering collaboration and safety for all employees in work place. This environment fosters belonging which converts your employees into their best versions possible.