I was reading about Isle of Wight and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trusts, which advertised two diversity jobs on X. Elon Musk lashed out at the Trusts, saying the positions were a result of the “woke mind virus…(which) propagates like cordyceps through government and corporations.”
I had to look up “cordyceps”. I think he is referring to a video game where cordyceps are a deadly virus attacking humans. (I doubt he was referring to the genus of mushrooms…)
With all the fire and brimstone being hurled around right now, I thought I would use this month’s Full Colour Friday to steer us to the calmer waters of facts. There are so many out there, I decided to pick half a dozen as an amuse bouche for those who want to delve deeper into the rich reality of what equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is really about.
People remain committed to EDI
58% of US workers believe their organization devotes the appropriate level of effort and resources to their DEI initiatives; 21% don’t believe their organization’s efforts go far enough. The same research showed 48% of women and 56% of Black respondents said they wouldn’t work for a company that does not take DEI seriously.
Source: https://www.conference-board.org/press/dei-backlash
98% of shareholders of the major retailer Costco voted in favour of continuing efforts on EDI in the face of external pressure to draw back.
Diversity and inclusion make for better decision-making
Gender-diverse teams outperformed individuals 73 percent of the time. Teams with a wide range of ages and geographic locations made better business decisions 87 percent of the time.
75 percent of organisations with frontline decision-making teams that reflect a diverse and inclusive culture will exceed their financial targets. Gender-diverse and inclusive teams outperformed less inclusive teams by 50 percent on average
Source: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/diversity-and-inclusion-build-high-performance-teams
Inclusive organisations are better at innovation
Given the fast pace of change and intense challenges many organisations are facing, the ability to respond and innovate could mean the difference between survival and closure.
Companies that inject global diversity as part of their DNA are “2.2X more likely to be a world class innovator” and “2.5X more likely to be a fast growing company”.
Employees at companies with 2-D diversity are 45% likelier to report that their firm’s market share grew over the previous year and 70% likelier to report that the firm captured a new market. (2-D diversity is where “inherent” diversity of characteristic such as gender and ethnicity is combined with “acquired” diversity gained from difference of experience)
Source: https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
If you are reading this Full Colour Friday, it is likely that you are committed to or openly curious about equity, diversity, inclusion and leadership. I say take heart. We are living through tough times, but the bright sunlight of hope is there. All we need to do is open our eyes and see it.
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