Why Diversity in The Workplace is Good for Business

"When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization." – Pat Wadors

You’d be living the same reality day in and day out, with no need to come up with new concepts or solutions. And life would be boring! There’s no question about it.

Workplace diversity refers to the different ages, ethnicities, religious beliefs, genders, physical abilities, and sexual orientations that could be prevalent in your company.

With each one of those factors can come a whole new spectrum of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. And here’s why that’s a good thing.

More talent to choose from

Being open to hiring someone for their experience and skill no matter their background or beliefs means that you automatically have access to a way larger talent pool because you’re not limiting yourself to only one portion of society. And who doesn’t want to hire the best talent possible? Just in terms of gender representation, McKinsey’s most recent Delivering Through Diversity report found corporations that embrace gender diversity on their executive teams were more competitive and 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability.

Better employee retention

Workplaces that don’t embrace diversity can lead to a more hostile environment, fostering a toxic company culture and a high turnover rate. In comparison, companies that adopt an inclusive workforce can better retain their employees because they feel valued and accepted.

Different perspectives

Hiring a diverse workforce means you now have access to a whole variety of different perspectives and opinions. Having these different views within your workforce means that you’re more easily able to tap into the opinions of the customers you’re trying to reach – without having to outsource anything! When employees with different perspectives work together, it results in higher levels of creativity and a better understanding of your customers. A Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.

Increased productivity

Working in an inclusive environment with a multitude of backgrounds and experiences at hand improves efficiency. That’s because when employees are working in an environment in which they feel included and valued, they are better able to thrive. Happy employees do better work.

Better company reputation

Having a diverse workforce will also impact your company’s reputation in the long term. By setting the standard of inclusive values from the get-go, you’re more appealing to the future generations of both employees and customers because you’re instantly seen as more relatable.

The list of benefits for workplace diversity could go on and on, but they all offer the same result of catapulting your business to a whole new level.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde