Companies with diverse workforces have better results. Recent research by McKinsey proves that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity achieve financial returns that are above the national medians of their country. Companies in the bottom quartile are more likely to achieve lower returns.
The Diversity Matters report examined data from 366 companies based in Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States. Financial results and the characteristics of members of top management and boards were taken as the most important metrics.
Advantages of a diverse workforce
Correlation does not equal causation, but it indicates that companies with diverse leadership tend to be more successful than companies that do not commit to diversity. Gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers. And that is not all - ethnically diverse companies are even 35% more likely to outperform their competitors.
These are interesting statistics. Diverse talent simply brings some level of competitive advantage. It is probable that other kinds of diversity (in sexual orientation and in age and experience for example) will also bring such an advantage.
Achieving diversity
How can a company achieve this level of desirable diversity? It is not easy. Women, for example, are still rare in top management teams. Taking these facts into consideration makes diversity compelling, so perhaps we can expect improvements. Most organizations must try harder to exploit the full advantages of diversity that have been proven both in the report and long-term research.
Even McKinsey admits that there is much work to be done in this area in their own organization, as well as in other companies. The slow starters will fall further behind. On the other hand, companies that are successful in attracting diverse talents on all levels can expect quite substantial financial benefits.
-jk-