The Importance of Embracing Cultural Diversities
Diversity is an important part of the world we live in – and is increasing in importance to organisations around the world that aim to remain competitive in their industry. The term “cultural diversity” can be used to describe the variety of cultures and customs that exist within a society or nation.
Cultural differences are not only about different food, clothes, language, and traditions – they’re also about different ways of thinking around the world. Cultural diversity brings richness to our lives and communities by allowing us to learn from one another and by challenging our own beliefs.
It is difficult to imagine a world without cultural diversity, yet, many organisations, rather than being microcosms of the broader world, remain challenged by this. This article will discuss twenty key workplace diversity statistics from 2022 – and provide keen insight into what challenges leaders might be tackling in 2023.
How Are Organisations Faring and What Will the Focus Be in 2023?
Overall Impact Statistics
1. Enacting gender equality in the workplace could increase the annual global GDP by 26%, or $28 trillion, by 2025. With women representing half (or greater) of the workforce, depending on location, a lack of equality in opportunity and access continues to be represent a massive lost opportunity.Job Seeker Statistics
2. Approximately 75% of job seekers and candidates consider the diversity and inclusion of an organisation to be a key factor in their selection. Amidst the Great Resignation and other factors that are shifting towards employee-choice, organisations are in a race for top talent. D&I can often be a key differentiator.
3. Almost one-third of candidates wouldn’t even apply to an organisation that appeared to lack diversity. Consider how many potential excellent candidates aren’t entering the pipeline due to a perceived lack of diversity across the organisation or brand.
Performance Statistics
4. Diversity can boost innovation over 1.5 times. This is likely due to the increased ideation and problem-solving that can occur when differing opinions challenge and refine each other.
5. Employees at companies with high diversity bring in cash flow almost 2.5 times higher than companies without high diversity. This could be due to both the increased productivity and quality that diverse teams bring, as well as a positive response from customers.
6. Gender diverse executive teams in the UK earn 3.5% more for every 10% increase in gender diversity. And while this statistic is specific to the UK, similar phenomena have been documented in other regions.
7. Gender diverse teams are also 15% likely to have financial returns higher than their industry medians. The exact percentage fluctuates depending on industry and region but broadly, this is a statistic that is valid across the board.
8. Diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time. Similar to improving innovation, problem-solving and decision-making are enhanced when there are people around to offer dissent or to challenge groupthink.
9. “Blind” hiring processes can result in a 40% increase in diverse interviews and hires. This suggests that implicit or unconscious bias is more powerful than one may think, affecting which applicants even make it through the door.
State of Affair Statistics
While these statistics might be region-specific, we can extrapolate these findings and apply them across other regions.
10. Only 8% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs.
11. Only 1% of Fortune 500 companies have CEOs that are people of colour.
12. Only around 20% of people with disabilities are employed full-time.
13. In the US, People of Colour are more likely to have lost jobs throughout the pandemic. Specifically, over 60% of Hispanic people and 44% of Black people experienced job or wage loss as a result of COVID.
14. 70% of employees in their 50s haven’t been offered promotions from their current employer.
15. 50% of employees feel that their organisations aren’t inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.
16. Only 55% of the workforce in the US feels that their organisation respects and values everyone.
17. Over 61% of employees have experienced or witnessed discrimination at work.
Future-Oriented Statistics
Looking ahead, where do priorities lie for CEOs and employees? To what degree will D&I be an investment and growth area in 2023?
18. Almost 75% of organisations consider diversity, equity and inclusion to be a priority.
19. Almost 80% of employees recognise and believe diversity and inclusion to be a competitive market advantage.
20. 85% of CEOs with diverse and inclusive organisational cultures report that the benefits are evident in their increased profits.
Ultimately, while some might insist that 2022 and earlier statistics are no longer relevant in 2023, forward-thinking business leaders will use these pain points to anticipate challenges and address legitimate concerns – giving them a competitive advantage for job seekers and customers alike.
To begin, or advance your organisation’s D&I journey, learn how the inclusio platform can help you build a thriving workplace culture and tap into the value that a diverse and inclusive workforce can provide.
With expertise in Positive Organisational Science, Wellbeing, D&I, Education, and so much more, Elle has worked across industries and continents in sectors such as Management Consulting, Finance, Education, and Technology. Consistently, her goal is to bring evidence-based principles of positive organisational science and psychology to workplaces through direct service, training, consulting, content creation and beyond.
Elle Mason People Science Lead (Innovation and Content Specialist) at inclusio
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