To tackle longstanding workplace discrimination, many future-focused organizations are adding diversity officers to their leadership teams. If organizations want the best talent, they need to address any issues that are keeping diverse talent out of their ranks and out of their boardrooms.

1. Why Attracting and Retaining Diverse Talent is a
Strategic Priority
Blog, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
To tackle longstanding workplace discrimination, many future-focused organizations are
adding diversity officers to their leadership teams.
Why? Because the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission didn’t solve the ethnic, racial
and gender imbalances prominent in the U.S. workforce, and the issues aren’t going away on
their own. For example, check out the following statistics about the dismal state of diversity
in today’s workforce.
American Progress reports that in nonprofits, 82% of employees are white, despite the
fact that just 64% of the working-age population is non-Hispanic white.
As of 2014, of the Fortune 500 CEOs, just over 4% were people of color, and only 24
(4.8%) were women. As Silvie Woolf said, fewer CEOs are named David than are
women.
Google reports that 3% of their employees are Hispanic and 2% are black.
Apple’s employees are 70% male.
LinkedIn has a global employee base that is 3% Hispanic and 1% black.
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2. Diversity Roles Future-Proof Organizations
Diversity roles are not only relevant for today’s workforce, but for the future workforce as
well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2012 that by 2020 more women are
expected to be working than men. And according to 2012 census data, by 2050 there will
be no racial or ethnic majority in the U.S. This trend will continue, because 85% of the net
workforce growth over the next two decades will come from immigrants and their children.
That means the talent pool will be a diverse one; and if organizations want the best talent,
they need address any issues that are keeping diverse talent out of their ranks and out of
their boardrooms. Beyond talent on an individual level, a diverse workforce as a whole is
important for the bottom line. In fact, 96% of executives polled in a Korn/Ferry Institute study
believe diversity can boost the bottom line.
Diversity and the Bottom Line
Here are four examples of the measurable, positive effects that employee diversity has on
organizational success.
Catalyst took a look at Fortune 500 companies with women on their board of directors
and found that these companies had a higher return on equity by at least 53%, were
superior in sales by at least 42%, and had a higher ROI, to the tune of 66%. Those are
not small numbers.
McKinsey quarterly reported that between 2008 and 2010, companies with more
diverse top teams were also top financial performers.
When 321 executives at large global enterprises ($500 million plus in annual
revenues) were surveyed for the Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse
Workforce study, diversity and inclusion were identified as the key driver of not only
internal innovation, but also business growth.
Groups of diverse problem solvers outperformed groups of high-ability problem solvers,
according to a study by Lu Hong and Scott E. Page.
The Course of Action is Clear

3. So if the workforce is becoming more and more diverse, and financial performance, business
growth, innovation and problem solving can be attributed to diverse teams, the course of
action is clear: make attracting and retaining diverse talent a strategic priority. That’s where
diversity officers come in.
Unfortunately, many organizations don’t know how to incorporate this type of role into their
current structure. They don’t know if they should add diversity responsibilities to current
employees or create a new role. They aren’t clear what that role would really look like, and
therefore have no idea who, or what department, would be the best fit.
Where Do Diversity Officers Fit In?
Diversity officers are often based in the human resources (HR) department. Yet HR can
often be seen as more tactical rather than strategic in its thinking. Not to mention HR often
doesn’t have a seat at the C-suite table. So who should claim this type of work? Who should
look at trends, figure out a talent plan and advise the C-suite?
Next week we will take a look at the type of person, inside or outside the organization, that
could successfully claim the important work of diversity. What qualities are most important?
We’ll look at a hypothetical candidate and explore where this role might fit into the
organizational structure. Stay tuned for a blueprint that can be used to build a diverse and
inclusive workforce for any organization.

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c us e o o ce o a y o ga at o .
Have you had experience working in both diverse and not diverse teams? Were there any
noticeable differences between the two? I’d love to hear your perspective.
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