Diversity matters- HR Buzz word or real business impact?

Recently I’ve been doing some work at my organisation on; I guess you could say a diversity project.

There is much emphasis on embracing diversity in today’s working environment and more specifically, there has been a prominent focus recently on gender diversity. Although it is about endorsing equity and equality for all, promoting gender diversity in the workplace should involve much more than monitoring the ratio of women to men in organisations.

It should be about monitoring recruitment and attrition to find out how many women come in, why they stay or leave and what company practices can foster a positive working environment. It is also important that there is diversity at all levels of the organisation, from entry to senior level.

Talk about empowering your people- 2 Microsoft marketing sites. First One is the U.S./English version, the other in Polish. Can you spot the different #badphotoshop

Source: TechCrunch

Why is diversity so important? (and its not a HR buzz word that you can feel good about. There are proven reasons as to how diversity impacts your business!)

· Studies indicate that diverse teams often outperform homogenous groups on problem solving and completing complex tasks

· Diversity can lead to better quality decisions and solutions, through differentiated approaches to problem solving and decision making processes

· A Catalyst Survey of 353 Fortune 500 companies revealed that companies with the highest representation of women in their senior management teams achieved a 35% higher return on investment and a 34% higher total return to shareholders than companies with the lowest women’s representation (http://www.australianwomenonline.com/?p=431). Hence gender diversity can have a bottom-line impact on company results.

· Overall a gender diverse workplace is more effective because it reflects an organisations full range of stakeholders, hence a better connection and understanding to what needs to be delivered.

· It can lead to a positive public image as an employer and strengthen your brand, which can contribute to the successful attraction and retention of the best talent

So if we now understand that diversity is important- how do you attract and retain key female talent in a typically male dominated industry?

Keen to hear some organisational examples from you, but my first project was to investigate the experience of women who take maternity leave within the organisation. I haven’t had that experience myself yet, but I did get a great insight in speaking with women here.

A lot of it depended on the employee’s manager, but it was clear that a consistent approach and tools were needed. I’ll tell you a bit more about this tomorrow!