It's not just about fairness, it's about smart business.
Diversity and inclusion are not merely matters of fairness; they're integral to building smart businesses and enhancing profitability. In this article, our Advisory Board member Aaron Kroon shares insights into the significance of diversity and inclusion in today's corporate landscape. Discover actionable steps towards fostering more diverse and inclusive boards.
Equality in business shouldn't be about 'us' versus 'them'. Yet, that's exactly what's happening in many companies. When we recruit and promote we stick to what we know, leaving minority groups to fight their own fights in isolated silos - and it all stays the same.
To break those silos we need to talk about biases. Not anyone else's. Our own. Because we all have them. And having biases is not a bad thing, it’s human. It’s not knowing about them that causes trouble.
I truly don't believe that any of us wakes up in the morning thinking; today is a good day to practise some exclusion. Most of us want to do good. I really believe that. Then reality, called hectic workday hits us, and we make decisions like we have always done them. Because it's effective and it’s safe. This is how inequality lives on, day after day. Not because we are bad people, but because we will do something about it - tomorrow.
To break a bad habit we need to allow ourselves, and those around us, to press pause for a second or two. We need to take a close look at what labelling people based on gender, skin colour, age etc. do, not only to the potential and passion of our people, but also to our businesses. For every day we let our biases go unnoticed we’ll sail further away from true equality.
But it's not just about fairness, it's about smart business.
The solution is to hold yourself accountable for what it means to be a leader, and a great way to start is to educate ourselves and our team on biases. Reflect on how you make decisions, question why you recruit the way you do and scrutinise the way you promote. It's when we make the unconscious conscious we can actually do something about it.
Change won't happen overnight, so the bigger the reason to start today. It's gonna take some uncomfortable conversations. It's going to require us to step up and challenge old habits and it will require that we ask ourselves if we wanna be part of the problem or part of the solution?
Are you ready to make a difference?
Three steps towards equality in management and boards:
We must be aware of, and understand the consequences of, our own unconscious biases. Education in Unconscious Bias should be a priority for executive teams and boards.
It’s time to destigmatize the collection of diversity data. Properly utilized, diversity and equality data becomes an important tool in companies and leaders' understanding of genuine diversity.
Gender equality is everyone's collective responsibility. Before we demand what others should do, we need to hold ourselves to the same standards.
