'Companies that engage with diversity and inclusion issues proactively can ultimately benefit'

Aharon Cohen Mohliver, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

 

People often assume that we are making linear progress on greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace, but I find that problematic. Ultimately it depends on the population you are sampling. If you sample from the companies that are already very inclusive, things seem to be going great. But if you sample from companies who lag far behind on the issues, it’s a very different picture. Being uncritically optimistic about it is simplistic.

On the plus side, as someone who teaches strategy, I can see indications that companies are increasingly approaching diversity and inclusion with an understanding that engaging with these issues proactively is ultimately in their own benefit.

This is not necessarily cynical. For example, I am working on a project about how signalling alignment with an ideological position on LGBTQ+ issues is viewed favourably by a stakeholders which ultimately can lead to better performance; not necessarily because firms are attempting to monetise the issue, but because such signals can, for example, attract employees with high human capital.

If you are an employer who has gender-neutral bathrooms and other facilities that signal inclusivity and diversity, you are going to be more attractive to the type of employee you need to recruit. You are also more likely to get high commitment from them and to retain them, so ultimately aligning with such positions can simply be a good strategy. 

In fact, I would go so far as to say that you are better off as an MBA graduate from a top university venturing into the job market today if you are LGBTQ+ than not, and of course it’s great that employers now actively recruit people who are explicitly from minority groups – we’re tilting the pendulum back to compensate for years of it swinging the other way.

But this mostly affects people who are in their twenties and thirties today. Earlier generations would have grown up in an environment where, at least in their early career stages, they would have felt pressure to hide or not be explicit about their sexual identity.

My colleague Aneeta Rattan and I had a discussion about this, and we realised that this is problematic both for them and the management demographic beneath them, because what currently doesn’t exist are training and support networks for people in the over-40s age group, given that the people promoting them are often one generation older. Aneeta and I have designed an LGBTQ Executive Education programme for exactly this management demographic, which we will be launching next year.

In terms of furthering and promoting inclusivity and diversity in the workplace, I have long been an advocate of organisations having voluntary disclosure of LGBTQ+ orientation. This just means adding one more box to the myriad tick boxes on an HR form, but I am amazed and depressed by the fact that people often object to its inclusion – not because they are in any way against greater inclusivity or diversity, but because they are worried that it might offend someone else. I can’t help but think that, in 10 years’ time, we will look back on this misplaced “sensitivity” like we might on a 1980s haircut today and cringe with embarrassment at the idea that putting “LGBTQ” on a form is offensive.

I also think we are fragmenting more and more. On the one hand, it’s easier to find people who are like us, on social media and in general, and that can be a very positive thing. On the other hand, it’s increasingly becoming unacceptable to express a position that is not fully aligned with that of the people around you. I think that this trend is antithetical to greater inclusivity, because silencing other opinions merely pushes people into adopting extreme positions, rather than helping to change mindsets and beliefs.

On a positive note, I can see very clear opportunities for businesses to benefit from a greater commitment to inclusivity. There are still many firms around who have senior leaders who aren’t putting in 100% of their potential because they do not fully align or identify with the company’s values and culture, and feel unable to be their authentic selves in the workplace. Simply put, companies can get more of their leaders by making the workplace more inclusive.

Many companies still have senior leaders who, if they were able to be authentic with everyone around them, would likely be happier in themselves, more empathetic with others, and therefore more effective as managers and leaders. From a pure strategy point of view, it makes sense to shift workplace culture to enable people to be fully authentic at work – and that would certainly help move the inclusivity dial in the right direction.