Did Donald Trump’s “blame diversity” reaction to the Washington DC plane crash shock you? Imagine if someone in your business blamed diversity for a negative result or problematic product launch. Or, perversely, they complained about diversity as the company delivered higher profits, better innovation and stronger-performing teams.
Blaming diversity for any business issue or failure is a popular trend among the quick-to-judge. Blame culture can blow up around any company issue, from cycle-to-work schemes, and vegetarian food options to an entire digital transformation or effort to improve the employee experience.
In reality, most businesses take their blows like anyone else, with many types of legitimate organisational criticism coming from top to bottom when things go wrong. Companies learn to improve, change processes and eliminate mistakes, whatever the cause. But was that recent mistake, new strategy or policy ever about diversity, especially in key areas like customer experience? It seems highly unlikely.
Why businesses invest in diversity
Businesses invest in DEI not for political reasons, but because it acts as a proven profit driver through improved results. Diverse workforces add fresh insight, helping to build stronger and more creative teams, which results in greater innovation and productivity. Yes, things go wrong, but if the root cause is a team trying to work better or harder, that’s expected.
Diversity delivers a 19% boost to revenue from innovation according to the World Economic Forum. For Britain’s NHS, 100% of polled leaders believe diversity investments benefit their business. With 200 nations represented in the workforce, the NHS is one of the most diverse workforces on the planet. And the more gender or ethnically diverse a business, the higher its profits are compared to less-diverse organisations.
People can and will argue over any statistic. But, if the general direction is that diverse businesses work better, whatever the driving force behind that change, diversity remains a positive force. One that grumpy politicians or regressive workers cannot change across global or local businesses.