What does an inclusive culture mean?
An inclusive workplace culture makes diversity work to enhance profitability and birth of new perspectives. It provides concessions on policies that will work across board or the whole industry. For example, the care worker tax rebate is an inclusive service for all categories of health workers who may be over paying tax to enable every health worker claim back the whole portion of the excess in the tax they paid, regardless of the gender.
An inclusive culture indicates a working ecosystem where respect, equity, and positive recognition of differences are all cultivated, and every social and corporate response to disability set no limit or barrier to a positive and rewarding work life experience.
What are examples of inclusion?
In corporate climate, inclusion is seen as the state of being included or being part of the team that drives the organisation. For example, when different people from different backgrounds are all invited to be part of a group, this is an example of the inclusion of many but different people.
Why is board diversity important?
Bringing on board a rich diverse perspectives as a result multiple but different people of a group means looking at a solution and tackling the same issue from various angles.
It is a common knowledge that great ideas and solutions often emerge from diverse perspectives which eventually disrupt common thinking patterns.
It is in a quest to achieving this that companies invest their resources to get new perspectives that open them to the needs of a wider array of groups and opportunities.
Most people agree that in the midst of multiple opinions there is safety and success.
What is a diversity board?
The purpose of building a diverse board is to:
promote better decision-making,
prevent blind spots in board deliberation,
integrate equity throughout the workplace,
gain access to different community resources and
meet criteria and affirmative action that address age long systemic injustice against women and minority groups.
Do diverse boards perform better?
There is a research that reported that diversity doesn’t guarantee that a board or firm will perform better but the culture of inclusion by the board can affect how the board discharges its fiduciary role overseeing the management in charge of the day to day affairs of the company.
Are diverse companies more successful?
In a research report titled ‘Delivering
through Diversity‘ and published by McKinsey,there is a statistically significant correlation in the performance of boards based on profit and their extent of Ethnic and cultural diversity.
According to the McKinsey report, it means that companies with the most ethnically/ culturally diverse boards worldwide are 43% more likely to experience higher profits.
Benefits of Board Diversity
Academic and business research has shown that the broader range of perspectives represented in diverse groups requires individuals to work harder to come to a consensus, which can lead to better decisions.
In addition, research has shown that diverse boards make good business sense because they may better reflect a company’s employee and customer base, and can tap into the skills of a broader talent pool.
Some research has found that diverse boards that include women may have a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, alluding to the McKinsey report.
What percentage of board members are female?
The clamour for inclusive gender representation on boards of directors of corporate organisations is still on because the proportion of men and women who occupy board member positions is still skewed in favour of men.
For example,in the USA, women hold 19.2% of board seats on companies in the S&P 500 index. In Latin America, only 6.4% of board seats of the 100 largest companies in the region are held by women while in regions with low girl child education, representation of women is much lower.
Governments and corporates have attempted to address the disproportionality of gender representation on corporate boards through both types of reform measures, including legislation mandating gender quotas and comply or explain guidelines.
In a research published in the Journal of Business Ethics, it was reported that a study on Norwegian companies following the introduction of a gender quota for female directors found that the increase in female directors had a positive correlation with the appointment of a female board chair and a female CEO.
So where women are given more representation on the boards, it not only increases inclusion, it increases the chance that a woman will lead both the board of directors and management.
Minorities are equally less represented in boards. For example, Harvard’s 2019 Federal Housing Loan (FHL) Bank board report showed an increase in FHLBank directors from 2015 to 2017 for some minority groups, including African- American, Hispanic, and Asian, but they still reflected a small portion of these boards. Further, the size of the increases in minority directors on FHLBank boards was less clear than for women directors due to incomplete data on directors’ race and ethnicity
What are the Factors That Hinder Board Diversity?
In a Harvard study, the following were reported as factors that hinder board diversity
1.Not Prioritizing Diversity in Recruitment Efforts
2.Limitations of the Traditional Board Candidate Pipeline
3.Low Turnover of Board Seats Each Year
How To Create Inclusive Boards For Women and Minority.
Please join four amazing and diverse women from the US, Europe & Africa as they share perspective & experiences on diverse Boards on Oct. 21 at 2pm as we celebrate black history month in the UK.
You need to attend this event for free.
It is virtual and the speakers are highly experienced in this subject.
They will give the knowledge you need to promote an inclusive climate and board that will deliver to you all the benefits of having inclusive culture.
The summit is titled “Creating Inclusive Boards- Knowledge for women and minorities.