case study what does diversity mean in a global organization

(Stanford users can avoid this Captcha by logging in.)

• Send to text email RefWorks RIS download printer

Case Study: What Does Diversity Mean in a Global Organization?

Best source.

• View/download PDF

All available sources

Log in to show fulltext, about this article.

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .

Case 8: What Does Diversity Actually Mean,  and How Does This Shape Corporate Diversity Policies and Actions?: Insights from Germany

• First Online: 24 April 2022

Cite this chapter

• Jasmin Mahadevan 2 &
• Iuliana Ancuţa Ilie 2  

Part of the book series: Springer Texts in Business and Economics ((STBE))

2504 Accesses

Nowadays, organizations in many national and societal contexts face the challenge of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. Yet, diversity does not mean the same in different countries and companies, and HR managers are seldom aware of this. As a result, every diversity campaign has its blind-spots. For managing human resources and employment relations strategically, this is a relevant finding. It suggests that HR first needs to identify what diversity ‘means’ to those involved, prior to being able to manage diversity globally or internationally. Also, national and local HR managers can learn from alternative approaches to diversity in other countries. Based on this insight, this chapter highlights the meanings of diversity in the German context, using the example of the German automotive supplier Robert Bosch. It also provides the reader with the techniques for a more holistic diversity management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Acker, J. (2012). Gendered organizations and intersectionality: Problems and possibilities. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 31 (3), 214–224.

Article   Google Scholar  

Allmendinger, J. (2010). Verschenkte Potenziale? [Untapped Potential?] Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag.

Google Scholar  

Allmendinger, J., & von den Driesch, E. (2015). Der wahre Unterschied. Erst die Rente zeigt den ganzen Umfang der Geschlechterungleichheit. [The real difference. The pension is the genuine indicator of gender inequality]. Available at: https://www.wzb.eu/sites/default/files/publikationen/wzb_mitteilungen/s36-39ja-vdriesch.pdf . Accessed 22 Nov 2016.

Barrett, C. (2014). Gender quotas feel coercive but appear to work . Financial times (online). Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/aef9d9c4-d521-11e3-9187-00144feabdc0 .Accessed 29 Nov 2016.

Bendl, R., Eberherr, H., & Mensi-Klarbach, H. (2012). Vertiefende Betrachtung zu ausgewählten Diversitätsdimensionen [in-depth view on selected dimensions of diversity]. In: R. Bendl, E. Hanappi-Egger, and R. Hofmann (Eds.), Diversität und diversity management [Diversity and diversity management] (pp. 79–135). Wien: UTB-Facultas.

Bosch (2013). http://www.bosch.com/de/com/sustainability/issues/associates_young_talent/managementsystems_2/managementsystems_3.php . Accessed 1 Apr 2013.

Bosch. (2015). Bosch annual report . Available from: http://annual-report.bosch.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Group_management_report.pdf . Accessed 20 Feb 2017.

Bosch. (2017). http://www.bosch.com/de/com/sustainability/associates/diversity/diversity.php . Accessed 1 Feb 2017.

Brannen, M. Y. (2004). When “Mickey” loses face: Recontextualization, semantic fit and the semiotics of foreignness. Academy of Management Review, 29 (4), 593–616.

Bührmann, A. (2015). Gender – A central dimension of diversity. In S. Vertovec (Ed.), Routledge international handbook of diversity studies (pp. 23–42). London/New York: Taylor and Francis.

Chan, W. (2015). Are gender quotas needed? Financial times (online). Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/d65795f2-0de6-11e5-9a65-00144feabdc0 . Accessed 30 Nov 2016.

Eriksen, T. H. (2010). Small places, large issues (1st edn, 1995). London: Pluto Press.

European Commission. (2012). Women in economic decision-making in the EU: Progress report . Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/image/document/2016-49/women-on-boards_en_40298.pdf . Accessed 19 Sept 2016.

European Commission. (2015a). Know your rights. Protection from discrimination . Available at: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/know-your-rights-pbDS0415271/?CatalogCategoryID=cOwKABstC3oAAAEjeJEY4e5L . Accessed 17 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2015). Special Eurobarometer 437. Discrimination in the EU in 2015 . Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/COMMFrontOffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/surveyKy/2077 . Accessed 17 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2015c). Labour market participation of women . Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/themes/2015/labour_market_participation_women_20151126.pdf . Accessed 22 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2015d). Gender balance on corporate boards. Europe is cracking the glass ceiling . Available http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/womenonboards/factsheet_women_on_boards_web_2015-10_en.pdf . Accessed 19 Sept 2016.

European Commission. (2015e). Special Eurobarometer 428. Gender equality . Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/documents/eurobarometer_report_2015_en.pdf . Accessed 29 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2016a). Country report. Non-discrimination . France 2016. Available at: http://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/3707-2016-fr-country-report-nd . Accessed 18 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2016b). Country report. Non-discrimination . Germany 2016. Available at: http://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/3706-2016-de-country-report-nd . Accessed 18 Nov 2016.

European Commission. (2016c). The gender pay gap in Germany . Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_pay_gap/2016/gpg_country_factsheet_de_2016_en.pdf . Accessed 20 Feb 2017.

European Institute for Gender Equality. (2015). Gender gap in pensions in the EU . Available from: http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/MH0415087ENN_Web.pdf . Accessed 22 Nov 2016.

Ernst, Y., & Charta der Vielfalt e.V. (2016). Diversity in Deutschland [Diversity in Germany], available at: https://www.charta-dervielfalt.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Studien_Publikationen_Charta/STUDIE_DIVERSITY_IN_DEUTSCHLAND_2016-11.pdf , last accessed 14 February 2022

Forstenlechner, I., & Al-Waqfi, M. A. (2010). A job interview for Mo, but none for Mohammed. Personnel Review, 39 (6), 767–784.

Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identity and diaspora. In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity, community, culture, difference (pp. 222–237). London: Lawrence and Wishart.

IHK. (2016). Die größten Unternehmen in Baden-Württemberg [The biggest companies in Baden-Württemberg]. Available from: http://www.bw.ihk.de/_Resources/Persistent/2492457c004c626cbc0af60dea61d310bab4ad5c/Brosch%C3%BCre%20Die%20gr%C3%B6%C3%9Ften%20Unternehmen%20in%20Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg%202016.pdf . Accessed 20 Feb 2017.

International Monetary Fund. (2016). The refugee surge in Europe: Economic challenges . Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2016/sdn1602.pdf . Accessed 21 Nov 2016.

Levay, C. (2014). Obesity in organizational context. Human Relations, 67 (5), 565–585.

Mahadevan, J. (2017). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about cross-cultural management . London: Sage.

Mahadevan, J., & Kilian-Yasin, K. (2016). Dominant discourse, orientalism and the need for reflexive HRM: Skilled Muslim migrants in the German context. International Journal of Human Resource Management , 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1166786 .

Mik-Meyer, N.. (2016). Othering, ableism and disability: A discursive analysis of co-workers’ construction of colleagues with visible impairments. Human Relations, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715618454 .

Moore, F. (2015). An unsuitable job for a woman: A ‘native category approach to gender, diversity and cross-cultural management. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26 (2), 216–230.

Plummer, D. L. (2003). Overview of the field of diversity management. In D. L. Plummer (Ed.), Handbook of diversity management – Beyond awareness to competency based learning . Lanham/New York/Oxford: University Press of America.

Prasad, P., Pringle, J. K., & Konrad, A. M. (2006). Examining the contours of workplace diversity. In A. M. Konrad, P. Prasad, & J. K. Pringle (Eds.), Handbook of workplace diversity (pp. 1–22). London: Sage.

Ramm, C. (2010). The Muslim makers. How Germany ‘Islamizes’ Turkish immigrants. Interventions, 12 (2), 183–197.

Schwarz, A. (2007). Strategic uses of multiculturalism in Germany and Australia. In A. Schwarz & R. West-Pavlov (Eds.), Polyculturalism and discourse . Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Süß, S., & Kleiner, M. (2007). Diversity management in Germany: Dissemination and design of the concept. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18 (11), 1934–1953.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

Tretheway, A. (1999). Disciplined bodies: Women’s embodied identities at work. Organization Studies, 20 (3), 423–450.

Urry, J. (2007). Sociology beyond societies – mobilities for the twenty-first century . London: Routledge.

Van Dijk, H., van Engen, M., & Paauwe, J. (2012). Reframing the business case for diversity: A values and virtues perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 11 (1), 73–84.

Ward, J., & Winstanley, D. (2003). The absent presence: Negative space within discourse and the construction of minority sexual identity in the workplace. Human Relations, 56 (10), 1255–1280.

Weichselbaumer, D. (2016). Discrimination against female migrants wearing headscarves. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10217. Available from: http://ftp.iza.org/dp10217.pdf . Accessed 12 Dec 2016.

Zanoni, P., Janssens, M., Benschop, Y., & Nkomo, S. (2010). Guest editorial: Unpacking diversity, grasping inequality: Rethinking difference through critical perspectives. Organization, 17 (1), 9–29.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Pforzheim University, Pforzheim, Germany

Jasmin Mahadevan & Iuliana Ancuţa Ilie

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jasmin Mahadevan .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Faculty of Business and Law, Central Coast Business School, The University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Central Coast, NSW, Australia

Ashish Malik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Mahadevan, J., Ilie, I.A. (2022). Case 8: What Does Diversity Actually Mean,  and How Does This Shape Corporate Diversity Policies and Actions?: Insights from Germany. In: Malik, A. (eds) Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment Relations. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90955-0_24

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90955-0_24

Published : 24 April 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-90954-3

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-90955-0

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

We found a match

Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.

Case Study: What Does Diversity Mean in a Global Organization?

Lee, david s., harvard business review, 2022, vol 100, issue 3, p148.

• Guest Login

   File Download

There are no files associated with this item.

Supplementary

• Faculty of Business & Economics: Journal/Magazine Articles

Article : Case study: What does diversity mean in a global organization?

• Show simple item record
• Show full item record
• Export item record

Export via OAI-PMH Interface in XML Formats

Export to other non-xml formats.

Product details

Why diversity matters

We know intuitively that diversity matters . It’s also increasingly clear that it makes sense in purely business terms. Our latest research finds that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. Companies in the bottom quartile in these dimensions are statistically less likely to achieve above-average returns. And diversity is probably a competitive differentiator that shifts market share toward more diverse companies over time.

While correlation does not equal causation (greater gender and ethnic diversity in corporate leadership doesn’t automatically translate into more profit), the correlation does indicate that when companies commit themselves to diverse leadership, they are more successful. More diverse companies, we believe, are better able to win top talent and improve their customer orientation, employee satisfaction, and decision making, and all that leads to a virtuous cycle of increasing returns. This in turn suggests that other kinds of diversity—for example, in age, sexual orientation, and experience (such as a global mind-set and cultural fluency)—are also likely to bring some level of competitive advantage for companies that can attract and retain such diverse talent.

Diversity wins: How inclusion matters

The business case for inclusion and diversity (I&D) is stronger than ever. Taking a closer look at diversity winners reveals what can drive real progress.

McKinsey has been examining diversity in the workplace for several years. Our latest report, Diversity Matters , examined proprietary data sets for 366 public companies across a range of industries in Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In this research, we looked at metrics such as financial results and the composition of top management and boards. 1 1. The Women Matter research McKinsey published in 2007 identified a positive relationship between corporate performance and gender diversity. We have since expanded the focus of this research to examine diversity more broadly, from gender to race and ethnicity to sexual orientation. Our latest research examined metrics such as total revenues, earnings before interest and taxes, and returns on equity for the years 2010 to 2013. In addition to capturing gender information, the data set included information on ethnicity, race, or both from publicly available sources. For a detailed explanation of how we conducted our research, please see our full report, Diversity Matters (PDF–946KB). The findings were clear:

• Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
• Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians (exhibit).
• Companies in the bottom quartile both for gender and for ethnicity and race are statistically less likely to achieve above-average financial returns than the average companies in the data set (that is, bottom-quartile companies are lagging rather than merely not leading).
• In the United States, there is a linear relationship between racial and ethnic diversity and better financial performance: for every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior-executive team, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rise 0.8 percent.
• Racial and ethnic diversity has a stronger impact on financial performance in the United States than gender diversity, perhaps because earlier efforts to increase women’s representation in the top levels of business have already yielded positive results.
• In the United Kingdom, greater gender diversity on the senior-executive team corresponded to the highest performance uplift in our data set: for every 10 percent increase in gender diversity, EBIT rose by 3.5 percent.
• While certain industries perform better on gender diversity and other industries on ethnic and racial diversity, no industry or company is in the top quartile on both dimensions.
• The unequal performance of companies in the same industry and the same country implies that diversity is a competitive differentiator shifting market share toward more diverse companies.

We’re not suggesting that achieving greater diversity is easy. Women—accounting for an average of just 16 percent of the members of executive teams in the United States, 12 percent in the United Kingdom, and 6 percent in Brazil—remain underrepresented at the top of corporations globally. The United Kingdom does comparatively better in racial diversity, albeit at a low level: some 78 percent of UK companies have senior-leadership teams that fail to reflect the demographic composition of the country’s labor force and population, compared with 91 percent for Brazil and 97 percent for the United States.

These numbers underline the work that remains to be done, even as the case for greater diversity becomes more compelling. We live in a deeply connected and global world. It should come as no surprise that more diverse companies and institutions are achieving better performance. Most organizations, including McKinsey, must do more to take full advantage of the opportunity that diverse leadership teams represent. That’s particularly true for their talent pipelines: attracting, developing, mentoring, sponsoring, and retaining the next generations of global leaders at all levels of organizations. Given the higher returns that diversity is expected to bring, we believe it is better to invest now, since winners will pull further ahead and laggards will fall further behind.

This article is adapted from the report Diversity Matters (PDF–1,732KB), which was re-released in February 2015.

Vivian Hunt is a director in McKinsey’s London office, where Dennis Layton is a principal; Sara Prince is a principal in the Atlanta office.

The authors would like to thank Andrea Alexander, Mauricio Arnau, Lori Dobeus, Kirill Dushkin, Lauren Miller, and Katie Smith for their contributions to this report.

Explore a career with us

Related articles.

Can women fix capitalism?

Realizing the power of talented women

Why gender diversity at the top remains a challenge

• Moving Beyond Check-the-Box Global Diversity Policies

• Advancing Workplace Equity — Opening Statement
• Leading DEI Through a Global Lens
• The Equation for Equality
• Creating Equitable Opportunities for Women of Color
• How Culture Drives Equity & Equality
• Prioritizing & Elevating Women of Color

AMPLIFY  VOL. 36, NO. 2   

David S. Lee “offers an on-the-ground perspective of how diversity policies encounter issues once they leave home shores.” He examines the construction of diversity policies along with relocation issues that come up and provides ways to enhance diversity policies in a more holistic way that considers cultural contexts.

Pursuing diversity is a pressing initiative for many organizations and leaders, but implementations don’t usually live up to the lofty rhetoric and goals that accompany their introduction. These challenges are particularly apparent when an organization crafts its diversity policy from a domestic perspective and uniformly rolls it out worldwide. For example, consider a firm headquartered in New York City that creates a diversity policy largely focused on American social justice issues with minimal input from global stakeholders. The power and impact of that initiative diminishes significantly as it is transmitted abroad.

This type of dilemma inspired my case-based article, “What Does Diversity Mean in a Global Organization?,” published in the May/June 2022 edition of Harvard Business Review . 1 In the case, the CEO of a listed toy company is selecting a candidate to lead the company’s Asia business, centered in China, an important driver for the firm’s continued growth. The successful candidate also will join the company’s board of directors. The company’s leadership and board of directors is not diverse, and there has been a push from shareholders to increase diversity.

Within this milieu, the CEO is choosing between two candidates. Both candidates are strong, but one is a white male who has spent most of his life in Greater China, and the other is an ethnically Chinese female born and raised in the West. Inspired by an actual event, the case illustrates several issues around how companies interpret diversity and implement diversity initiatives.

For example, the case compels readers to grapple with whether or not diversity changes depending on the context. At the toy company’s headquarters in Canada, the female candidate certainly satisfies diversity criteria; this might not be the case in China. Conversely, the male candidate would likely not satisfy standard diversity metrics in Canada, but in China, he might be considered to be contributing to diversity for certain demographic categories. Indeed, the male candidate spent many years of his life being the only non-Chinese person in many business situations.

Ultimately, determining which candidate contributes to diversity depends on the lens through which the candidate is viewed. As companies strive to implement diversity policies across global operations, various companies, especially those headquartered in the West, will encounter such issues. This is the reality of achieving diversity in a global context.

I have taught this case on numerous occasions to global business leaders and to MBA classes with students from around the world. I have also shared it with various organizations, including the Asia offices of Western companies. Informed by those enlightening discussions, this article offers an on-the-ground perspective of how diversity policies encounter issues once they leave home shores. The article examines how diversity policies are constructed and the issues that arise once relocated, then offers suggestions on how to refine diversity policies so they are more holistic and systematic, taking into account various cultural contexts and histories.

Crafting Diversity Policies

Over the last four decades, there has been a proliferation of corporate diversity policies. By one estimate, more than 95% of organizations with more than 1,000 employees have some sort of diversity program. 2

These initiatives are now quite visible as company websites have made room for carefully crafted diversity policies accompanied by images of an eclectic mix of employees. This part of an organization’s website often highlights various employee groups, frequently referred to as “employee resource groups” (ERGs), that cater to different demographics or interests. For instance, Intel has more than 40 such groups, which they divide between ERGs and leadership councils “organized around race, national origin, gender identity, parenthood, diverse abilities, education, faith and beliefs, and other common affinities.” 3

Generally, this push toward diversity has largely been prompted by a few interwoven factors. The list below is not exhaustive, and there are certainly other contributing issues to consider, but for the majority of business leaders, these three factors are a good starting point:

Righting wrongs. Diversity initiatives often emerge from a desire to address social inequalities and injustices, many of which are rooted in historical legacies that have yet to be fully addressed. The legacy of the pernicious impact of these histories is the landscape that organizations navigate, especially in the social media age. For example, from slavery to the recent Black Lives Matter movement, racism and discrimination against African Americans have been a tragic part of US history. Consequently, for many American companies, diversity policies, at least initially, focus on addressing race-based inequalities and injustices.

Stakeholder capitalism. The rise of stakeholder capitalism over the last few years has also amplified the importance of diversity for many leaders and organizations. As companies look beyond shareholders and maximizing their value, other stakeholders have emerged as critical voices. Using the power of social media, employees, customers, and the communities in which companies operate have increasingly demanded companies commit to addressing social and political issues like diversity. Additionally, some investors have emerged as keen diversity advocates. For example, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced a goal of 30% diversity in the boards of the US companies in which it is invested. 4 Stakeholder capitalism has heightened the importance of social and political issues on board agendas.

Competing. In a globally competitive marketplace, a company is at a disadvantage if it artificially limits the talent pool from which it hires or the customers it may serve due to discriminatory or otherwise unfair policies. Most companies claim they seek to hire the best people, but this is not feasible when discriminating against a particular gender or minority group. Companies competing for talent, customers, and capital will be better served and better positioned to win by committing to meaningful, robust diversity policies. Ultimately, as workers and customers seek authentic, purpose-driven organizations to work for and patronize, commitment to diversity will be an integral part of such decisions.

It is important to note that in addition to the factors noted above, a company’s diversity policy is generally an outcome of a particular path dependence. Path dependence is usually explained by the phrase “history matters,” but for our purposes, it can be thought of as “context matters.” For a company, the background of its founder, its industry, where it is headquartered, and when it was started are all examples of factors that can shape its pursuit of diversity initiatives. For example, a US company founded by an African American female in 2020 and headquartered in Silicon Valley will likely have a very different notion of diversity and how it should be implemented than, say, a Malaysian company founded in 1980 by a middle-aged, ethnically Chinese male who is a citizen of Malaysia and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Path dependence must be accounted for when transporting diversity policies across borders. 

How Policies Get Translated When Leaving HQ

From leading discussions of my case for audiences from a variety of backgrounds and industries, it’s clear that the daily reality of diversity policies is very different from lofty pronouncements from headquarters and diversity pages on a company’s website. This is not due to bad intent; it reflects the fact that diversity policies are not plug and play.

In the wake of the unlawful killings of young Black men by police officers in the US that led to the Black Lives Matter movement, many global firms released statements against racial discrimination and organized events to discuss this pertinent issue. Although aware of the importance of fighting racial discrimination, employees working in an overseas office where their coworkers and customers are generally homogeneous may not feel a deep, personal connection to the need to address racial justice.

When employees consistently feel disconnected from a company’s diversity initiatives, it will not only be less meaningful for them, it can lead to a belief that such initiatives are only relevant for headquarters. It’s not that employees around the world don’t feel the issue is important, they often do, but it is not relevant in their everyday lives since such issues are infrequent (or even nonexistent) in their home markets.

To move beyond lip service and rhetoric, global companies should localize policies to pursue more meaningful diversity outcomes. Such policies are consistent with broader organizational messaging but also consider the on-the-ground reality of a particular market. Doing this allows companies to create a more balanced approach to diversity that reflects a firm’s values while impacting diversity in a meaningful way. Such an approach minimizes scenarios where one demographic becomes the main focus of diversity initiatives, resulting in policy imbalance.

Shifting from D&I to I&D

Without giving it much thought, many firms describe their work in this space as “diversity and inclusion” (D&I). After speaking with a senior leader in the people function of a large professional services firm, I have reconsidered what should come first.

This leader’s firm shifted from a D&I focus to an I&D one because the executives felt creating an inclusive workplace should be the priority. For one thing, the process of accomplishing inclusion requires diversity. For another, an inclusive workplace contributes to greater diversity, since inclusion helps attract and retain diverse talent.

In her recent book, Rising Together: How We Can Bridge Divides and Create a More Inclusive Workplace , best-selling author and leadership coach Sally Helgesen describes diversity as part of the path to achieving inclusion. 5 This distinction is important. Although diversity and inclusion are typically linked and almost viewed interchangeably in organizational jargon, they are actually different.

Thus, it is important to remember that diversity initiatives are a critical part of achieving inclusion and that the key challenge for leaders is creating an inclusive organization comprising diverse talent, backgrounds, ideas, and lived experience.

Go Beyond Box Checking 

In facilitating discussions about diversity, it’s apparent that despite widespread support for diversity as a concept, many are frustrated with the check-the-box approach that organizations frequently take when promoting and evaluating diversity. This is an interesting aspect of my case since it requires the reader to determine which perspective they will take when viewing the candidates, since each brings some aspect of diversity to the table.

With so much focus on diversity and an increase in the ways diversity is measured, it is easy to see why companies choose an expedient path to meeting external diversity goals. A check-the-box approach makes it easy for a company to show progress on diversity metrics since they are simple to manage and present. These approaches do serve a purpose and are a starting point, but they are not long-term solutions.

Indeed, employees and other stakeholders know when an organization is meaningfully committed to diversity and when the messaging is empty rhetoric. To avoid being viewed as inauthentic when it comes to diversity initiatives, leaders and organizations need to be much more intentional and holistic in the approaches they take to achieve diversity. 

One immediate action is determining how corporate diversity policies are interpreted and applied in local markets that are dissimilar to headquarters. Organizations need to account for how home-country bias and path dependence shape the way diversity policies are crafted and transmitted from the home office to offices abroad.

As companies reconsider the relationship between inclusion and diversity, leaders should seize the opportunity to reevaluate organizational purpose in the context of inclusion and diversity goals. There should be consistency between organizational purpose and how that is supported and facilitated by inclusion and diversity. If this is not clear, the organization is at risk of promoting inauthentic policies that jeopardize morale, weaken culture, and impact talent acquisition and retention. The best organizations in the world strive to have consistency among purpose, inclusion, and diversity.

Meaningful organizational change around inclusion, diversity, and a culture that supports these aspirations cannot be accomplished through a check-the-box approach. Leaders play an important role in exhibiting the values and principles that an organization espouses and whether or not they will be viewed as authentic. Organizations must also have the right processes in place, especially around people. Hiring, evaluation, and promotion of people are all critical inflection points to reinforce an organization’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. Each of those moments serves as a way to contribute or detract from an organization’s culture when it comes to inclusion and diversity. 

There is a contextual aspect of diversity that gets discounted when implementing a check-the-box approach and solely relying on quantitative measures to reflect diversity. Such measures serve a purpose, but if an organization genuinely believes inclusion and diversity are important, it should expend a commensurate amount of time, energy, and commitment as it does for other important initiatives.

For global companies, it requires extra time, energy, and commitment to ensure every diversity initiative resonates and is meaningfully implemented internationally. This is the challenge and hope of diversity in a global context, which — done effectively — contributes not only to a firm’s performance and culture, but to a more understanding and just world.

1    Lee, David S. “ Case Study: What Does Diversity Mean in a Global Organization? ” Harvard Business Review , May-June 2022.

2    Lambouths III, Danny, William Scarborough, and Allyson Holbrook. “ Who Supports Diversity Policies? It Depends on the Policy .” Harvard Business Review , 4 October 2019.

3    “ Employee Resource Groups .” Intel, accessed February 2023. 

4    “ Our Approach to Engagement on Board Quality and Effectiveness .” BlackRock, February 2022.

5    Helgesen, Sally. Rising Together: How We Can Bridge Divides and Create a More Inclusive Workplace . Hachette Book Group, 2023.

• Sustainability
• Executive Education
• Join the Cutter Community
• Subscribe to our Newsletters
• All Experts
• Leadership Experts
• Sustainability Experts
• Technology Experts
• Industry Experts
• Corporate Overview
• Testimonials
• Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
• Write for Cutter

Brought to you by:

What Does Diversity Mean in a Global Organization? (Commentary for HBR Case Study)

By: David S Lee, Daisy Auger Dominguez, Yuting Wang

The CEO of a Toronto-based toy company is trying to decide whom to hire for a critical position in its Asia division. He has two strong candidates: a Chinese-American woman with little on-the-ground…

• Length: 3 page(s)
• Publication Date: May 1, 2022
• Discipline: Organizational Behavior
• Product #: R2203Z-PDF-ENG

What's included:

• Educator Copy

$2.95 per student

degree granting course

$5.45 per student

non-degree granting course

Get access to this material, plus much more with a free Educator Account:

• Access to world-famous HBS cases
• Up to 60% off materials for your students
• Resources for teaching online
• Tips and reviews from other Educators

Already registered? Sign in

• Student Registration
• Non-Academic Registration
• Included Materials

The CEO of a Toronto-based toy company is trying to decide whom to hire for a critical position in its Asia division. He has two strong candidates: a Chinese-American woman with little on-the-ground experience in Asia, and a white Texas-born man who has spent his entire career in Hong Kong and is fluent in Mandarin. The company's board expects the CEO to prioritize diversity. This fictional case study by David S. Lee features expert commentary by Daisy Auger-Dominguez and Yuting Wang.

For teaching purposes, this is the commentary-only version of the HBR case study. The case-only version is reprint R2203X. The complete case study and commentary is reprint R2203M.

May 1, 2022

Discipline:

Organizational Behavior

Geographies:

Harvard Business Review Digital Article

R2203Z-PDF-ENG

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience, including personalizing content. Learn More . By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Diversity and Inclusion Efforts That Really Work

• David Pedulla

A Stanford and Harvard professor convened a symposium on what’s actually working to improve diversity and inclusion in organizational life. In this article, David Pedulla summarizes the main findings. First, organizations should set goals, collect data, and hold people accountable for improving diversity within the organization. Second, organizations should abandon traditional discrimination and harassment reporting systems—these often lead to retaliation. Employee Assistance Plans (EAPs), ombuds offices, and transformative dispute resolution systems can not only play a critical role in reducing retaliation but also provide fuel for organizational change. Third, organizations should check to ensure that technologies used to assist in hiring and promotion aren’t inherently biased. Fourth, companies must avoid tokenism. Finally, organizations should get managers and other leaders involved in diversity programs from the start. This will increase buy-in and lead to smooth implementation.

Five best practices.

In the wake of major social and political changes over the past decades, leading companies are taking steps to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Yet progress in most sectors remains tepid. Programs designed to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace often fail . So that leads to a natural question: What’s actually working?

• DP David Pedulla is an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University.

Partner Center

Baltimore bridge collapse: What happened and what is the death toll?

What is the death toll, when did the baltimore bridge collapse, why did the bridge collapse, who will pay for the damage and how much will the bridge cost.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO REBUILD THE BRIDGE?

What ship hit the baltimore bridge, what do we know about the bridge that collapsed.

HOW WILL THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE IMPACT THE BALTIMORE PORT?

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Lisa's journalism career spans two decades, and she currently serves as the Americas Day Editor for the Global News Desk. She played a pivotal role in tracking the COVID pandemic and leading initiatives in speed, headline writing and multimedia. She has worked closely with the finance and company news teams on major stories, such as the departures of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and significant developments at Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla. Her dedication and hard work have been recognized with the 2010 Desk Editor of the Year award and a Journalist of the Year nomination in 2020. Lisa is passionate about visual and long-form storytelling. She holds a degree in both psychology and journalism from Penn State University.

US executive gets UK judgments thrown out after showing hackers swayed his case

An American aviation executive has had British judgments worth more than $4 million against him thrown out after a judge ruled that his legal opponent had covered up its use of hackers to steal the businessman’s emails in order to win the case.