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

• David S. Lee

Needs may differ between headquarters and regional offices.

“We have a diversity problem.”

• DL David S. Lee  is a principal lecturer at the University of Hong Kong Business School, where he teaches, researches, and advises on topics related to ethics, fintech, and governance.

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• 04 Mar 2024
• Research & Ideas

Want to Make Diversity Stick? Break the Cycle of Sameness

Whether on judicial benches or in corporate boardrooms, white men are more likely to step into roles that other white men vacate, says research by Edward Chang. But when people from historically marginalized groups land those positions, workforce diversification tends to last. Chang offers three pieces of advice for leaders striving for diversity.

• 27 Feb 2024

Why Companies Should Share Their DEI Data (Even When It’s Unflattering)

Companies that make their workforce demographics public earn consumer goodwill, even if the numbers show limited progress on diversity, says research by Ryan Buell, Maya Balakrishnan, and Jimin Nam. How can brands make transparency a differentiator?

• 02 Jan 2024
• Cold Call Podcast

Should Businesses Take a Stand on Societal Issues?

Should businesses take a stand for or against particular societal issues? And how should leaders determine when and how to engage on these sensitive matters? Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Hubert Joly, who led the electronics retailer Best Buy for almost a decade, discusses examples of corporate leaders who had to determine whether and how to engage with humanitarian crises, geopolitical conflict, racial justice, climate change, and more in the case, “Deciding When to Engage on Societal Issues.”

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

Employees may seek new approaches to balance, even as leaders consider whether to bring more teams back to offices or make hybrid work even more flexible. These are just a few trends that Harvard Business School faculty members will be following during a year when staffing, climate, and inclusion will likely remain top of mind.

• 21 Nov 2023

Cold Call: Building a More Equitable Culture at Delta Air Lines

In December 2020 Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian and his leadership team were reviewing the decision to join the OneTen coalition, where he and 36 other CEOs committed to recruiting, hiring, training, and advancing one million Black Americans over the next ten years into family-sustaining jobs. But, how do you ensure everyone has equal access to opportunity within an organization? Professor Linda Hill discusses Delta’s decision and its progress in embedding a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in her case, “OneTen at Delta Air Lines: Catalyzing Family-Sustaining Careers for Black Talent.”

• 31 Oct 2023

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

Diversity and inclusion efforts that focus on business outcomes alone rarely address root causes. Jamillah Bowman Williams, a visiting fellow at the Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society, offers tips for companies navigating their next stage of the DEI journey.

• 24 Oct 2023

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

Demand for Black-owned restaurants rises when they're easier to find on Yelp. Research by Michael Luca shows how companies can mobilize their own technology to advance racial equity.

• 16 Oct 2023

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

By emphasizing skills and expanding professional development opportunities, the airline is making strides toward recruiting and advancing Black employees. Case studies by Linda Hill offer an inside look at how Delta CEO Ed Bastian is creating a more equitable company and a stronger talent pipeline.

• 10 Oct 2023

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

The Voting Rights Act dramatically increased Black participation in US elections—until worried white Americans mobilized in response. Research by Marco Tabellini illustrates the power of a political backlash.

• 26 Sep 2023

Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates

Many companies want to bring a wider variety of lived experiences to their workforces. However, research by Summer Jackson shows how hiring managers' fears of seeming transactional can ultimately undermine their diversity goals.

• 14 Sep 2023

Working Moms Are Mostly Thriving Again. Can We Finally Achieve Gender Parity?

The pandemic didn't destroy the workplace advancements moms had achieved. However, not all of the positive changes forced by the crisis and remote work have stuck, says research by Kathleen McGinn and Alexandra Feldberg.

• 12 Sep 2023
• What Do You Think?

Who Gets the Loudest Voice in DEI Decisions?

Business leaders are wrestling with how to manage their organizations' commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you were a CEO, which constituency would you consider most: your employees, customers, or investors? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 08 Aug 2023

Black Employees Not Only Earn Less, But Deal with Bad Bosses and Poor Conditions

More than 900,000 reviews highlight broad racial disparities in the American working experience. Beyond pay inequities, research by Letian Zhang shows how Black employees are less likely to work at companies known for positive cultures or work-life balance.

• 26 Jul 2023

STEM Needs More Women. Recruiters Often Keep Them Out

Tech companies and programs turn to recruiters to find top-notch candidates, but gender bias can creep in long before women even apply, according to research by Jacqueline Ng Lane and colleagues. She highlights several tactics to make the process more equitable.

• 18 Jul 2023

Diversity and Inclusion at Mars Petcare: Translating Awareness into Action

In 2020, the Mars Petcare leadership team found themselves facing critically important inclusion and diversity issues. Unprecedented protests for racial justice in the U.S. and across the globe generated demand for substantive change, and Mars Petcare's 100,000 employees across six continents were ready for visible signs of progress. How should Mars’ leadership build on their existing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and effectively capitalize on the new energy for change? Harvard Business School associate professor Katherine Coffman is joined by Erica Coletta, Mars Petcare’s chief people officer, and Ibtehal Fathy, global inclusion and diversity officer at Mars Inc., to discuss the case, “Inclusion and Diversity at Mars Petcare.”

• 05 Jul 2023

How Are Middle Managers Falling Down Most Often on Employee Inclusion?

Companies are struggling to retain employees from underrepresented groups, many of whom don't feel heard in the workplace. What do managers need to do to build truly inclusive teams? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 01 Jun 2023

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

Larry Miller committed murder as a teenager, but earned a college degree while serving time and set out to start a new life. Still, he had to conceal his record to get a job that would ultimately take him to the heights of sports marketing. A case study by Francesca Gino, Hise Gibson, and Frances Frei shows the barriers that formerly incarcerated Black men are up against and the potential talent they could bring to business.

• 31 May 2023

Why Business Leaders Need to Hear Larry Miller's Story

VIDEO: Nike executive Larry Miller concealed his criminal past to get a job. What if more companies were willing to hire people with blemishes on their records? Hise Gibson explores why business leaders should give the formerly incarcerated a second chance.

From Prison Cell to Nike’s C-Suite: The Journey of Larry Miller

VIDEO: Before leading one of the world’s largest brands, Nike executive Larry Miller served time in prison for murder. In this interview, Miller shares how education helped him escape a life of crime and why employers should give the formerly incarcerated a second chance. Inspired by a Harvard Business School case study.

• 08 May 2023

How Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Crushed Crowdfunding for Minority Entrepreneurs

When public anxiety about immigration surges, Black, Asian, and Hispanic inventors have a harder time raising funds for new ideas on Kickstarter, says research by William Kerr. What can platforms do to confront bias in entrepreneurial finance?

Read our research on: Abortion | Podcasts | Election 2024

Regions & Countries

Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, a majority of u.s. workers say focusing on dei at work is a good thing, but relatively small shares place great importance on diversity in their own workplace.

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how adults in the United States think about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. This analysis is based on survey responses from 4,744 U.S. adults who are working part time or full time, are not self-employed, have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job, and whose company or organization has 10 or more people. The data was collected as part of a larger survey of workers conducted Feb. 6-12, 2023. Everyone who took part is a member of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Read more about the questions used for this report and the report’s methodology .

References to workers or employed adults include those who are employed part time or full time, are not self-employed, have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job, and whose company or organization has 10 or more people.

References to White, Black and Asian adults include those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race.

References to college graduates or people with a college degree comprise those with a bachelor’s degree or more. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree.

References to disabled workers include those who say a disability or handicap keeps them from fully participating in work, school, housework or other activities.

All references to party affiliation include those who lean toward that party. Republicans include those who identify as Republicans and those who say they lean toward the Republican Party. Democrats include those who identify as Democrats and those who say they lean toward the Democratic Party.

Workplace diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, or DEI, are increasingly becoming part of national political debates . For a majority of employed U.S. adults (56%), focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. But opinions about DEI vary considerably along demographic and political lines.

Most workers have some experience with DEI measures at their workplace. About six-in-ten (61%) say their company or organization has policies that ensure fairness in hiring, pay or promotions, and 52% say they have trainings or meetings on DEI at work. Smaller shares say their workplace has a staff member who promotes DEI (33%), that their workplace offers salary transparency (30%), and that it has affinity groups or employee resource groups based on a shared identity (26%). Majorities of those who have access to these measures say each has had a positive impact where they work.

Related : How Americans View Their Jobs

The value of DEI efforts at work

The importance of a diverse workforce, dei measures and their impact, how gender, race and ethnicity impact success in the workplace.

This nationally representative survey of 5,902 U.S. workers, including 4,744 who are not self-employed, was conducted Feb. 6-12, 2023, using the Center’s American Trends Panel . 1 The survey comes at a time when DEI efforts are facing some backlash and many major companies are laying off their DEI professionals .

Some key findings from the survey:

• Relatively small shares of workers place a lot of importance on diversity at their workplace. About three-in-ten say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (32%) or ages (28%). Roughly a quarter say the same about having a workplace with about an equal mix of men and women (26%) and 18% say this about a mix of employees of different sexual orientations.
• More than half of workers (54%) say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing DEI. Smaller shares say their company or organization pays too much (14%) or too little attention (15%), and 17% say they’re not sure. Black workers are more likely than those in other racial and ethnic groups to say their employer pays too little attention to increasing DEI. They’re also among the most likely to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing (78% of Black workers say this), while White workers are the least likely to express this view (47%).
• Women are more likely than men to value DEI at work. About six-in-ten women (61%) say focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, compared with half of men. And larger shares of women than men say it’s extremely or very important to them to work at a place that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation.
• There are wide partisan differences in views of workplace DEI. Most Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers (78%) say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 30% of Republicans and Republican leaners. Democrats are also far more likely than Republicans to value different aspects of diversity. And by wide margins, higher shares of Democrats than Republicans say the policies and resources related to DEI available at their workplace have had a positive impact.
• Half of workers say it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities. About three-in-ten workers (29%) say this is somewhat important to them, and 21% say it’s not too or not at all important. A majority of workers (76% among those who do not work fully remotely) say their workplace is at least somewhat accessible for people with physical disabilities.
• Many say being a man or being White is an advantage where they work. The survey asked respondents whether a person’s gender, race or ethnicity makes it easier or harder to be successful where they work. Shares ranging from 45% to 57% say these traits make it neither easier nor harder. But far more say being a man and being White makes it easier than say it makes it harder for someone to be successful. Conversely, by double-digit margins, more say being a woman, being Black or being Hispanic makes it harder than say it makes it easier to be successful where they work.

A majority of workers (56%) say focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is mainly a good thing; 28% say it is neither good nor bad, and 16% say it is a bad thing. Views on this vary along key demographic and partisan lines.

Half or more of both men and women say focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, but women are more likely than men to offer this view (61% vs. 50%). In turn, men are more than twice as likely as women to say it is a bad thing (23% vs. 9%).

About two-thirds or more of Black (78%), Asian (72%) and Hispanic (65%) workers say that focusing on DEI at work is a good thing. Among White workers, however, fewer than half (47%) say it’s a good thing; in fact, 21% say it’s a bad thing. But there are wide partisan, gender and age gaps among White workers, with majorities of White Democrats, women and those under age 30 saying focusing on DEI at work is a good thing.

Workers under 30 are the most likely age group to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing. About two-thirds (68%) of workers ages 18 to 29 say this, compared with 56% of workers 30 to 49, 46% of those 50 to 64, and 52% of those 65 and older.

Views also differ by educational attainment, with 68% of workers with a postgraduate degree saying focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 59% of those with a bachelor’s degree only and 50% of those with some college or less education.

Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers are much more likely to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing (78%) than to say it is a bad thing (4%) or that it is neither good nor bad (18%). Views among Republican and Republican-leaning workers are more mixed: Some 30% say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, while the same share (30%) say it’s a bad thing, and 39% say it’s neither good nor bad.

A majority of workers say their employer pays the right amount of attention to DEI

When it comes to the focus of their own employer, 54% of workers say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion. The remainder are divided between saying their employer pays too much (14%) or too little attention (15%), or that they’re not sure (17%).

Women are more likely than men to say their employer pays too little attention to increasing DEI (17% vs. 12%). In turn, men are more likely than women to say too much attention is paid to this where they work (18% vs. 10%).

Black workers (28%) are the most likely to say their company or organization pays too little attention to increasing DEI, compared with smaller shares of White (11%), Hispanic (19%) and Asian (17%) workers who say the same.

Views on this question also differ by party. While half or more of both Republican and Democratic workers say their company or organization pays the right amount of attention to DEI, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say their employer pays too little attention to it (21% vs. 7%). In turn, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say their employer pays too much attention to DEI (24% vs. 6%).

While a majority of workers say focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is a good thing, relatively small shares place great importance on working at a place that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation. About three-in-ten workers say it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (32%) and ages (28%), while 26% say the same about having about an equal mix of men and women. And 18% say this about having a mix of employees of different sexual orientations at their workplace.

Women are more likely than men to say it’s extremely or very important to them to work at a place that is diverse across all measures asked about in the survey. For example, there are 11 percentage point differences in the shares of women compared with men saying it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that has a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (37% vs. 26%) and about an equal mix of men and women (31% vs. 20%).

Black workers are among the most likely to value racial, ethnic and age diversity in the workplace. Some 53% of Black workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities, compared with 39% of Hispanic workers and 25% of White workers who say the same; 43% of Asian workers say this is important to them. (There is no statistically significant difference between the share of Asian workers and the shares of Black and Hispanic workers who hold this view.) And while 42% of Black workers highly value working somewhere with a mix of employees of different ages, smaller shares of Hispanic (33%), Asian (30%) and White (24%) workers say the same.

When it comes to diversity of sexual orientation, 28% of Black workers and 22% of Hispanic workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is diverse in this way; 15% each among White and Asian workers say the same.

Workers under age 50 are more likely than those 50 and older to say racial and ethnic diversity in their workplace is extremely or very important to them (35% vs. 26%). Workers younger than 50 are also more likely to say having about an equal mix of men and women is important to them, with workers ages 18 t0 29 the most likely to say this (34% vs. 26% of workers 30 to 49, and 20% each among those 50 to 64 and 65 and older).

There are also differences by educational attainment, with larger shares of workers with a postgraduate degree than those with less education saying it’s extremely or very important to them that their workplace is diverse across all measures asked about in the survey. For example, 44% of workers with a postgraduate degree say having a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities is extremely or very important to them, compared with 34% of those with a bachelor’s degree only and 27% of those with some college or less.

Democratic workers are much more likely than Republican workers to say working somewhere that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation is extremely or very important to them. In fact, about half of Democrats (49%) place great importance on having a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities where they work, compared with 13% of Republicans. And there are differences of at least 20 points between the shares of Democrats and Republicans saying it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that has about an equal mix of men and women (39% of Democrats say this vs. 12% of Republicans) and a mix of employees of different ages (39% vs. 17%) and sexual orientations (27% vs. 7%).

Overall, a majority of workers say their workplace has a mix of employees of different ages (58% say this describes their current workplace extremely or very well). Smaller shares say their workplace has about an equal mix of men and women (38%) and a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (46%) and sexual orientations (28%). These assessments do not vary much across demographic groups.

Half of workers place great importance on working at a place that is accessible for people with physical disabilities

Half of workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities; 29% say it is somewhat important and 21% say it is not too or not at all important to them.

Highly valuing an accessible workplace varies by gender, race and ethnicity, and party, but there is no significant difference in responses between those who do and don’t report having a disability.

About six-in-ten women (58%) say it is extremely or very important to them that their workplace is accessible, compared with 41% of men.

Black workers are more likely than workers of other racial and ethnic groups to place great importance on their workplace being accessible: 62% of Black workers say this is extremely or very important, compared with 51% of Hispanic, 48% of White and 43% of Asian workers.

A majority of Democrats (59%) say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities; 40% of Republican say the same. Some 27% of Republicans say this is not too or not at all important to them, compared with 15% of Democrats.

There is no statistically significant difference in the shares of workers who have a disability and those who do not saying it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities. But workers who do not have a disability are more likely than those who do to say this is not too or not at all important to them (21% vs. 15%).

Among those who don’t work fully remotely, about three-quarters of workers (76%) say their workplace is at least somewhat accessible for people with physical disabilities, with 51% saying it is extremely or very accessible. Some 17% say their workplace is not too or not at all accessible, and 8% are not sure.

When asked whether the company or organization they work for has a series of measures that are typically associated with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a majority of workers say their employer has policies that ensure everyone is treated fairly in hiring, pay or promotions (61%), and 52% say there are trainings or meetings on DEI where they work.

Smaller shares say their workplace has a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work (33%), a way for employees to see the salary range for all positions (30%), and groups created by employees sometimes known as affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs) based on shared identities such as gender, race or being a parent (26%).

Responses do not vary much by most demographic characteristics. However, workers with at least a bachelor’s degree are consistently more likely than those with less education to say each of these five measures is available where they work.

Workers tend to see positive impact from policies and resources associated with DEI where they work

Among those whose workplace offers each policy or resource, a majority of workers say each measure has had a somewhat or very positive impact where they work. About a third or fewer workers say each resource has had neither a positive nor negative impact, and about one-in-ten or fewer say each of these has had a somewhat or very negative impact.

Democrats and Republicans are about equally likely to say their workplace has these measures in place, but Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the impact of each has been positive by margins ranging from 10 to 32 points (among those who say their workplace has these measures). For example, 66% of Democrats who say their workplace has a way for employees to see the salary range for all positions say this has had a somewhat or very positive impact, compared with 56% of Republicans who say this. And while about three-quarters of Democrats (74%) say having a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work has had a positive impact, fewer than half of Republicans (42%) say the same.

Women are more likely than men to say each of these policies and resources has had a very or somewhat positive impact where they work. This is mainly driven by gender differences among Republicans: There are double-digit differences in the shares of Republican women and Republican men who say many of these resources have had a positive impact. For example, 58% of Republican women say having a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work has had at least a somewhat positive impact where they work, compared with 31% of Republican men who hold this view. The same share of Republican women (58%) say having affinity groups or ERGs has had a positive impact, compared with 38% of Republican men who say the same.

Among Democrats, majorities of both men and women offer positive assessments of these resources in their workplace, but Democratic women are more likely than Democratic men to say having trainings or meetings on DEI at work have had a positive impact (72% vs. 65%).

While there are differences by race, ethnicity and age on overall attitudes about DEI in the workplace, there are no consistent differences along these dimensions in how workers with access to these policies and resources at their workplace assess their impact.

About half of workers who have participated in DEI trainings in the last year say they’ve been helpful

Out of all workers, about four-in-ten (38%) have participated in a DEI training in the last year. A similar share (40%) did not participate or say their workplace does not offer these trainings, and 21% are not sure if their employer offers these trainings.

Looking only at those whose company or organization has trainings or meetings on DEI, about three-quarters (73%) say they have participated in such trainings in the past year. And assessments of these trainings tend to be positive, with 53% of workers who’ve participated saying they were very or somewhat helpful. About a third (34%) give a more neutral assessment, saying the trainings were neither helpful nor unhelpful, and 13% say they were very or somewhat unhelpful.

While men and women are about equally likely to have participated in trainings on DEI in the past year, women are more likely than men to say the trainings have been at least somewhat helpful (60% vs. 46%).

Republicans and Democrats are also equally likely to say they’ve participated in these trainings in the past year, but Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say the trainings have been helpful (66% vs. 36%). About one-in-five Republicans say they’ve been unhelpful (19%), compared with 9% of Democrats.

While both Democratic men and women offer similar assessments of the DEI trainings they’ve participated in, there are gender differences among Republican workers. Republican women are more likely than Republican men to say the trainings they’ve participated in have been helpful (47% vs. 28%). Conversely, 22% of Republican men, compared with 14% of Republican women, say the trainings have been unhelpful.

Few workers are members of affinity groups or ERGs at work

While 26% of workers say there are affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs) where they work, members of these groups account for a very small share of workers overall. Just 6% of workers say they are members of an affinity group or ERG, with 58% of workers saying these groups are either not available at their workplace or that they aren’t a member. Another 37% say they are not sure if their workplace offers these groups.

When asked about the impact a person’s gender, race or ethnicity has on their ability to succeed at work, workers tend to say these characteristics neither make it easier nor harder to be successful at their workplace.

Still, when it comes to gender, workers are more likely to say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work than to say it makes it harder (36% vs. 6%). In contrast, a larger share says being a woman makes it harder to be successful than say it makes it easier (28% vs. 11%).

Men and women have different views on the impact gender has on a person’s ability to succeed where they work. Some 44% of women say being a man makes it at least a little easier to be successful, including 24% who say it makes it a lot easier. This compares with 29% of men who say being a man makes it at least a little easier to be successful.

Similarly, 34% of women say being a woman makes it harder to be successful where they work, compared with 21% of men.

Women under age 50 are especially likely – more so than women ages 50 and older or men in either age group – to say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work and that being a woman makes it harder. For example, 38% of women ages 18 to 49 say being a woman makes it harder to be successful where they work. This compares with 29% of women 50 and older, 25% of men younger than 50, and an even smaller share of men 50 and older (13%).

When it comes to views about how race or ethnicity affects people’s ability to succeed at work, 51% of Black workers say being Black makes it harder to be successful where they work. This is significantly higher than the shares of Asian (41%), Hispanic (23%) and White (18%) workers who say the same about the impact of being Black.

Similarly, about four-in-ten Asian workers (39%) say being Asian makes it harder to be successful in their workplace, a higher share than workers of other racial and ethnic groups who say the same about being Asian.

Hispanic, Black and Asian workers are about equally likely to say being Hispanic makes it harder to be successful where they work. A smaller share of White workers say the same about being Hispanic.

When asked about the impact of being White in their workplace, workers across racial and ethnic groups are more likely to say it makes it easier than to say it makes it harder to be successful. This is especially the case among Black and Asian workers. About half of Black (52%) and Asian (51%) workers say being White makes it easier to be successful where they work, compared with 37% of Hispanic and 24% of White workers who say the same about being White.

Previously released findings from this survey found that Black workers are more likely than White, Hispanic and Asian workers to report that they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly by an employer in hiring, pay or promotions because of their race or ethnicity at some point in their careers (though not necessarily where they currently work). Women are also more likely than men to say they’ve experienced such discrimination because of their gender.

There are large partisan gaps in views of whether gender, race or ethnicity make it easier or harder to be successful at work. Some 47% of Democratic workers say being a man makes it at least somewhat easier to be successful at their workplace, compared with 25% of Republican workers. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say being a woman makes it harder to succeed (37% vs. 17%).

Democratic and Republican women are more likely than their male counterparts to say being a woman makes it harder – and being a man makes it easier – to be successful where they work. The differences between Republican women and Republican men are particularly striking. About a quarter of Republican women (26%) say being a woman makes it harder to be successful, compared with 10% of Republican men. And while 36% of Republican women say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work, just 16% of Republican men say the same.

Democratic workers are more than three times as likely as Republican workers to say being White makes it easier to succeed where they work (48% vs. 13%), and they are also more likely than Republicans to say being Black, Hispanic or Asian makes it harder. About four-in-ten Democrats (39%) say being Black makes it harder for someone to succeed at their workplace, compared with just 9% of Republicans. Similarly, 30% of Democrats say being Hispanic makes it harder to succeed, compared with 8% of Republicans. And while smaller shares in both parties say being Asian makes it harder to succeed, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say this (16% vs. 6%). These partisan differences remain when looking only at Democrats and Republicans who are White.

• For details, see the  Methodology  section of the report. The analysis in this report is based on U.S. workers who are employed full time or part time, who are not self-employed, and who have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job (99% of workers who are not self-employed have one job or a primary job). Additionally, the analysis is restricted to workers at companies or organizations with at least 10 employees as certain federal requirements such as non-discrimination mandates apply to larger workplaces. ↩
• Non-White adults include Black, Hispanic, Asian and other races besides White, as well as people who identify as more than one race. The sample sizes among Black, Hispanic and Asian workers who have affinity groups or ERGs at work are too small to analyze separately. ↩

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Table of contents, about a third of u.s. workers who can work from home now do so all the time, how americans view their jobs, the enduring grip of the gender pay gap, for today’s young workers in the u.s., job tenure is similar to that of young workers in the past, majority of u.s. workers changing jobs are seeing real wage gains, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

The business case for diversity in the workplace is now overwhelming

More innovative, more profitable ... greater diversity isn't just a moral imperative. Image:  REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

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We live in a complex, interconnected world where diversity, shaped by globalization and technological advance, forms the fabric of modern society. Notwithstanding this interconnectedness, there is also growing polarization – both in the physical and digital worlds – fuelled by identity politics and the resurgence of nationalist ideals.

Not surprisingly, our workplaces tend to mirror the sociocultural dynamics at play in our lives outside work. Having built and scaled a multinational enterprise over nearly two decades, I’ve learned that diversity in the workplace is an asset for both businesses and their employees, in its capacity to foster innovation, creativity and empathy in ways that homogeneous environments seldom do. Yet it takes careful nurturing and conscious orchestration to unleash the true potential of this invaluable asset.

In this era of globalization, diversity in the business environment is about more than gender, race and ethnicity. It now includes employees with diverse religious and political beliefs, education, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientation, cultures and even disabilities. Companies are discovering that, by supporting and promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace, they are gaining benefits that go beyond the optics.

Business has the transformative power to change and contribute to a more open, diverse and inclusive society. We can only accomplish this by starting from within our organizations. Many of us know intuitively that diversity is good for business. The case for establishing a truly diverse workforce, at all organizational levels, grows more compelling each year. The moral argument is weighty enough, but the financial impact - as proven by multiple studies - makes this a no-brainer.

Have you read?

The future of jobs report 2023, how to follow the growth summit 2023, disruption and innovation.

The coming together of people of different ethnicities with different experiences in cities and societies is a key driver of innovation. The food that we eat every day is a result of this blending of cultures. The most successful musical genres, such as jazz, rock’n’roll or hip-hop, are the products of cultural amalgamation.

If we look at the most innovative, disruptive and prosperous urban centres in the world – New York, Dubai, London and Singapore – they all have one thing in common. They are all international melting pots with a high concentration of immigrants. Research shows that there is a direct correlation between high-skilled immigration and an increase in the level of innovation and economic performance in cities and regions.

Singapore makes a great case study. This tiny South-East Asian island nation, with a population of just over five million, is today one of the globe’s heavyweight financial centres. It scores highly in international rankings for areas as diverse as education and ease of doing business, and has been recognised as the world’s most technology-ready nation. Singapore is also highly multicultural, with an ethnic mix of people of Chinese, Malay and Indian descent, and large populations of different religious faith groups including Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and Hindus.

When Singapore achieved independence in 1965, its founding fathers instituted measures that would not leave racial harmony to chance . Singapore aggressively promoted racial and ethnic integration. One important measure was its housing policy, which ensured that every public housing complex followed a national quota of racial percentage. This forced people of different ethnicities to learn to live with each other, and broke up all the ethnic ghettos that were prevalent at the time of independence.

These seemingly autocratic measures have served the small island nation well in producing a well-integrated populace that values meritocracy more than race or religion. Singapore’s ethnic and religious diversity has proven to be an asset to the country, and the result is relative racial harmony – something the US would do well to learn from.

In neighbouring Malaysia, my home country, ethnic, cultural and religious diversity has always been promoted. By the time I was 18, I could speak five languages and had friends from the Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian communities, who between them hailed from several religious backgrounds. Malaysia has one of the world’s most diverse cultural and ethnic mixes and has outperformed most of its regional partners, with a high annual GDP growth since its independence . The multilingual workforce has given us Malaysians an edge in the workplace.

Diversity and business performance

There is substantial research to show that diversity brings many advantages to an organization: increased profitability and creativity, stronger governance and better problem-solving abilities. Employees with diverse backgrounds bring to bear their own perspectives, ideas and experiences, helping to create organizations that are resilient and effective, and which outperform organisations that do not invest in diversity.

A Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation. This finding is significant for tech companies, start-ups and industries where innovation is the key to growth. It shows that diversity is not just a metric to be strived for; it is actually an integral part of a successful revenue-generating business.

While most of these studies are conducted in the western world, Asian countries are engaging in the equality debate at their own pace. Cultural shifts over the last 40 years mean that South-East Asia currently has a female workforce participation rate of 42% – higher than the global average of 39%.

According to the 2018 Hays Asia Diversity and Inclusion report, improved company culture, leadership and greater innovation were the top three benefits of diversity identified by respondents. However, there was a perception among a significant proportion of participants that access to pay, jobs and career opportunities for those of equal ability could be hampered by factors such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, family commitments, marital status, race, religion and sexuality.

More than ever, flexibility and versatility are becoming the key to success for individuals, companies and countries alike, and a culturally diverse environment is the best way to acquire these qualities. Assumptions need to be challenged, conversations need to be had and corporate culture needs to be updated so that the modern workplace can accurately reflect and support the population of the region.

The millennial quotient in business diversity

By the year 2025, 75% of the global workforce will be made up of millennials - which means this group will occupy the majority of leadership roles over the coming decade. They will be responsible for making important decisions that affect workplace cultures and people's lives. This group has a unique perspective on diversity. While older generations tend to view diversity through the lenses of race, demographics, equality and representation, millennials see diversity as a melding of varying experiences, different backgrounds and individual perspectives. They view the ideal workplace as a supportive environment that gives space to varying perspectives on a given issue.

The 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey shows that 74% of these individuals believe their organization is more innovative when it has a culture of inclusion. If businesses are looking to hire and sustain a millennial workforce, diversity must be a key part of the company culture. This 2016 survey shows that 47% of millennials are actively looking for diversity in the workplace when sizing up potential employers.

Women in the workplace

Gender equality remains a major issue in the corporate world. Despite an abundance of research confirming that companies with more women in the C-Suite are more profitable , there is still a gender gap in the vast majority of companies . Women remain significantly underrepresented in the corporate pipeline, with fewer women than men hired at entry level, and representation declining further at every subsequent step.

Companies need a comprehensive plan for supporting and advancing women. This requires a paradigm shift in the corporate culture which will include investing in employee training and giving employees greater flexibility to fit work into their lives.

A survey conducted by Pew Research Centre lists several areas where women are stronger in key areas of both politics and business. Survey respondents noted that women are:

• 34% better at working out compromises
• 34% more likely to be honest and ethical
• 25% more likely to stand up for their beliefs
• 30% more likely to provide fair pay and benefits
• 25% better at mentoring

Forward-thinking companies should be looking for ways to employ and empower more women at work – not just as a moral obligation, but also as a sound business strategy. McKinsey’s most recent Delivering Through Diversity report found corporations that embrace gender diversity on their executive teams were more competitive and 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. They also had a 27% likelihood of outperforming their peers on longer-term value creation. Different perspectives on customer needs, product improvements and company wellbeing fuel a better business.

It has been estimated that closing the gender gap would add $28 trillion to the value of the global economy by 2025 – a 26% increase. Put simply, companies and societies are more likely to grow and prosper when women gain greater financial independence.

Taking a stand for diversity in business

It is important for corporations to step up and advocate for diversity and tolerance on a public platform. A great example of this is Nike’s support of American football quarterback and rights campaigner Colin Kaepernick . More than a marketing exercise, it showed the world that one of America’s best-known corporations was willing to stand alongside one man in his battle against racial injustice and intolerance.

Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) ‘ We See Equal’ Campaign , which was designed to fight gender bias and work towards equality for all, depicted boys and girls defying gender stereotypes. The company has a history of promoting the issue, and also records 45% of its managers and a third of its board as women. P&G’s clear dedication to equality within its own workforce meant that the campaign came across as authentic and as a genuine push for change.

Why getting workplace diversity right isn't for the faint-hearted

Beyond diversity: how firms are cultivating a sense of belonging.

There is much to learn from leaders in diversity and inclusion, but it is important to remember that every company’s initiatives will look different. Diversity means different things to different people, and organizations must apply those definitions to their companies accordingly.

Diversity and inclusion cannot be a one-time campaign or a one-off initiative. Promoting them in the workplace is a constant work-in-progress, and should be maintained and nurtured to guarantee effectiveness. Empathetic leadership is key to this transformation. For real change to happen, every individual leader needs to buy into the value of belonging – both intellectually and emotionally.

The business world must come together and be more engaged and vocal than it has been to promote the message of a diverse and tolerant society. It is an uphill battle, but peace, prosperity and advancement depend on it.

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Diversity impact on organizational performance: Moderating and mediating role of diversity beliefs and leadership expertise

Jamshid ali turi.

1 Department of Management Studies, Bahria Business School, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Sudhaishna Khastoori

2 Department of Management Sciences, SZABIST, Larkana, Pakistan

Shahryar Sorooshian

3 Department of Business Administration, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Nadine Campbell

4 Business school, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

Associated Data

The data has been sent to the SZABIST center of research in Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, 79 Clifton Road, Karachi 75600, Pakistan. To obtain the archive, should use the main author's name followed by the year 2021, "Ali Turi / Khastoori - 2021. Data set, the contact information for the SZABIST center of research is: Tel: (021) 358-21538-42 (EXT # 407) Fax: (021) 35830446 Email: kp.ude.tsibazs@ofni .

The current research examines the impact of four independent diversity variables, gender, age, educational background, and ethnicity, on the moderating role of diversity beliefs and the mediating role of leadership expertise to measure organisational performance in Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire using a 6-point Likert scale approach was adopted to collect the responses from 176 employees. Quantitative analysis was done using SPSS, and SMART-PLS3 were used for was used to comprehend the objectives of the research. The findings indicate that age diversity, diversity beliefs, and leadership expertise have a statistically significant impact on organisational performance. Moreover, moderating variable diversity belief did not affect organisational performance, but leadership expertise plays a significant mediating role in organisational performance. Our study provides critical theoretical contributions to research diversity and organisational performance in Pakistan and examines the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance with leadership expertise as mediator and diversity beliefs as a moderator.

1. Introduction

Diversity has many meanings, applications, and implications. Some organisations see it as an asset from which innovation and competitive advantages can springboard, while others see it as a hindrance, constrain, and biases. Traditionally, diversity included religion, language, age, gender, ethnicity, education, cultural and personality orientation [ 1 ]. Today, the concept of diversity has evolved to encompass strategic targets to improve organisational performance and effectiveness [ 2 ]. Therefore, organisations promote workforce diversity to bolster organisational performance [ 3 ]. However, many studies suggest that diversity exists in different forms with different intensities. If not managed properly, it has the potential to harm morale, intensify turnover and result in substantial communication problems.

The lack of diversity training and understanding of diversity beliefs, especially in developing countries with rigid social and cultural bonds, leads to organisational bias. To overcome these organisational biases, E-Vahdati et al. [ 4 ] recommended that firms should emphasise corporate governance, accountability, ethics, trust, and diversity. Moreover, organisations also need diversity for rational decision-making and promoting a conducive environment, where everyone’s beliefs are respected, leading to employees self-reflecting on the positive benefits [ 5 , 6 ]. However, if workforce diversity is mismanaged, this could lead to emotional conflicts, perceived organisational politics, miscommunication, power struggle, and higher employee turnover. As a result, having a diverse workforce would become an inhibitor for organisational development [ 7 , 8 ].

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, believed that diversity management involves four key concepts. One is democratisation which would guarantee cooperation amongst its citizens. Two, consistent social equity and equivalence through egalitarian Islamic values. Three, stringent laws with no room for bias or discrimination. Four, protectionism for minorities, women, and other disadvantaged groups [ 9 ]. Despite this, Pakistan is among the lowest-ranked diverse countries in the world. It ranked in the 22nd percentile for gender diversity and female economic activity in emerging economies due to its religious and cultural norms. Additionally, Pakistan’s sectoral diversity falls in the bottom five [ 10 ].

Previous studies on diversity focused on culture and ethnicity, but elements such as age, gender, and education have not been fully explored. Therefore, there is a need to examine different elements of diversity in different settings to understand its applications and managerial implications for sustainable organisational performance [ 11 – 13 ]. However, the subjective nature of diversity has left many practitioners ill-equipped to manage diversity effectively or determine which components play a role in diversity management and diversity-related issues [ 14 ].

The contradictory research results on diversity need to be further examined to increase our comprehension and better explain this phenomenon. Previous research has considered various diversity dimensions to identify their impact on organisational performance. For example, García-Granero et al. [ 15 ] and Georgakakis [ 16 ] explored the relationship between top management team functional diversity and the firm’s performance with the moderating role of top management (CEO) attributes. Other studies have used negative descriptors such as discrimination and racial prejudice to explore diversity.

However, no studies have examined the projectized environments or considered the role of leadership expertise and diversity beliefs. This research’s main queries are to determine how leadership expertise adds to organisational performance, value diversity beliefs, and organisational performance? Therefore, our contribution to the diversity literature will help us better understand and assess the impact of diversity on organizational performance by examining leadership expertise as a mediating variable and determining the extent to which diversity and organizational performance are related, using diversity beliefs as a moderating variable within Pakistan.

2. Literature review and hypotheses

Diversity is considering, recognising, and respecting others’ opinions and differences irrespective of their culture, gender, age, social status, race, physical capability, and so on [ 7 , 17 ]. It is used to find opportunities, face challenges, and explore new avenues [ 18 ]. Furthermore, diversity can be used to enhance knowledge and skill levels, help to understand behaviour, conflicts and fill the gaps within the organisation [ 7 , 19 ]. While there are many facets to diversity, this research aims to look more especially at gender, age, ethnicity, and educational diversity.

2.1 Gender diversity

Gender diversity represents the gender identities of men and women. It describes the emotional difference and experience publicly and culturally attached to men and women within any firm [ 20 ]. Research has found that a moderate level of gender diversity boosts the competitive edge, whereas greater levels of gender diversity reduce organizational performance. Other studies have shown that organisational success depends upon gender equality and equity [ 21 , 22 ];. Although western organisations have been moving closer to gender equality, Pakistan is way behind [ 21 ]. The gender-oriented inequities within the Pakistani workplace are reinforced by personal biases and stereotypes, referring that the status of men is perceived as superior to women. Many organisations prefer hiring male employees because they perceive men as better performers [ 23 ].

2.2 Age diversity

Age diversity is the ability of an organisation to accept different age groups. The business environment can only grow and succeed when various age groups within an organisation come with diverse experiences [ 24 – 26 ]. Recently, age diversity issues have gained significance because professionals are choosing to work past retirement age, and young adults are working part-timers while completing their studies [ 27 – 29 ]. Many organisations are welcoming this trend because they need skilled employees with experience and young talent with an innovative mindset for new ventures better organisational performance [ 30 , 31 ]. However, In Pakistan, young people face more discrimination in the labour market than old workers [ 32 ], as cultural norms are founded on respect for their elders.

2.3 Ethnic diversity

Ethnic diversity refers to differences in religion, language, and cultural background. Employees from different backgrounds working in the same organisation represent different lifestyles, cultures, beliefs, and skills that can improve strategic decisions [ 14 ]. Due to these perceived attributes and globalisation, organisations are focusing on multiplicity diversity building, but many companies struggle to produce and implement policies that reduce ethnic discrimination, which negatively impacts organisational performance [ 32 – 35 ]. Pakistani laws espouse that all citizens are equal irrespective of their religion, language, gender, or caste, but for minorities in Pakistan, this is a farfetched dream. According to EEOC data, ethnic diversity violations cost companies $112.7 million per annum due to ethnic diversity violations [ 3 ].

2.4 Educational diversity

Educational diversity denotes differences in knowledge, training, skills, experience, and qualification [ 18 , 36 ]. Some organisations refuse to employ highly qualified workers because they do not believe highly educated individuals are better performers, while others see employees with less education, skills, and training underperform [ 22 ]. The lowest level of education affects the earnings of rural workers in Pakistan, but old earners who receive more education earn more in urban areas. Organisations use educational diversity to have a mix of soft and hard-tech skills [ 37 ], and employees consider having educational diversity to significantly increase their ability in obtaining desirable jobs [ 38 , 39 ]. Age, gender, ethnicity, and educational diversity add to the synergetic pragmatism of the projects and organisation [ 30 , 40 ]. These findings lead us to the stance that H1 : Diversity has a significant positive impact on project performance .

2.5 Leadership expertise

Leadership expertise plays a crucial role in organisational performance, as it creates new directions, new philosophies, optimism, boost enthusiasm and cooperation among employees, and devises appropriate visions and strategies. Furthermore, leadership expertise considers diversity an organisational strength and promotes inclusion and diversity using various leadership styles as one leadership style may not work in diverse teams. The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory explains this approach best. It is a relationship-based approach with a dyadic relationship between the leader and their employees [ 41 ].

According to LMX [ 41 ], a leader uses a specific leadership style for each team member based on their mindset. The leaders share more knowledge and information, delegate responsibilities, and encourage participation in decision-making with some members and not others. LXM theory allows leaders to develop in-groups and spend more resources on the members they expect to perform better. This relationship between a leader and members gradually develops and reaches a high degree of dependence, mutual trust, and support. As a result, productivity increases. That eventually enhances employee retention, loyalty, and sustainable organisational growth.

Previous results maintain that effective diversity management at the workplace adds to both organisational and organisational performance [ 7 , 40 ]. Diversity, which has become an integral part of every organisation and project in this unified world, needs better leadership expertise to manage it at the micro and macro levels [ 34 , 42 ]. Research supports that a leader’s expertise, i.e., leading employees with respect regardless of their caste and creed, leading them with self-assurance, positively shaping their behaviour, results in enhanced employee performance, which eventually reflects increased organisational performance [ 43 ]. The findings lead us to H2 : Diversity with leadership expertise has a positive impact on organisational performance .

2.6 Role of diversity beliefs as a moderating variable

Diversity beliefs mean understanding that everyone is unique, and there is a need to recognise individual differences. These differences include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies [ 11 ]. Today, globalisation is one of the driving forces of diversity within organisations. However, accommodating diversity beliefs in terms of spiritual, cultural, and political views sometimes challenges a diverse organisation [ 12 , 25 ]. Staff needs to be reminded that they should not impose their opinions on others as their personal and ethnic beliefs are independent of their work obligations [ 27 , 44 ]. The employment practices linked with unbiased diversity beliefs can lead to constructive organisational results [ 11 , 26 ].

These diversity beliefs can be polarised perceptions or preferences towards homogeneity or heterogeneity [ 7 , 17 ]. A leader’s diversity beliefs may be one of the factors influencing organisational performance. Manoharan and Singal [ 42 ] found diversity positively affects organisational performance when supported by positive beliefs and values. Kundu and Mor [ 45 ] concluded that a generally positive view of workforce diversity could positively impact organisational and new venture (project) performance. Additionally, the perception of employees about workforce diversity is positively linked with organisational performance [ 46 ], and employees perceive their organisation more favourably when diversity management is perceived as positive [ 18 ]. However, due to organisational variations and cultural settings, diversity needs to be managed differently [ 14 , 47 ]. As such, we hypothesise that H3 : Diversity beliefs moderates the relationship between leadership expertise and organisational performance .

Furthermore, organisations bring people from different cultures to boost creativity, knowledge, and rational problem-solving approaches. Consequently, the leaders in this 21 st century have become highly alarmed with diversity management in organisations [ 48 ]. It is believed that diversity at the workplace positively impacts organisational performance, and the leadership expertise mediates this relationship. According to prior research [ 8 , 49 ], organisational leaders play a vital role in forming and promoting the workplace culture, free of prejudice and personal biases. The workforce mainly follows leaders to set the perspective wherein they would work in an organisational setting. Thus, forming such an environment that imitates respect, ethical behaviour, understanding, and encouraging cross-cultural values improves organisational performance. However, this relationship is moderated by the diversity beliefs. Everyone in the organisation does not hold the same values and beliefs. Still, a true leader who can determine the varied beliefs of employees and manage diversity in a way that is convincing for each team member can help organisations reach new heights [ 50 ]. The research findings lead to the hypothesis that H4 : Diversity significantly impacts organisational performance with the mediation of leadership expertise and moderation of diversity beliefs .

The Conceptual Model ( Fig 1 ) was developed based on the relationship between four dimensions of diversity most relevant to the Pakistani context, the leadership expertise, diversity beliefs, and organisational performance. This conceptual framework indicates the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance in the presence of leadership expertise as mediating variable and diversity beliefs as moderating variable in the services sector and projectized organisations in Pakistan’s major cities.

3. Methodology

A quantitative approach using a correlational study was undertaken to determine the extent of a relationship constructs under investigation. A structured questionnaire was adopted from previous studies [ 51 , 52 ] to collect primary data using a survey, keeping in mind the objectives of the studies. The study used a 6-point Likert scale for grading the responses with the scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = partially disagree, 4 = partially agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree). The target population of the study was the project management professionals, working in the major cities of Pakistan. These cities were selected because many of the national and international developmental projects take place here. Organizations were selected from the services sector. The questionnaires were self-administered.

Additionally, a muti-level sampling procedure was adopted to make the respondent selection process more accurate and precise. In the first phase, stratified random sampling was applied to select the strata of the potential respondents. In the second phase, the quota sampling technique was applied to select the qualifying organizations, and in the third phase, convenient sampling was used to collect data. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed, and 482 were returned. Questionnaires were assessed and screened for completeness. A total of 17 questionnaires were discarded as more than 10% of the values were missing. A further 12 were removed because of outliers. The remaining 451 were analysed using SPSS and Smart PLS.

4. Results and findings

4.1 participant demographics.

Table 1 contains the demographic details of the respondents. Among 176 respondents, 97 were male, and 79 were female. Most of the respondents were aged 30–35, had more than 5years’ experience working for their organisation, and held a bachelor’s degree or higher. This indicates that the participants were well educated and possessed sufficient skills and knowledge to answer all the survey questions proficiently.

4.2 Instrument validity

Table 2 indicates the loading factors for all the items are in the acceptable range of greater than 0.70. The average variance extracted (AVE) falls between 0.612–0.678 for the constructs, indicating a high-reliability level. Moreover, the composite reliability (CR) values range from 0.862 to 0.947 and are highly consistent and satisfy the convergent validity criteria. Furthermore, predictive accuracy, effect size, and predictive relevance were conducted for the goodness of fit, and their values fell in an acceptable range.

*OL = Organisational Leadership; AD = Age Diversity; ED = Ethnic Diversity; GD = Gender Diversity; EDD = Educational Diversity LE = Leadership Expertise; DB = Diversity Beliefs.

4.3 Discriminant validity: Fornell-Larcker Criterion

Discriminant validity of the constructs was checked using Fornell-Larcker Criterion. Discriminant validity confirms correlation among constructs if the values do not exceed 0.85 and the square root of AVEs is greater than the correlation of other constructs. Table 3 maintains that all values are less than 0.85, and their square root of AVEs was greater than their constructs’ off-diagonal values. These details satisfy the discriminant validity requirements.

*AD = Age Diversity; DB = Diversity Beliefs; ED = Ethnic Diversity; EDD = Educational Diversity GD = Gender Diversity; LE = Leadership Expertise; OP = Organisational Performance.

4.4 Discriminant validity: HTMT Criterion

HTMT refers to the average of the correlations of indicators between different constructs relative to the average of the correlations of indicators within the same construct. It measures the discriminant validity between the construct of the instrument. While conservative cut-off values are 0.9 is advocated a more stringent ratio of 0.85 as it offers the best criterion compared to all other methods of assessing discriminant validity [ 53 ]. Thus, any inter-construct ratio greater than 0.85 would be considered as having poor discriminant validity. The HTMT ratios obtained in this study, as shown in Table 3 , indicate no discriminant validity problems between the constructs.

4.5 Hypothesis testing

The path estimation or hypothetical relations was performed to observe the significant relationship in the inner path model. The entire hypothetical path in the framework was examined through the regression coefficient (β). Using the PLS Bootstrap technique, the value of β was checked to observe the proposed hypotheses in the structural model. Table 4 demonstrates the path coefficient assessment result where out of 10 direct hypotheses, six were supported, and four were not supported. The supported hypotheses were significant at least at the level of 0.05, have expected positive sign directions, and consist of a path coefficient value (β) ranging from 0.181 to 0.515.

Additionally, Table 5 shows that all six direct relationships were significant as the p-value is less than 0.05 and the t-value is higher than 1.96, depicted in Fig 2 . However, the other four hypotheses were unsupported because the p-value was higher than 0.05, and the t-values were less than 1.96.

In the case of moderating hypothesis, DB does not moderate the relationship between LE and OP. Therefore, it confirms that DB does not play any significant moderating role in the relationship between LE and OP.

4.6 Mediation hypothesis

For the mediating analysis, the bootstrapping technique was applied [ 54 ]. The mediation analysis results are presented in Table 6 and in Fig 3 , where among the four mediating hypotheses, three were supported, and one was not supported. The mediating path AD -> LE -> OP, ED -> LE -> OP, and EDD -> LE -> OP was significant as p < .005 and the values of LL and UL do not have zero (0) in between, which confirmed a mediating effect. However, the other mediating path GD -> LE -> OP was not significant as p < .005, and the zero (0) exists between LL and UL. In addition, among the three hypotheses, the AD -> LE -> OP path was partially mediated as the direct hypothesis was significant. However, the other two significant paths were fully mediated as their direct relationships were not significant.

5. Discussion

After many years of research on workplace diversity, there is considerable misperception over what diversity is. The broad definitions state that diversity seeks inclusion but does not identify the difference between social diversity where individuals of different races, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, language, geographical origin, gender, and/or sexual orientation bring their different knowledge, background, experience, and interest to increase organisational performance. Similarly, functional diversity where individuals with a variety of educational and training backgrounds are not examined. As a result, organisations are left confused about how to manage diversity to maximise organisational performance [ 55 – 58 ].

The present research provides a better understanding of the prevailing diversity scenario in Pakistan’s service sector and projectized organisations. The research indicates that three diversity variables, ethnic, gender, and education, do not significantly impact organisational performance. In contrast, age diversity has a significant impact on organisational performance.

The moderating hypothesis indicates that diversity beliefs play no significant role in improving organisational performance. This study challenges previous findings in the literature review sections, which proclaims that diversity and diversity beliefs significantly affect organisational performance. Therefore, organisations prefer to engage the workforce with diverse social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, bringing multi-facet experiences, learning, tacit and explicit knowledge to the organisation, boom effectiveness, and efficiencies, face challenges, and accept future challenges. This may be due to regional and cultural factors, that diversity beliefs are not promoting organisational performance, which may be explored in the future. Moreover, this study indicates that leadership expertise plays a significant mediating role, and diversity beliefs play a significant moderating role in organisational performance.

5.1 Theoretical implications

Our study provides critical theoretical contributions to research diversity and organisational performance. There is a gap in the current literature on the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance, with leadership expertise as mediating variable and diversity beliefs as moderating variable in the services sector and projectized organisations in Pakistan. Specifically, we determined that leadership expertise mediates age, ethnicity, and educational diversity, and organisational.

Second, we contribute to research on the effective path by which diversity influences organisational performance by exploring the mediating role of leadership expertise. That is, our study not only examined that leadership expertise positively influences organisational performance. Building on these studies, our research uses leader-member exchange theory as an effective path and organisational performance as a goal. Drawing on the leader-member exchange theory, we determine that leadership expertise can impact diversity and enhance organisational performance. Our results suggest that leadership expertise is a crucial mechanism for diversity management and improving organisational performance in Pakistan.

Finally, our research explored the value of incorporating the moderator, diversity beliefs, and the mediator leadership expertise into a single theoretical model helps us better to understand the relationship between diversity and organisational performance. Our study showed that diversity beliefs do not moderate the relationship between leadership expertise and organisational performance. However, there were direct relationships between age diversity and leadership expertise, age diversity and organisational performance, diversity beliefs and organisational performance, and ethnic diversity and leadership expertise. Additionally, this study also found that there is partial and no mediation between age diversity, gender diversity, and organizational performance.

5.2 Practical implications

In addition to the theoretical contributions, our research informs practitioners in several ways. First, our results show that age, ethnicity, and educational diversity directly contributes to organisational performance via leadership expertise. There was also a direct relationship between age and ethnic diversity and leadership expertise. These findings emphasise the relevance of diversity management in light of globalisation.

Leaders should employ leader-member exchange procedures to help sustain organisational performance in an increasingly diverse workforce. That is, leadership styles need to change based on the mindset of the various groups within the organisation. The leaders share more knowledge and information, delegate responsibilities, and encourage participation in decision-making with some members and not others. LXM theory allows leaders to develop in-groups and spend more resources on the members they expect to perform better. However, this study added to the body of knowledge, that leadership expertise may not contribute to well managed and effective group development, due to social, religious, and cultural limitations of the locality/respondents.

5.3 Limitations and future research directions

This study has several limitations. First, it focused on age, gender, ethnic, and education diversity management and did not take into account other demographic diversity practices implemented within the organisations. Previous research recognises that a broad spectrum of demographic diversity influences organisational performance [ 55 ]. Future research should investigate a broader range of demographic diversity to understand better what constitutes a comprehensive approach to diversity management. Second, the research is quantitative, and its moderate response rate may limit the generalisability of the results [ 59 ]. Future research could combine qualitative and quantitative methods to leverage both structured and unstructured data to enhance the depth of insights and provide more specific practical outcomes [ 60 ]. Third, the generalisability of findings should be interpreted with caution. Every society has its own culture, norms, and social values, and previous research has identified that organisational culture may influence the findings related to diversity management [ 61 ].

6. Conclusions

Workplace diversity is becoming one of the most popular ways to evaluate organisational performance. Thus, conducting training and creating awareness regarding diversity will lead to value generation, better productivity, and vitality. Managing diversity at the workplace considers leveraging and respecting cultural differences in employees’ competencies, ideas, and innovativeness to persuade them to contribute towards a common goal and do it in a way that gives a competitive edge to organisations. Hence, it is recommended to encourage a more diversified workforce and create awareness to increase organisational performance. In addition, this research has focused on diversity beliefs as a moderating variable. However, future research can be conducted that how leadership expertise can mediate between age and gender diversity and organizational performance. Additionally, organisational justice as a moderator between diversity dimensions and organisational performance needs to be explored. Moreover, in the current paper, the social traits of diversity have been studied, providing opportunities or gaps to study functional diversity traits in the future.

Ethical consent

The study was approved by the ethical committee of the SZABIST Larkana Campus. The consent was informed, and the information was collected through an approved structured questionnaire. Moreover, the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2022; 17(7): e0270813.

Decision Letter 0

16 Dec 2021

PONE-D-21-09151Diversity Impact on Organizational performance: Moderating and Mediating role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership ExpertisePLOS ONE

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Reviewer #1: The study is interesting, and the results are useful for diversity related research. However, the manuscript needs to be thoroughly checked for language including grammar. Detailed review comments are attached.

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Submitted filename: PLOS Review_2021.docx

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Author response to Decision Letter 0

24 Jan 2022

General: The whole paper was revisited and the help of the expert/native speaker was also incorporated. Additionally, some technical quality improvements are also considered.

Reviewer #1: The study is interesting, and the results are useful for diversity related research. However, the manuscript needs to be thoroughly checked for language including grammar. Detailed review comments are attached.

Suggestion accepted and incorporated . Thanks for your appreciation, the whole paper was revisited and the suggestions were incorporated

Reviewer #2: You get a minor revision, make a revision immediately, pay attention to the marked reviews, the introduction is quite clear but there are some things that need to be improved, the methods, data processing and others are quite good

Suggestion accepted and incorporated. Thanks for your appreciation, the whole paper was revisited and the suggestions were incorporated

Submitted filename: reviewers comments and responses.docx

Decision Letter 1

21 Jun 2022

Diversity Impact on Organisational Performance:

Moderating and Mediating Role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership Expertise in Pakistan

PONE-D-21-09151R1

Dear Dr. Shahryar Sorooshian,

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María del Carmen Valls Martínez, Ph.D.

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Reviewer #3:  Yes:  Dr. Asad Ali

Acceptance letter

15 Jul 2022

Diversity Impact on Organizational performance: Moderating and Mediating role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership Expertise

Dear Dr. Sorooshian:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

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Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

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on behalf of

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Inclusivity and diversity at work case studies

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Why celebrate our differences?

No one is the same, and think how mundane life would be if that wasn’t true? Everybody is unique and therefore has different qualities to offer. We may differ from others due to the attributes we have, for example race, gender, ethnicity or sexuality.

Diversity and inclusion is all about making sure everyone is valued, respected and able to participate equally regardless of the different attributes they may have. Our differences are something to celebrate; not only does doing this help individuals to flourish and be themselves in everyday life and the workplace, but it also benefits organisations. Having inclusive cultures and diverse teams helps build relationships, gather more ideas, develops our confidence and skills and empowers us to bring out our best, most authentic selves to everything we do.

Five brilliantly unique stories

Get inspired to let your differences shine by listening to other people speak about their experiences. These are in relation to their personal attributes, diversity and inclusion in their place of work and how overcoming challenges has led to positive outcomes. Each story takes on a different topic, covering gender, LGBTQ+, age, culture and disability.

Case study: Gender

Hear from Pensi around her career in engineering, which is typically seen as a male dominant environment.

Case study: Age

Gary describes his experience around reverse mentoring and the value he has brought to someone more senior.

Case study: LGBTQ+

Harry explains the benefits of working for a company who supports employees to bring their true selves to work.

Case study: Multicultural

Hear from Elizabeth and how she has championed diversity and inclusion within the workplace.

Case study: Disability

Alasdair shares what he’s overcome with a disability and his experience of applying and starting a job.

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7 Studies That Prove the Value of Diversity in the Workplace

Andrew Marder

1. diverse executive boards generate better returns, 2. diverse executive boards generate more money (continued), 3. diverse groups uncover more angles, 4. ethnic diversity leads to better stock picking, 5. new viewpoints lead to better results, 6. diversity can carry the day, 7. diverse teams get more credit in their fields, isn't this all just a big hoax.

I like working with people who are unlike me, because their opinions and experiences make me see the world in new and interesting ways—and that makes me a better person. Never have I met someone, learned about them, and then wished I hadn't met them.

Sometimes I'll disagree with them or think they're a jerk, but I still think those experiences make my understanding of the world more robust.

Diverse workplaces are also better. That's not just my opinion; it's the position that has largely been borne out by research. Not every workplace and not every study agrees (hey, more diversity!) but those scenarios are the exceptions, not the rule.

If you're interested in why anyone with an eye to the bottom line would care about diversity, you're in luck.

Here are seven stats and studies illustrating the real, tangible benefits of a diverse workplace.

A study run by McKinsey found that diverse boards perform better than their less diverse cousins. (For the study, the consulting firm examined 180 companies across four countries over a period of two years.)

The standout statistics are:

Companies with top quartile diversity (defined as women and foreign nationals) on their executive boards generated ROE (returns on equity) that were 53% higher, on average, than the companies in the bottom diversity quartile.

Those more diverse businesses also generated a 14% higher EBIT (earnings before interest and tax), on average.

Everyone can agree: More money is a good reason to have a more diverse board of directors.

Credit Suisse echoes McKinsey's findings in its own study, finding that large businesses with women on the board outperformed male-only boards. The diverse boards won on every front you would care about.

Boards that included women were found to have:

Higher ROEs

Lower debt to equity ratios

Higher price/book value

Higher average net income growth

A study from Tufts (get 'em Jumbo!) looked at how juries react when they're comprised of one homogeneous racial group as compared to a mixed group.

“In the study involving mock juries, panels of whites and blacks deliberated longer, raised more facts about the case, and conducted broader deliberations [than white-only panels]. "

Twelve slightly less effective angry men

For businesses, this is a study pointing out the value of diversity in discussion. By bringing in external viewpoints, businesses can find new ways of looking at a problem and can overcome their tunnel vision.

It's easy to assume you are like your customers, but that's rarely the entire story. Diverse discussions can help you uncover more details and lead you to make better decisions.

A selection of researchers from Columbia, MIT, University of Texas-Dallas, Northwestern, and a few other prestigious universities, studied stock picking in ethnically homogeneous and diverse groups.

By now, you know how this went.

More diverse teams made more accurate pricing decisions, leading to fewer bubbles in the market. Their picks were 58% better than the picks of the homogeneous groups.

Just as in the jury study, diversity produced a better outcome.

"Ethnic diversity was valuable not necessarily because minority traders contributed unique information or skills, but their mere presence changed the tenor of decision-making among all traders. Diversity benefited the market."

The point made by the previous study that the “mere presence [of diverse ethnicities] changed the tenor of decision making" comes up again in a study from Northwestern and BYU . In this one, they examine what happens when you have groups of "oldtimers" and "newcomers."

The researchers created groups of oldtimers—in this case, students from the same frat or sorority—and brought in newcomers with either a similar background or an unfamiliar background. The groups were then tasked with solving a murder mystery.

The groups with more diverse sets of participants were more likely to correctly identify the murderer than those with uniform members.

The interesting part about this one is that, even though the diverse groups did better, they felt less confident. Bringing in new opinions made them question themselves and their outcomes, but their outcomes were the right ones.

This might be the most interesting study on the list because it wasn't initially designed to prove the value of diversity.

An economics professor at the University of Michigan, Dr. Scott Page, was teaching a class on systems analysis, and he wanted to prove the value of this seemingly obscure field to the students in the class.

So, Page designed a simulation to show them that groups of "very able" people—the people in the class—would outperform "able and more diverse" groups—smart people who were not in the class.

However, Page's study did not show what he wanted—it showed instead that the diverse groups could outperform the very able groups.

Working with others—a classic solution.

Not every diverse group beat the very able groups, but some did, because they were open to a range of solutions not considered by the very able students.

The study is also interesting for its requirements. Page isn't making a broad claim that five random people from Podunk, USA are going to make better economic decisions than five from Harvard. He sets a bar for both ability level and selection pool.

The diverse group is also pulled from a big sample size, so you're getting a real reflection of the available diversity.

Building diverse teams has also been shown to build a better product, when judged by peers. In academia, publishing is usually more important than teaching, so publishing papers that are cited widely and held in high esteem is the ultimate goal for most professors.

A study written up in Scientific American looked at 1.5 million academic papers and "found that papers written by diverse groups receive more citations and [had] higher impact factors than papers written by people from the same ethnic group."

However, homogeneous groups of authors still make up more than their fair share of the papers. The study found that "persons of similar ethnicity co-author together more frequently than predicted by their proportion among authors."

This suggests that we can get better things done when we work across boundaries, but we have to make an effort to do it. It is incredibly easy to seek out echo chambers and similar viewpoints, but it leads to inferior final products.

I want to finish with these paragraphs from the Credit Suisse study I cited earlier (emphasis added):

“Some academics suggest that there is no causation between more women on the board and greater profitability. They argue that there well may be reverse causation as bigger, higher-profile stocks that, by definition, have already done well, are the ones that are more likely to appoint women to the board. Hence, more women on the board could well be a signal that the company is already doing well, rather than a sign of better things to come.

“The Research Institute results did find that large-cap companies, which tend to be historical strong performers, are more likely to appoint women to their boards. However, even in an isolated comparison of the large-cap companies the outperformance of companies with women in the board held up. This indicated that the causation between greater gender diversity and improved profitability goes beyond simply pre-existing strength of the company ."

So, companies that are successful and diverse are not sacrificing something just for the sake of diversity. In other words: they're not winning all the games and then saying, “Maybe we should round this place out."

Study after study finds that diversity is valuable to any team.

If you want to shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you. How has diversity worked in your office? Maybe it's been a total failure, or maybe it's been fantastic, or maybe it doesn't exist. Our cousins at Software Advice have actually written a piece on using software to support workplace diversity .

As a quick postscript, remember to check out ways you can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and maybe set something aside for the victims of Hurricane Irma.

Was this article helpful?

About the author.

Andrew Marder is a former Capterra analyst.

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Interactive: Diversity wins

Diversity still matters

Diversity wins: How inclusion matters

Delivering through diversity

Why diversity matters

How companies are progressing: women in the workplace, one is the loneliest number.

A culture of inclusion

Black consumers: Where to invest for equity (a preview)

The economic state of Latinos in America: Advancing financial growth

Investing in—and with—Black consumers in financial services

Rules of the road: Equitably serving Black automotive consumers

Nourishing equity: Meeting Black consumers’ needs in food

Year one: Lessons from our new think tank focused on Black lives

The economic state of Latinos in America: The American dream deferred

The Black unicorn: Changing the game for inclusivity in retail

A $300 billion opportunity: Serving the emerging Black American consumer

The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be

Black-owned businesses face an unequal path to recovery

Black representation in film and TV: The challenges and impact of increasing diversity

COVID-19 and advancing Asian American recovery

The lgbtq+ experience.

Supporting employees in the work-life balancing act

Being transgender at work

How companies can make meaningful progress for LGBTQ+ employees

LGBTQ+ voices: Learning from lived experiences

How we are delivering through diversity, solutions at work.

Five Fifty: The pandemic’s gender effect

Diverse employees are struggling the most during COVID-19—here’s how companies can respond

Understanding organizational barriers to a more inclusive workplace

Confronting the early-career gender gap

Taking the lead for inclusion

Featured podcasts.

The state of burnout for women in the workplace

A conversation on artificial intelligence and gender bias

Investing in Black economic mobility

From the mckinsey global institute.

Ten things to know about gender equality

COVID-19 and gender equality: Countering the regressive effects

The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific

The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Canada

Realizing gender equality’s $12 trillion economic opportunity

Industry perspectives.

Closing the gender and race gaps in North American financial services

Diversity in fashion: Voices from the industry

How private equity can catalyze diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace

Women as the next wave of growth in US wealth management

Shattering the glass screen

How women can help fill the oil and gas industry’s talent gap

Women matter.

Women Matter: Ten years of insights on gender diversity

Knowledge collaborations.

Closing the tech gender gap through philanthropy and corporate social responsibility

Dual careers in Germany: building success, together

22 Cases and Articles to Help Bring Diversity Issues into Class Discussions

Explore more.

• Course Materials
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

T he recent civic unrest in the United States following the death of George Floyd has elevated the urgency to recognize and study issues of diversity and the needs of underrepresented groups in all aspects of public life.

Business schools—and educational institutions across the spectrum—are no exception. It’s vital that educators facilitate safe and productive dialogue with students about issues of inclusion and diversity. To help, we’ve gathered a collection of case studies (all with teaching notes) and articles that can encourage and support these critical discussions.

These materials are listed across three broad topic areas: leadership and inclusion, cases featuring protagonists from historically underrepresented groups, and women and leadership around the world. This list is hardly exhaustive, but we hope it provides ways to think creatively and constructively about how educators can integrate these important topics in their classes. HBP will continue to curate and share content that addresses these equity issues and that features diverse protagonists.

Editors’ note: To access the full text of these articles, cases, and accompanying teaching notes, you must be registered with HBP Education. We invite you to sign up for a free educator account here . Verification may take a day; in the meantime, you can read all of our Inspiring Minds content .

Leadership and Inclusion

John Rogers, Jr.—Ariel Investments Co.

—by Steven S. Rogers and Greg White

Gender and Free Speech at Google (A)

—by Nien-hê Hsieh, Martha J. Crawford, and Sarah Mehta

The Massport Model: Integrating Diversity and Inclusion into Public-Private Partnerships

—by Laura Winig and Robert Livingston

“Numbers Take Us Only So Far”

—by Maxine Williams

For Women and Minorities to Get Ahead, Managers Must Assign Work Fairly

—by Joan C. Williams and Marina Multhaup

How Organizations Are Failing Black Workers—and How to Do Better

—by Adia Harvey Wingfield

To Retain Employees, Focus on Inclusion—Not Just Diversity

—by Karen Brown

From HBR 's The Big Idea:

Toward a Racially Just Workplace: Diversity efforts are failing black employees. Here’s a better approach.

—by Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo

Cases with Protagonists from Historically Underrepresented Groups

Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital

—by Laura Huang and Sarah Mehta

United Housing—Otis Gates

—by Steven Rogers and Mercer Cook

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

—by Steven Rogers and Alterrell Mills

Dylan Pierce at Peninsula Industries

—by Karthik Ramanna

Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of St. Luke

—by Anthony J. Mayo and Shandi O. Smith

Multimedia Cases:

Enterprise Risk Management at Hydro One, Multimedia Case

—by Anette Mikes

Women and Leadership Around the World

Monique Leroux: Leading Change at Desjardins

—by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan

—by Geoffrey G. Jones and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Womenomics in Japan

—by Boris Groysberg, Mayuka Yamazaki, Nobuo Sato, and David Lane

Women MBAs at Harvard Business School: 1962-2012

—by Boris Groysberg, Kerry Herman, and Annelena Lobb

Beating the Odds

—by Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo, Robin J. Ely, and David A. Thomas

Rethink What You “Know” About High-Achieving Women

—by Robin J. Ely, Pamela Stone, and Colleen Ammerman

“I Try to Spark New Ideas”

—by Christine Lagarde and Adi Ignatius

How Women Manage the Gendered Norms of Leadership

—by Wei Zheng, Ronit Kark, and Alyson Meister

Is this list helpful to you? What other topics or materials would you like to see featured in our next curated list? Let us know .

Related Articles

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 .

Best practice case study project

We are promoting and showcasing the best examples in recruitment and retention where initiatives and schemes have successfully improved the diversity of the workforce, in particular the representation of women, disabled people and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Our best practice case studies include case studies from Atkins, BAE Systems, B-MEntor, BT, Caterpillar, the Department of Health, FDM, IBM, Jaguar Land Rover and Microsoft; as well as North Energy Associates. The next call for submissions will open in Autumn 2015.

Atkins “Atkins’ endeavours have demonstrated that we are prepared to push ahead and offer something new to prospective employees, which should stand us out from our competitors.”  Read the case study (PDF)

BAE Systems “At BAE Systems we value diversity because it benefits our people and helps our business grow. There are many ways in which we are supporting a more diverse and inclusive environment, and one such opportunity we saw was to create an additional route into our summer internship programme for individuals who are female and/or from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic group.” Read the case study (PDF)

B-MEntor B-MEntor is a cross-institutional mentoring scheme to support BME early career researchers and is run by 3 London based universities: University College London (UCL), Kings College London and Queen Mary University of London. B-MEntor was launched in 2012 and some of its aims include encouraging BME staff to take on leadership and decision-making roles and to make a positive difference to BME staff with sustainable outcomes. Read the case study (PDF)

BT “BT is very proud of its well established and diverse networks for employees. The networks create a communication channel between members and the business; create developmental opportunities for members; enhance the corporate brand and work with our Inclusion team to plan and implement our diversity and inclusion strategy” Read the case study (PDF)

Caterpillar "Caterpillar recognises that one of its key competitive edges, and therefore the reason for its success as a business, is its employees and the talent they bring to the organisation." Read the case study (PDF)

Department of Health The Department of Health (DH) currently has 11 recognised staff networks spanning most of the protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act 2010. The networks in DH cover: Disability, Race, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender), Religion, Women, Maternity and Flexible working. DH also has a number of Staff Groups that provide targeted support to staff, such as domestic abuse, health and wellbeing and dyslexia. Read the case study (PDF) 

FDM “Only 17% of IT professionals in the UK are women; FDM is committed to addressing this imbalance!” Read the case study (PDF)

IBM –  The Girls’ Outreach Programme “Girls consistently outperform boys in IT related subjects at school yet they rarely continue with these studies or choose careers in technology. The Girls’ Outreach Programme was established to address this declining pipeline of female talent.” Read the case study (PDF)

Jaguar Land Rover “Jaguar Land Rover has created the Women in Engineering Sponsorship Scheme- a unique scheme to support the training of female engineers alongside their degree.” Read the case study (PDF)

Microsoft “Confidence is key for women progressing within IT so by bringing the components of role models, inspiration and sponsorship together we hope to create interest in women to follow a career path they might not previously had the opportunity to follow and to tap in to the huge number of women who are qualified to work in IT but have never pursued it.” Read the case study (PDF)

Individual case studies 

Charlotte Hatto –  Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Consultant and Life Cycle Assessment Practitioner, North Energy Associates “With a physics degree and research experience from UMIST, I felt that I had much to offer potential employers, but had virtually given up hope of ever finding a job to suit my lifestyle and interests.” Read the case study (PDF)

Helen Wilson – Reader in Mathematics, University College London “Since my first maternity leave I have been appointed Deputy Head of Department; since my second, things have really taken off for me and I have been appointed to a surprising number of national and international bodies. There are times when the demands of two small children and a full-time job feel too much; but my institution is really doing its best to make things work for me.” Read the case study (PDF)

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Managing Diversity at Workplace: a Case Study of HP

Related Papers

Natallia Chr

Tinuke Fapohunda

Diversity is now a significant human resources management topic due to numerous dynamics producing aspirations of added diversity in people management. Organization management must value the advantages of diversity and this demands noticeable endeavour and understanding merited by both the employees and the organization. It could emphasise several actions that truly value and breathe diversity throughout. This paper puts forth some possibilities including: valuing diversity, achieving people commitment, encouraging inclusion, assistance in family spirit, augmenting people empowerment, unique recruitment and selection schemes, excellent orientation programmes, trainers and mentors with elevated compassionate and social abilities, internal training of human capital, clear performance management plans, career development, instant correction of non performance based workforce assessments, organization strategies that incorporate diversity and diverse top management. Except organization management is concerned with employees' best interests, effective diversity management becomes impossible therefore, they must somewhat wheel their focus increasingly to provide for organization members.

IOSR Journal of Business and Management

Ekanshi Gupta

Sindhura Kannappan

MD JAHID HASAN rasel

In the era of globalization, workplace diversity in all forms of organizations, including higher educational institutions, financial institutions, is now a fact of life and a trend that will continue for a long time and ignoring the implications of workforce diversity can affect productivity and performance as well as undermine the overall goal of business and because of the importance of diversified workforce now-a-days managers are responsible for leading employees and responding to the needs of customers who are more ethnically and culturally diverse. Leaders in both the public and the private sectors are focusing more attention on the issue of diversity. The one-size-fits-all approach to management that was effective 30 years ago is arguably no longer an appropriate strategy for ensuring maximum employee performance in modern business world and the most related issue around to this is diversity management that includes acceptance and respect, acknowledging that individuals are unique and different from each other,. Moreover, the globalization of business and the changing demographics of labor markets around the world have driven much interest in the areas of diversity and diversity management among management scholars and practitioners. While diversity refers to differences among members of a group or organization on any characteristic, most diversity management efforts are focused on diversity in demographic characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, gender, and age. Interestingly, a diverse workforce may include a multitude of beliefs, understandings, values, ways of viewing the world, and unique information and rapid internalization and globalization has increased the significance of workforce diversity to a great extent as well as has posed a common thread for many multinational organizations to manage those diversified workforce.

federica frustaci

International Journal of …

Hudson Birden

Business: Theory and Practice

Olaleke Ogunnaike

This article provides an empirical study on effects of diversity management and inclusion on organisational outcomes. The importance of diversity management and inclusion on organisation is of immense benefit especially in a Multinational Corporations, where diversity and inclusion are parts of their core values. However, in our context, which had been identified as the most diverse country in Africa, there is need to establish how the management and inclusion of these diverse workforce would benefit organisational activities, coupled with the fact that, there is dearth of research on these constructs in extant literature. This study investigated the effects of diversity management and inclusion on organisational outcomes (job satisfaction and job performance) among Shell Corporation employees. Pen and paper questionnaire of 384 copies were administered to the Lagos Branch employees of Shell Corporation. Cross-sectional research design was adopted. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)...

juthika konwar

This paper critically reviews the literature on managing diversity through human resource management (HRM). We discuss the major issues and objectives of managing diversity and examine the state of human resource diversity management practices in organizations. Our review shows that inequality and discrimination still widely exist and HRM has focused mainly on compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action (AA) legislation. Less attention has been paid to valuing, developing and making use of diversity. Our review reveals limited literature examining how diversity is managed in organizations through effective human resource management. We develop a framework that presents strategies for HR diversity management at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. Our review also discusses the implications for practice and further research. Introduction Workforce diversity acknowledges the reality that people differ in many ways, visible or invisible, mainly age, gender, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture (Kossek, Lobel and Brown 2005). However, the predominant diversity issues in each country are different. While gender inequality is the oldest and most common diversity issue worldwide, religion and ethnicity separate people in India and Middle East and household status (hukou) differentiates off-farm migrants from urbanites in China. Chinese rural migrants are routinely looked down on by urbanites and mistreated at the workplace and in society. Multiculturalism has always been the most important dimension of diversity in Western countries, including the EU nations, Australia and New Zealand, where there are a large number of international migrants with diverse cultural backgrounds. Racial equality appears to be the predominant issue in both USA and South Africa where there has been a long history of systematic discrimination against blacks and other ethnic minorities. Although researchers have examined several aspects of diversity, no comprehensive model exists. In this paper we review the literature on diversity practices in the area of human resource management (HRM). We also develop a conceptual framework which will help organizations develop HRM strategies and policies to manage diversity effectively. Our framework will also help researchers identify key areas for future research and guide practitioners to formulate and implement diversity appropriately. A diverse workforce comprises a multitude of beliefs, understandings, values, ways of viewing the world, and unique information. Rapid internationalization and globalization

Dr. Md. Hasebur Rahman

Abstract: Workforce diversity issue is major concern of today’s business organization. The human resource function is most likely to hold the main responsibility for the people planning within an organization and thus for policies and procedures concerning equality and diversity issues. There are interesting debates about the extent to which the human resource function can be the main driver of progressive change regarding diversity and equality issues. This paper attempt to discuss diversity issues and the capacity of human resource management to advance equality, looking in more detail at specific policy areas. 1. Introduction: Workplace diversity is the issue of people, focus on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. We are live in an increasingly multicultural society. It is a melting pot or a stew. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the work place. 2. Literature Review: Human resource management (HRM) has been one of the most popular management concepts of the 1990s; evidenced now by the proliferation of texts bearing the title and the number of university and management training courses on the subject. However, equality and diversity issues are often absent from the debate, where the theory, policy and practice of HRM tend to assume the ‘generic’ universal employee (Dickens, 1998; Benschop, 2001) . This gap is significant because the human resource function is most likely to hold the main responsibility for the people planning within an organization and thus for policies and procedures concerning equality and diversity issues. There are interesting debates about the extent to which the human resource function can be the main driver of progressive change regarding equality issues (Cockburn, 1991; Cattaneo et al., 1994; Gooch and Ledwith, 1996; Gooch and Blackburn, 2002) . Many writers agree that there is considerable ‘fit’ between the developments of HRM and diversity approaches to equality. Indeed, Miller states that ‘Managing diversity can arguably be classed as the HRM approach to equality initiatives in the workplace’ . In the Personnel Journal’s end of year summary of the ‘100 toughest challenges facing human resource practitioners’ for 1995, diversity appears high on the list . Certainly, as even a cursory glance through issues of the journal People Management will indicate, nearly 10 years on, diversity issues have become a central part of human resource management. Indeed, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development proclaims ‘Managing diversity is central to good people management’ (CIPD, 2004). Moves to diversity approaches to equality match moves in thought about people management. Thus the scene is set for a discussion of what HRM offers to the diversity within organizations. Specific policy areas of HRM will be analyzed. Potential advantages and benefits for equality and diversity will be discussed. 4. Workforce Diversity: Similar to globalization, diversity and social issues have had a dramatic effect on the study and application of management and organizational behavior. In the past, diversity was treated as a legal issue; that is for well over 45 years it has been directly against the law to discriminate against any one, on any basis. Now organizations are becoming to realize that diversity is not just something to deal with, but instead a reality to build on to make a stronger more competitive enterprise. Until recently, organization took a “melting-pot” approach to personnel diversity assuming that people who were different would somehow automatically want to assimilate. But today’s managers have found that employees do not set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when they come to work. The challenge, therefore, is to make organization more accommodating to diverse group of people by addressing different lifestyles, family needs and work styles. The melting pot assumption is being replaced by recognition and celebration of differences. Increasingly those who celebrate differences are finding their organization’s profit . As noted in a report on needed strategic initiatives to succeed in the new global economy, “Diversity must be recognized and nurtured as the organization’s greatest assets, and the ability to attract and work with diverse talent must be seen as a critical competitive advantage . Diversity now much more than ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation and Society of Human Resource Management has identified outcomes for effective diversity management as follows: Effective management of human resources is directly linked to business success. Beer et al. (1984, 1985) place an emphasis on human resource policies such as employee influence, human resource flow, reward systems and work systems, which should be designed to promote the development of flexible, adaptable and highly committed employees. Perhaps most significantly, however, from equality and diversity perspectives, is the emphasis on the need for policies to be integrated within the overall organizational strategy. This has echoes of the mainstreaming approach to equality, except that here it is a concern for the human resource that should be mainstreamed (of which equality and diversity should be part) throughout all policy decisions. In addition, a concern for equality and diversity issues is an explicit element of the model. Beer et al. (1984) point to the positive long-term consequences that HRM could have for individuals and for society. Managers are advised to track the long-term trends in the labor market that will indicate potential opportunities and difficulties in the acquisition of skills in the future. As part of this, equality/diversity issues are highlighted and managers are advised to take account of the increased participation of women and minority ethnic groups in the labor force, as well as an ageing population. In addition, managers should recognize the changing values and aspirations of the workforce through education and training, which make employees more resistant to arbitrary authority (Beer et al.,1984: 31). While the primacy of the manager is clear in this conception of HRM, it also explicitly recognizes the importance of different stakeholder interests, potentially offering space for equality/diversity issues to arise. In other words, management needs to mobilize the support of various stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, unions, government, customers and community groups. There are other features of HRM which diversity approaches share. Most significant of these is the individualistic focus of HRM. The onus of policies within HRM is directed towards the individual employee, a harnessing of individual commitment and talents, rather than seeing employees as part of a collective (either trade unions or social group membership). Consequently HRM in its ideal has commonly been viewed as denying a role for trade unions (Guest, 1987), and indeed exemplars of HRM practice have commonly been non-union firms such as Marks and Spencer or IBM . There has, however, been much debate about whether or not, in practice; union exclusion has been an aim, and indeed whether the presence of unions actually encourages more practices associated with human resource management .

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Shedding Light on Healthcare Algorithmic and Artificial Intelligence Bias

Impact of artificial intelligence in contemporary medicine.

When people go to a medical facility for help, they expect the doctor to make appropriate health decisions for their optimal health and outcome.

Doctors and other health care providers are increasingly using healthcare algorithms (a computation, often based on statistical or mathematical models, that helps medical practitioners make diagnoses and decisions for treatments) and  artificial intelligence (AI) , to diagnose patient illnesses, suggest treatments, predict health risks, and more. In some cases, this is fine. However, using healthcare algorithms and AI can sometimes worsen things for people from certain ethnic or racial groups. This is because algorithms and AI are based on data from one set of the population that may not work well for others.

Awareness of Bias

Healthcare algorithms and AI bias can contribute to existing health disparities for certain populations based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, or other demographic factors.

One reason for healthcare algorithm and AI bias is the lack of diversity in the data used to train computer programs. It is important to use data from patients with diverse demographic factors when creating AI computer programs to ensure the algorithm works well for everyone.

Another way bias can enter healthcare algorithms and AI is through the assumptions made by the people who create them. For example, if developers assume that some symptoms are more common in non-Hispanic White women than in Black/African American women. This can lead to algorithms producing unfair or inaccurate results for Black/African American women with those symptoms.

A Case Study

If a woman has had a cesarean delivery, also known as a C-section, there is a chance that a subsequent delivery can be attempted through a vaginal birth, which is known as Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Delivery or VBAC. However, there are known risks associated with attempting VBAC, such as uterine rupture or other complications.In 2007, the VBAC algorithm was designed to help healthcare providers assess the likelihood of safely giving birth through vaginal delivery. The algorithm considers many things, such as the woman's age, the reason for the previous C-section, and how long ago it happened. However, in 2017, in a study by Vyas, et al., researchers found the original algorithm was not correct. It predicted that Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino women were less likely to have a successful vaginal birth after a C-section than non-Hispanic White women. This caused doctors to perform more C-sections on Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino women than on White women.

After years of work by researchers, advocates, and clinicians, changes were made to the algorithm. The new version of the algorithm no longer considers race or ethnicity when predicting the risk of complications from VBAC. This means that doctors can make decisions based on more accurate and impartial information that works for all women, providing more equitable care regardless of race or ethnicity. To access more information about this case study, visit:  Challenging the Use of Race in the Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Section Calculator .

The Treatment Plan for Bias

There are best practices that healthcare data scientists and developers can incorporate to address the challenges of using algorithms and AI. These include:

• Have a more diverse body of people review and supervise the algorithms and AI.
• Use methods or techniques to best manage situations where there is not enough information available, like using synthetic data.
• Work with diverse communities to ensure the algorithms are helpful and don't cause harm.
• Introduce the algorithms gradually and carefully instead of all at once.
• Create ways for people to provide feedback and improve the algorithms over time.
• Involve diverse members of your workforce in developing the algorithms and validating patient data from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) is focused on helping to reduce differences in health outcomes, known as health disparities, for racial and ethnic minority populations and American Indian and Alaska Native communities. By encouraging equity in the lifecycle of algorithms and AI, OMH and other federal agencies aim to lower the risk of bias and improve healthcare outcomes for everyone.

The Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE). (2019).  Sharing And Utilizing Health Data for A.I. Applications: Roundtable Report . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sharing-and-utilizing-health-data-for-ai-applications.pdf

U.S. Government Accountability Office & The National Academy of Medicine. (2020).  Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Benefits and Challenges of Technologies to Augment Patient Care . U.S. Government Accountability Office, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics.  https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-7sp.pdf

United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2022).  Artificial Intelligence (AI)  at HHS. Retrieved from:  https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/asa/ocio/ai/index.html

Davenport, and Kalakota (2019). The potential for artificial intelligence in healthcare. Free article:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616181/

Bohr, and Memarzadeh (2020). The rise of artificial intelligence in healthcare applications. Free article:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7325854/

Norori, et al. (2021). Addressing bias in big data and AI for health care: A call for open science. Free article:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8515002/

National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation (2021). Racial Bias in Health Care Artificial Intelligence. Free article:  https://nihcm.org/publications/artificial-intelligences-racial-bias-in-health-care

Jackson, M. C. (2021). Artificial Intelligence & Algorithmic Bias: The Issues with Technology Reflecting History & Humans. Journal of Business, 19. Free article:  https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=jbtl

Harris, L. A. (2021). Artificial Intelligence: Background, Selected Issues, and Policy Considerations. Congressional Research Service.  https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46795

Huang, J., Galal, G., Etemadi, M., & Vaidyanathan, M. (2022). Evaluation and Mitigation of Racial Bias in Clinical Machine Learning Models: Scoping Review. JMIR Medical Informatics, 10(5), e36388. Free PMC article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc9198828/

Schwartz, R., Vassilev, A., Greene, K., Perine, L., Burt, A., & Hall, P. (2022). Towards a Standard for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial Intelligence. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology.  https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1270.pdf

Bernstam, E. V., Shireman, P. K., Meric-Bernstam, F., N. Zozus, M., Jiang, X., et al. (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Clinical and Translational Science: Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities. Clinical and Translational Science, 15(2), 309–321. Free PMC article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc8841416/

Marcus, J. L., Sewell, W. C., Balzer, L. B., & Krakower, D. S. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for HIV Prevention: Emerging Approaches to Ending the Epidemic. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 17(3), 171–179. Free PMC article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7260108/

Solomonides, A. E., Koski, E., Atabaki, S. M., Weinberg, S., Mcgreevey, J. D., et al. (2022). Defining AMIA’s Artificial Intelligence Principles. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), 29(4), 585–591.

Lee, E. W. J., & Viswanath, K. (2020). Big Data in Context: Addressing the Twin Perils of Data Absenteeism and Chauvinism in the Context of Health Disparities Research. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(1), e16377. Free PMC article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc6996749/

Lin, S. (2022). A Clinician’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI): Why and How Primary Care Should Lead the Health Care AI Revolution. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 35(1), 175. Free article:  https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2022.01.210226

Nadkarni, P. M., Ohno-Machado, L., & Chapman, W. W. (2011). Natural Language Processing: An Introduction. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), 18(5), 544–551. Free PMC article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3168328/

Vyas, Jones, Meadows, et al. (2019). Challenging the Use of Race in the Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Section Calculator. Free PMC article:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31072754/

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?

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

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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.

Japan issued an evacuation advisory for the coastal areas of the southern prefecture of Okinawa after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami warning.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on Wednesday morning, the Taiwan central weather administration said.

In Memoriam: Daniel Kahneman

• April 1, 2024
• Key Concepts: Bias , Leadership , SEEDS

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NLI was saddened to learn that psychologist Daniel Kahneman, whose research contributed profoundly to our development of The SEEDS Model ® , died last week at the age of 90.

Kahneman, long associated with Princeton University, received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work challenging the assumption that humans act rationally when making economic decisions. Instead, Kahneman argued, humans have hard-wired cognitive biases that influence their judgment.

In Kahneman’s 2011 best-selling book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” the researcher theorized that our brains have two different systems for processing information: System 1, which is fast, automatic, intuitive, and emotional; and System 2, which is slow, effortful, analytic, and deliberate. Cognitive biases — which evolved to allow us to make quick decisions that keep us safe — operate under System 1 and can sometimes cause us to make mistakes. To mitigate biases and make more objective decisions, we need to engage System 2, which requires much more mental effort.

NLI drew upon the work of Kahneman and his longtime collaborator, Dr. Amos Tversky, to categorize more than 150 cognitive biases into an easy-to-remember framework: The SEEDS Model ® , which stands for similarity, expedience, experience, distance, and safety. Insights from Kahneman’s research were integrated into this framework to make leaders more aware of their decision-making processes and help guide their teams to more thoughtful decisions.

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More to explore.

Nobel Prize-winning psychologist’s research on decision-making influenced The SEEDS Model®.

Advocates Sound Alarm After Shuttering of House Office Promoting Diversity

This article from The Hill includes commentary from Janet M. Stovall (NLI’s Global Head of DEI) about the dissolvement of The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

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