Workforce diversity should matter as much as profits
October 2, 2019
The consideration of Shirley Leung, Globe Columnist, starts from the assumption (and the hope) that diversity statistics will become a new category of bragging rights, beyond profits or stock prices.
Even if only 20 percent of the Fortune 500 companies (500 of the largest United States corporations) release numbers of any kind about the gender or race of their employees, studies have shown that companies with diverse workforces are apt to deliver above-average financial returns, and those that report diversity data on their staff have shown that this has attracted new talent to the workforce.
Consider some of the most prominent companies in Massachusetts in 2018, we can see that being publicly accountable has made Boston Scientific step up its effort to recruit young African-American and Hispanic engineers by deepening its relationships with historically black colleges. This past summer, the company brought in 75 black and Hispanic interns.
Katie Burke, HubSpot’s chief people officer, said that when a company makes diversity numbers public it can be easy to fixate on the metrics. She cautions against falling into a “check the box” mentality.
“This is an inherently human opportunity,” Burke said. “If you are looking at one number, one metric, one team, you are doing it wrong.
“You have to constantly reflect and empathize on what you can do better or differently to make more people feel a sense of belonging at your company.”.
Read more: on website bostonglobe.com (EN)
