Return on Inclusion: The New ROI
Women’s Campaign Fund
It’s been said that if everyone looks the same and has the same background, then they also have the same blind spots. With an inclusive approach — one that values and actively seeks a diverse workforce — organizations can expand their vision and deepen their impact.
Seeing the bigger picture
A lot of businesses have come to understand that a more balanced workforce of men and women, and the diverse backgrounds and opinions that brings, leads to a more productive and cohesive team.
The ability of a business to outperform competitors transcends pronouns. It takes he, she, and they working together at all levels to maximize collective potential.
Some call it the new ROI — Return on Inclusion. When we reach the point
that 100% of America is represented by 100% of the nation’s available skill, talent, and wisdom, we can better shape — and legislate — what’s in our shared best interest.
Reviewing the stats
Statistics, rolled in with common sense, underscore the benefits of an inclusive approach. Consider these findings:
- Numerous studies show that companies in the top quartile of achieving a more balanced male-female workforce are 15% more likely to outperform competitors, launch new initiatives, and retain happier, more committed team members.
- Companies in the top quartile for creating executive teams with male-female balance were 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to create superior value, according to management consultants McKinsey & Company. The highest-performing companies in profitability and diversity had more women in line positions (i.e., typically revenue-generating roles) than not.
- Gallup studies have shown that more-diverse business units in the retail sector have a 14% higher average comparable revenue than less-diverse business units, while in the hospitality sector, they show a 19% higher average quarterly net profit than less-diverse business units.
- Companies that have a culture of equality exponentially increase their ability to innovate. According to Accenture, a global professional services firm, innovation is the key to business growth. Innovative companies can add $8 trillion to the U.S. economy by 2028, a year in perfect alignment with The Women’s Campaign Fund goal of #5050x2028: roughly half women and half men in elected offices nationwide.
Cracking the concrete ceilings
With these telltale statistics, why do we still lag in bringing 50/50 representation to leadership? Why are some glass ceilings more like concrete — even when we know that women are responsible for 70% to 80% of consumer purchasing? Despite their substantial buying clout, women in a typical workplace may not be involved at all in making top-level decisions about product development and marketing.
Let’s all work first to understand the why — and then move on to the how of creating lasting and beneficial change.
©2021 Women’s Campaign Fund
#5050x2028
