Return on Inclusion: The New ROI
Women’s Campaign Fund
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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
