DE&I - Why is it Essential to Growing Your Business?
“I can tell you, without diversity, creativity remains stagnant.” ~ Edward Enninful (Editor in Chief, British Vogue)
You might look at me and think, “Oh, she’s an Irish-American girl from Jersey. What does she know about diversity?” It’s true that I was born in New Jersey, and most of my ancestors are from the Emerald Isle, but that discounts the experiences I’ve gained from the other 29 places I’ve lived and the lessons I learned from my German grandmother. It doesn’t consider my experience living in 5 countries and 8 US states and being raised by a single mom from ages 3 to 12. My quirky life experiences give me a unique point of view and an awareness that there are many approaches and ways to look at every situation.
Each of us brings a unique perspective based on where we grew up and have lived, stories from our ancestors, family home life, education, and prior work experience. Iff you were building a new product or service, why wouldn’t you want to hear from a diverse group of perspectives to make it the best it could be?! All you have to do is to make sure the group working on the project is diverse (experiences, perspectives, age, etc.) and that everyone feels like they belong so that they actively share their viewpoints.
According to this Forbes article, companies with greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture new markets. Diversity has been shown to boost creativity and innovation. Teams outperform individuals when making decisions, and that improves as diversity increases. Who doesn’t like those benefits?! That’s why DE&I is essential.
When multiple diverse perspectives come together, magic can happen.
Let’s start a conversation about Embracing Diversity, Culture, and Creativity.
PS - There have been a few times in my life when I have felt like I didn’t fit in. I stopped bringing my authentic self to relationships and work projects. Then, in grad school, I found my tribe. I felt like I’d come home and could bring my whole self and my perspectives to every interaction. That’s why DE&I is so important to me and why I go out of the way to make everyone on my team feel like they belong. Allowing everyone on the team to bring their authentic self permits each person to express their perspective and share their experience to benefit the team and the project.
* According to the Oxford Dictionary …
Diversity is having a range of people with various racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds and various lifestyles, experiences, and interests.
Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial.
Inclusion is the act of being included in a group, of belonging.
