Diversity Is the Lifeblood for All Companies, but Is Diversity Enough?

“It’s hard to imagine an economy driven by Latino and Latina growth when leadership at the board level and in the C-suite is far less than 5% Latino and Latina. That gap – between the face of leadership and the face of the economy to come – is a vast strategic issue for corporations”. This is from Luis Ubiñas, the chairman of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and board member of several organizations, quoted in an article in Latino Leaders Magazine by Luana Ferreira (Link)
The article mentions these important stats: Latinos represent 17.3% of the workforce in the United States, and the number will rise to 30% by 2060, according to research released by McKinsey & Company. However, the presence of Latinos in the leading positions is still scarce. They represent 4% of board seats, and only 20 Latino CEOs are among the Fortune 500 companies.
According to Ubiñas, “having more Latinos in the business isn’t a cultural imperative, it is a business imperative.” He highlights that corporations need to understand that it’s in their best interest to have more representation of Latinos on their boards and in their leadership positions. How will companies address the large percentage of the economy that Latinos will drive if they are absent in decision-making processes?”
And this gets into what we teach in our courses and Workshops via Zoom: simply put, diversity is not enough. It’s the starting point. We must consider where in the organization is that diversity? Is your organization diverse at the lower or middle levels, but not at the level of leadership? If so, your organization is missing out on some of the benefits of diversity, which can only begin to be activated if your organization is inclusive. True inclusion means not only inviting diverse people to the table, but listening, considering and implementing the perspectives and ideas they bring.
And then, inclusion is the next starting point because your organization may have barriers to inclusiveness built into its systems of evaluating and hiring new talent, advancement and promotion, etc. etc. This is where equity comes in. Evaluating the systems, rules and norms for ways that “the way we’ve always done it” don’t foster inclusion.
To put all this in context, we always frame our conversations with the goal of DEI work – to create a culture of belonging. Imagine a workplace, school or organization where people feel like they belong – this can’t be announced with an email or implemented with a policy, or a training. It’s something that people feel… To create such a culture takes lot of work. It takes time and continued attention and vigilance. We can help. For more information on how we at SunShower Learning teach about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, please book 20 minutes with Joel here.
More From Our Blog…
Reclaiming the Water
Why I’m in awe of the Howard University swimming and diving team By Gina Miller When we follow threads back through history, appalling origins or explanations for certain contemporary social issues / racial matters are often discovered. This was my experience when I...
Chances are your hiring process is riddled with bias
Inclusive hiring is the practice of minimizing bias and creating an equitable recruitment, application, interview, selection and offer process for a diverse set of candidates. It’s critical for attracting and retaining a diverse, engaged and innovative talent pool....
DEI Leaders are Burning Out
A recent article in Human Resources Director highlights something that we’ve been hearing a lot about - diversity fatigue. It’s a term from the 90s, but it’s back now and the reasons require serious consideration. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, there was...
The Day the National Guard Raided an HBCU Dorm
A portion of the bullet-ridden, exterior wall of Smith Hall still stands in commemoration at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Khadejeh Nikouyeh/News & ObserverThis is why Black history needs to be taught By Gina Miller, contributing...
Embodying Ethical Leadership
In an age when faith in our institutions—academic, corporate and government—is at an all-time low, it behooves leaders to “do the right thing.” Paraphrasing Charlamagne, “Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right, we must know what is...
Right Where She Belongs
How Lisette Martinez creates an inclusive culture and a world of opportunity as Jefferson Health’s Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer By Gina Miller The innate desire to belong The year was 1984 in Ypsilanti, Michigan when the world fractured in...
The Accessibility Journey
Accessibility is typically about providing the ability to access a building, a vehicle or a service. In our world of online eLearning courses, accessibility means enabling all learners to engage with a course in the way they need and prefer in order to gain the...
The 21-Day Plan for Disarming Microaggressions Wins Two More Awards
The Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA) has recognized The 21-Day Plan for Disarming Microaggressions as a 2022 Davey Awards Silver Winner in the category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Daveys are an international award competition focused...
New! SunShower Now Offers the Most Modern and Flexible Formats To Meet Your Training Needs
Years ago, in a far-off time, SunShower delivered its training programs on VHS tape. All training rooms had tape players, TVs and projectors. Trainers would carry the training tapes, insert them into the machine and hope they wouldn’t be “eaten.” In those days, the...
Maslow’s Hierarchy and the Scientific Connection Between Belonging and Health
Humans have an innate need to belong. In fact, “love and belonging” are featured prominently in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This central model in psychology asserts that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs, and “belonging” (that is, the need to...