Why
Why.
1.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE CARE ABOUT DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)?
The business case for Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is stronger than ever, particularly in industries like architecture and engineering consulting.
Engineers and Architects help build the world around us, we need to reflect the communities we serve. If we look at our industries today, this is not the case. We have a changing demographic landscape in New Zealand and need to ensure our organisations are inclusive and everyone sees a home for themselves in our industries or we’ll be left behind.
If we look at the New Zealand population data, we can see:
- All major ethnic groups have increased since the 2013 census with Māori, Asian and Pacific people being the fastest growing populations
- Almost one in four New Zealanders identify as having a disability
- We’re expected to have 1.2 million people aged over 65 in New Zealand by 2034
This means the talent entering our organisations is going to be different and the work environments we create need to be inclusive for our changing demographics. We need to ensure our organisational practices, cultures and leadership are equitable so the world we help create is as diverse and inspiring as the people in it.
WHAT DOES GLOBAL RESEARCH TELL US?
Diversity wins is the third report in a McKinsey series investigating the business case for diversity.
The latest report shows not only that the business case remains robust but also that the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has strengthened over time.
The latest analysis reaffirms the strong business case for both gender diversity and ethnic and cultural diversity in corporate leadership – and shows that this business case continues to strengthen. The most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability.
The 2019 analysis finds that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile – up from 21 percent in 2017 and 15 percent in 2014.
It also showed that companies should pay much greater attention to inclusion, even when they are relatively diverse.
Check out McKinsey’s Diversity Wins report.
