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A serious problem

The CLC has identified a persistent challenge in relation to career progression for women and participation overall by black and minority ethnic people.
Over recent years, surveys have found that about:

of the CLC-regulated workforce, but only around half of managers, are women.

black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) participation in the workforce, at around 9%, is slightly lower than expected given that 14% of the population of England and Wales identifies as BAME. (1*)

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Recruitment

Diversity and inclusion policies have been shown to attract new employees. PwC completed a survey in 2017 and found that 54% of women and 45% of men said they researched whether a company had diversity and inclusion policies in place when deciding to accept a position with their most recent employer. When deciding to accept an offer, 61% of women and 48% of men said they assessed the diversity of the company’s leadership team. (*2)

A recent Glassdoor study showed that:

of hiring decision-makers at UK organisations said a lack of investment in diversity and inclusions was a barrier to attracting high-quality candidates. (*2)

said diversity and inclusion initiatives were a significant factor that influenced a candidate’s decision to join an organisation. (*2)

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Employee retention

Diversity also helps with employee retention.

A 2017 study by Women Abroad found that there was a direct link to employee retention and engagement with supporting employee networks for specific demographic groups (e.g gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion). (*2)

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Business success

You can stand out from competitors with diversity and inclusion policies. Research by McKinsey & Co found that businesses with a good balance of men and women are 15% more likely to outperform their competitors. This increased to 35% when employees were from a mix of ethnic backgrounds. (*3)

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A major opportunity

Your customers are diverse, and so a diverse workplace will best represent them.
According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2018, when employers were surveyed:

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said they focus on diversity to better represent their customers.

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said another key reason was to improve company culture.

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focussed on diversity to improve company performance. (*2)

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Problem-solving

It pays to have a diverse team. Research published in the Harvard Business Review in 2017 showed that cognitively diverse teams solve problems faster than teams of cognitively similar people. (*2)

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Innovation

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Employees’ ability to innovate increases by 83% when they think their organisation is committed to and supportive of diversity and they feel included, a 2013 report by Deloitte found. (*2)
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace was also identified as a key driver of internal innovation and business growth, a study completed by Forbes found. (*4)

SOURCES:

*1

https://www.clc-uk.org/clc-unveils-diversity-and-inclusion-review/

*2

https://www.ciphr.com/advice/5-reasons-diverse-workforce-matters/

*3

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/better-business/business-sustainability/business-benefits-diversity-inclusion/

*4

https://www.wonolo.com/blog/50-must-read-articles-on-diversity-in-the-workplace/

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