People want to surround themselves with familiarity. They want to do what makes them feel the most comfortable. This could come from lack of knowledge, fear of the unknown, or the anxiety of your core beliefs and values being challenged by differing  opinions. Familiarity breeds complacency, which is the death of innovation and progression. In order for your business to survive, it is imperative to employ a diverse staff. This not only gives you diversity of races, ethnicities, sexual identification and orientation, but it gives you diversity of thought, cultural awareness, and experiences.

A diverse workforce will capture a greater share of the consumer market!

It is up to us as leaders and employees to speak out against discrimination and hold our companies accountable when we witness unconscious bias or outward prejudice in our workplace and hiring processes. America is a melting pot of various backgrounds, colors, opinions and beliefs. If we as businesses want to be marketable, you must know how to reach that audience. Having someone in your company who can personally speak on whether something is appealing or offensive to a certain demographic is a win for you! Don’t be like Coke, with the Kendall Jenner protest commercial; or just recently, ESPN with the slave auction reference for a fantasy football segment. If a person of color was present in the room when the ideas were being discussed, it could have saved the company a lot of negative backlash and controversy.

A diverse and inclusive workforce helps businesses avoid employee turnover costs!

Over the past couple of decades, some companies have done well with creating a more colorful campus. However, many have not yet figured out how to make the environment inclusive. This means  creating an atmosphere in which all people feel valued and respected and have access to the same opportunities. Company leaders must be open-minded and  welcome a variety of new thoughts and ideas into their meetings and boardrooms. Your next big idea could be sitting in a cubicle in your office right now, but you’ll miss out because you aren’t including them in the conversation. Having a diverse staff is not just the moral thing to do, but it is financially responsible for your business. Research has shown that inclusion has positive individual and organizational outcomes, such as reduced turnover, greater altruism, and team engagement. This means you can spend more time investing in a team that is here to stay, rather than constantly hiring temporary employees.

It’s the future!

People can be as angry, as hateful and prejudice as they want. But the truth of the matter is, if you don’t diversify your staff, your business will get left in the dust. America was founded upon multiculturalism and opportunity. If you want to continue to fight for the wrong side of history, then you will continue to become history. This country diversifies everyday, with new immigrants bringing their passions and knowledge from overseas, here to the land where they have the freedom to become anything they want. Businesses need to adapt to our changing nation in order to be remotely competitive in the economic market. Census data tells us that by 2050, there will be no racial or ethnic majority in our country. Between the years 2000 and 2050, new immigrants and their children will account for 83 percent of the growth in the working-age population. Our economy will grow and benefit from these changing demographics if businesses commit to meeting the needs of diverse communities as workers and consumers.

So fighting for the “good old days” of exclusion and white supremacy is a losing battle. It’s NEVER going back to the way things were. We are only moving forward.

I am proud to work for a company that respects, loves, and welcomes a staff of all different backgrounds <3 Take note, and make sure your company is following suit.