Making the Business Case for DEI
For a company, diversity represents a competitive advantage that brings opportunities and benefits not only for the corporation itself but also for society. Diverse teams improve productivity and the working environment, foster creativity and make better use of business opportunities.
However, as with every initiative, organisations must make the business case for DEI. Encouragingly, the research shows that nearly half of UK respondents (48%) said that diversity was recognised, valued and celebrated in their organisation, compared with just 36% globally.
Encouragingly, the percentage of respondents who said their organisations denied the importance of diversity fell by more than half this year. In the UK, 10% said this was true of their organisation in 2021, dropping to just 4% in 2022.
Similarly, those who cited the importance of leadership and commitment from the top of the organisation when setting up a DEI function, grew over the last twelve months, rising to 42% from 34%. Amid economic uncertainty and unstable geo-political conditions, it is encouraging to see that across Europe there has been an increase in dedicated DEI roles within organisations compared to last year.