As we enter the third decade of the new millennium, what more can organisations be doing to develop a diverse workforce and benefit from the capability and bottom-line growth that comes with it? In the first Talent Matters edition of 2020, Alex Mugan, Managing Director of Global Career Company introduces some of the diversity thought leaders implementing strategies across the continent.
“Diversity, it’s been done to death.”
So wagged an experienced African HR consultant within the reach of my ear. To be fair, he was speaking about conferences, where we have all, I’m sure, experienced vast numbers of diversity workshops and sessions.
Having said that, at the same conferences we’ve all experienced a proliferation of male-only panels for example, so while the conversation might be going on ad nauseum, it’s fairly clear that many of us haven’t listen.
A personal unfavourite is the conference agenda filled with male-only panels, with a specific ‘Women in Business’ panel packed with ladies to counterbalance the overall agenda.
“But we couldn’t find any female leaders for the CEO panel,” wail the conference producers.
“Exactly,” respond the people who feel there’s life in this old conversation yet.
Bobbing in the laughable wake of yet another Oscars diversity debacle (no female directors, one black actor/actress), Talent Matters brings together the perspectives of practitioners and commentators who will discuss the multi-faceted nature of diversity, the futility of diversity without inclusion and above all, the transformational business impact of diverse thinking, properly included.
So if you’re thinking that you’ve read it all before, take a look around the faces in your exco meeting and facilities on your factory floor, and think about whether you’ve really maximised the impact of diversity in your business. It’s easy to confuse leaving money on the table with prioritising core business.
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