The Diversity Post went “viral.”
Most embraced it. Some challenged the message and the sources.
Those who challenged the references would not know that I’m a recovering academic and my views are informed by a diverse source base.
And like a good academic, I have firm opinions held lightly.
When better evidence is available, I’m happy to change my mind.
So let’s go through the data:
1. There are literally hundreds of papers on on the value of 50/50 gender balance. But here are a few real world large sample size studies to start:
A BCG study found a 19% increase in performance of teams with gender balance. Mckinsey found that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity were 25% more likely to outperform financially. A Harvard study of startups found that teams with lower percentages of women have lower sales and lower profits.
2. Look at Project Aristotle (Google) and Amy Edmondson’s work “Exploring the Relationship between Team Diversity, Psychological Safety, and Team Performance: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Drug Development Teams” On Psychological Safety, Creative Abrasion, and Performance.
3. The uncomfortable statement: Hiring a minority as a chief diversity officer has not produced results for companies. This is an uncomfortable truth was based on:
The Dobbin, Kalev & Kelly study (2006) showed that hiring diversity officers had little measurable impact. NBER (2018) research on universities found that hiring a CDO had no significant effect. Harvard Business Review (2016) found that diversity training (often managed by CDOs) fails because it creates resistance rather than inclusion.
The recent research, though, suggests a more nuanced set of conclusions:
Some recent articles from MIT (How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance) and McKinsey (unlocking the potential of the Chief Diversity Officers) offer some hope on this front
I’m sure there are anecdotes and other studies and I would welcome more insights.
The recurring theme around DEI seems to be that when it is the goal alone, it feels forced and leads people to push back against mandates and training. No one wants to be told what to do.
When it is galvanized in service of a mission – as all teams ought to be – diversity is a superpower.
I also want to address two comments:
The Paradox of Humans:
It is true we are biologically wired to see threats. Our survival as a species relied on it. And that we see difference as a threat. It is a bug in the evolutionary system.
It is also true that diverse teams with a shared sense of urgency and a compelling vision have done the impossible. Landing on the Moon, Atomic Energy, Breaking Enigma (The secret german code).
Diversity as a term:
There is race and gender. But as was pointed out, there is also age, background, experience, religion, technical capability etc… Diversity in all its shapes and sizes matters and can drive performance.
