Diversity and inclusion are not luxuries reserved for high-performing companies in flush times. They constitute a powerful lever for improving performance—and they are more critical than ever as companies aim to accelerate out of the downturn.
BCG brings deep expertise in driving measurable change in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our work enables clients to build teams that fully reflect the diversity in the world and the communities they serve—and empowers them to advance their businesses and our society.
We recognize the significant value that DEI can unlock—for individuals, organizations, and societies—and the need to do better. To this end, we partner with companies to implement proven diversity strategies and diversity and inclusion best practices.
Advancing DEI is the right thing to do—and that’s reason enough to do it. It also helps organizations draw the best talent and unlock the potential of all their people. A focus on DEI will be particularly critical in recruiting younger generations, who value inclusion and social activism. There’s also a very strong business case to make for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The facts are clear: companies with diverse workforces and inclusive workplaces—defined as those where women and people of color reported positive experiences at work—were far less affected by the global financial crisis. From 2007 to 2009, the S&P 500 index declined by more than 35% during the crisis while the stocks of inclusive companies actually increased by 14%.
Organizations with greater diversity beat their less-diverse counterparts on a range of measures, diversity and inclusion research shows.
And yet, many corporate DEI initiatives are not delivering—for employees or employers. While 98% of employees who responded to our 2018 Global Diversity Survey said that their company had a gender diversity program in place, only about 25% felt that they have personally benefited from a diversity intervention.
North America Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director
Seattle
Our holistic approach to achieving sustainable impact in DEI is built on three pillars of action.
We help mitigate bias and build diverse workforces, first by analyzing representation metrics at all levels—including retention rates and engagement scores. Then we assist in embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices in business processes, such as equitable personnel policies across the employee life cycle of hiring, development, and retention. And we help clients excavate their purpose and build an organizational culture that fosters inclusion and encourages diversity.
We help our clients drive innovation and create value by serving broader market segments and establishing minority supplier and distributor programs as a source of competitive advantage. By harnessing their business drivers, they can advance their Total Societal Impact (TSI). TSI is BCG’s measure of an organization’s economic, social, and environmental effects on the world; it stands alongside total shareholder return (TSR) as a driver of corporate strategy. We ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are fully considered, measured, and advanced by this lens.
We collaborate with our clients so they can use their voice, influence, and philanthropy to catalyze diversity, equity, and inclusion in their communities and around the world. We help them identify the DEI issues where the need is greatest and most aligned with their values and purpose. We also assist in building coalitions that amplify their commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion.
Diversity & Inclusion Assessment for Leadership is an online survey tool that measures how employees assess a company’s progress in racial diversity, and diversity and inclusion overall.
Workforce Inclusion Scorecard and Evaluation provides transparency into how diverse employees are represented across the employee life cycle: recruiting, retention, attrition, and promotion.
Company leaders must acknowledge their blind spots, respond to the needs of diverse groups, and focus on the measures that really work.
We share a snapshot of the progress we’ve made—and where we’ve committed to go.
Companies can’t capture the real value of a diverse workforce until they create an organizational culture that welcomes everyone—truly everyone—to participate.
The current crisis may seem like an existential threat that supersedes all other objectives. But building a more inclusive workforce isn’t a distraction—it’s a critical part of the solution.
LGBTQ employees have changed, and companies need to upgrade their HR policies to match. The main challenge? Creating the right working environment.
Don’t keep recruiting the same kind of people, who look just like you, warns Miki Tsusaka. Diversity makes for better outcomes.
Want to generate inventive new ideas that can win in the market? Build management teams comprising people with the widest possible range of backgrounds and perspectives.
BCG’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
