It’s predicted that by 2044, groups that have historically been considered minorities in the United States will reach majority status. What’s more, the population won’t have any single ethnic or racial majority by the year 2065.
This is exactly why so many entrepreneurs and recruiters are shifting their conversations around diversity from “minorities” to “underrepresented groups.” Aside from the social justice, ethics, and business performance arguments for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in human resources, there’s also a general need to be prepared for talent pipeline sustainability.
Today, more and more companies are adopting diverse hiring practices to achieve an inclusive work environment that matches the changing demographics outside the office walls.
However, the concept might still be new to some organizations, and others might be ready to get on board but lack direction. When it comes to diversity, there’s definitely an observable gap between what companies say they want and what they are actually achieving. In one recent study, only 29% of respondents reported significant DE&I gains at work.
In this article, we’ll explore exactly why diversity in hiring is so important, and then look at a few ways organizations can get started today.
Studies Consistently Show That Diverse Companies Perform Better
Indeed, there’s a strong business argument for the importance of diversity in hiring practices. The simple reality is that more diverse companies perform better — in several ways. This fact has been borne out across multiple studies and industries.
Here are a few of the ways diverse organizations have a leg up on the competition:
- Companies are better able to meet their clients’ needs, since having team members that share clients’ ethnicity can significantly increase the odds that the team will understand the client and relate to them.
- Studies of the performance of banks during and after the Great Recession (2007-2009) have shown that those led by female CEOs performed better during the tough times and saw a stronger recovery as the recession lifted.
- Another study of the Great Recession found that more diverse companies not only survived, they thrived — despite the difficult circumstances.
- Nearly 70% of job seekers say diversity is an important factor when choosing a company to work for. This means that more diverse companies may be better-positioned to attract more talent in the future — an effect that’s likely to snowball.
- Diversity doesn’t only benefit the organization as a whole, but also the individual team members who make up the organization. Being around people different from us makes us more creative, diligent, and harder working.
“Diversity is good for business,” says Ilit Raz, Co-founder and CEO of Joonko, an AI-based diversity hiring platform. “Companies that only hire one type of employee will have difficulty attracting top talent looking for a more varied culture, ultimately limiting their potential for innovation and growth. Conversely, diverse companies bring a broader range of experiences, viewpoints, and perspectives.”
The Social Responsibility of Diverse Hiring
One of the biggest reasons diversity in the workplace is such a top-of-mind topic right now is that underrepresented sectors are often unfairly discriminated against. Whether due to conscious or unconscious prejudices, diverse employees — including people of color, veterans, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ — often have fewer opportunities to land jobs.
Additionally, diverse employees may not receive the same level of respect and consideration at their positions. According to Harvard Business Review, diverse employees may be up to 25% less likely to have their ideas considered. Obviously, this is both unfair to the employees and harmful to the company as a whole.
There are also other factors to consider beyond the day-to-day operations of any single business. As the use of automation continues to rise, underrepresented groups are more likely to be adversely impacted than the average white male employee. In particular, the Black population is at especially high risk of displacement due to automation, according to studies. By making efforts to hire diversely now, businesses can prepare for this and help minimize these impacts.
Finally, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns and quarantines are severely impacting diverse employees. While many organizations have maintained their diversity initiatives through this difficult season, more can always be done — especially as cases continue to rise again.
Companies that hire diverse staff and ensure that those staff members are treated as equal employees reap the benefits of a more diverse workforce. They also ensure a happier workplace for their diverse team members and build a stronger public image around this highly visible area.
“Building an inclusive and diverse workforce is about more than maximizing profit margins or ticking a box,” says Raz. “It’s about people and ensuring that chronically underserved populations get the same recognition and resources as everyone else. It’s the right thing to do — and it’s high time more companies will embrace this notion.”
How Companies Can Hire More Diverse Candidates
If you’re looking to add diversity to your organization, whether through a formal program or not, there are multiple ways to streamline the process. There are plenty of helpful avenues, from community programs, university partnerships, and other local initiatives to LinkedIn groups and other online solutions.
Additional tactics for building a more diverse workforce include:
- Offering internships to diverse candidates
- Auditing job ads to ensure they speak to the right group of candidates
- Leverage the “blind resume” technique — omit personally identifying information on resumes to remove unconscious bias
A new class of hiring platforms has emerged with SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions. These platforms aim to help alleviate the difficulties of diverse hiring, such as limited candidate pools.
Joonko, which Raz co-founded and acted as CEO, offers a “talent stream” as one such solution.
The service utilizes AI to help match companies with “silver medalist” candidates — those that qualified for jobs and passed two rounds of screening but ultimately didn’t get hired. These pre-qualified candidates are automatically pulled from partner companies and added to Joonko’s talent pool, where they’re then matched with companies looking for diverse candidates.
“Our goal at Joonko is to make the process of recruiting underrepresented candidates as seamless as possible,” says Raz. “We want to make diversity, equality, and inclusion easy and natural for hiring managers and teams.”
Diversity Is the Future — and the Future Is Now
Whether your company is just starting with diversity in hiring or you need some inspiration to kickstart your next big hiring run, the time has never been more right. As demand for diverse employees grows, new platforms and services will continue to crop up to make the process easier.
“DE&I doesn’t have to be complicated,” says Raz, “but it does require companies to be intentionally focused on it to manifest their plans towards an inclusive workforce.”
