The Importance of Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity is a term that covers cultural and individual differences that prevail in the workplace. Differences such as age, gender, race and orientation can all fall under the umbrella of workplace diversity. It forms an inclusive work environment.

It is hugely important for companies to embrace workplace diversity as it has many direct and tangible benefits. Employee diversity and inclusion programmes are not just nice to haves for a company. They are proven to impact the bottom line and increase revenue.

It has been proven that companies with more diverse workforces are not just a more favourable company for people to work for but they are also more likely to outperform competitors and have higher profits too.

The top 9 diversity statistics:
  1. Companies with a more diverse workforce make more money with 19% higher revenue. (Boston Consulting Group)
  2. Diversity can increase your innovation and your company is 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in the market. (Josh Bersin Research)
  3. It can better your team decision making. Diverse teams outperform individual decision making 87% of the time. (CloverPop Research)
  4. 67% of jobseekers said a diverse workforce is important to them. Having a diverse work force can increase your job acceptance rate. (Glassdoor Research)
  5. Diverse companies tend to outperform industry norms by 35%. Having diverse team does not only increase your revenue but helps outperform competitors. (McKinsey Report)
  6. Companies that have higher gender diversity are 15% more likely to have returns above their national industry averages. (McKinsey Report)
  7. 85% of CEOs agree that having a diverse and inclusive work population improved their bottom line. (PwC Research)
  8. 57% of employees want their company to do more to increase diversity (Glassdoor Research)
  9. Diverse companies are 70% more likely to report success in a new market (Harvard Business Review)

How can I improve my workplace diversity?

Use an agency that have the capacity to bring you a diverse selection of candidates

By using an agency with a range of offices throughout the world it is easier to find and select from a more diverse pool of candidates. This is a great way to boost your company diversity.

Offer targeted internships and scholarships

Create and offer internships and scholarships from underrepresented groups. This is a great way to bolster your inclusivity and team diversity and can also help with your CSR efforts.

Highlight diversity on your career site

Make sure to include your commitment to diversity on your career page on your website. Make sure to make note of it in job descriptions also. This can increase your application rate and whilst also helping diversify your team.

Have a diverse interview panel

By having a diverse interview panel this process can help uncover unconscious bias and improve the equality process of your entire recruitment process.

Give unconscious bias training to your HR and Recruitment teams

Unconscious bias can be a hugely harmful aspect of the recruitment process. Training your HR staff and recruitment staff can be hugely beneficial. Here are some additional ways to help train your staff in recognising and diminishing unconscious bias.

Euro Executive Recruitment are a wide-reaching agency with office bases throughout Europe. We have a strong reputation for helping some of Irelands leading companies diversify their team through our global sourcing methods. If you would like to learn more about using recruitment to diversify your team contact Denis Casey today via