From Ford to Coca-Cola and Apple, the world’s leading brands have already realized the importance of diversity and inclusion. Watch what these companies and others like them have to say on the subject
This issue has been on our minds a lot recently. After seeing the CEO of Cisco Systems denounce discrimination in the workplace and the CEO of IKEA talk about the role of diversity and inclusion in his own organization, we realized that these two global organizations are not alone.
Diversity and inclusion are some of the hottest emerging trends in the business world. And like any trend, they seep down from global companies to local organizations.
The reason has nothing to do with democracy or equality. It’s a matter of survival. To face the challenges of high-paced markets, technological acceleration, globalization, and tidal fluctuations in consumer behavior, the organizational DNA itself must change.
So who else is encouraging diversity and inclusion of the global organizations? Here’s a very partial list:
Ford: “As diverse are our products and customers, so is our company. At Ford, we not only celebrate diversity; we embrace it.”
American Express, from an interview with their Chief Diversity Manager: “Diversity is about things that you see, but it’s also about what you don’t see.”
Apple ”From the very beginning, we have been a collective of individuals, different kinds of people from different kinds of places […] we put inclusion and diversity at our very center.”
P&G: “Diversity and inclusion is a key enabler for the continued growth of P&G.”
Starbucks: “One of the primary reasons that Starbucks has succeeded throughout all these years is the diversity of the people who work for the company.”
UBS: “UBS is really passionate about diversity and inclusion – and I know lots of firms say that, but we genuinely do live and breathe that.”
By GemPlan