Diversity in companies: the professional guidance you probably didn't have
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 9:00 am
LGBTQIA+ Pride Month has come and gone, and many companies have taken a stand with videos, rainbow-colored icons, and campaigns. But does diversity really happen in companies? How are the boards of directors of these companies formed?
Businesses focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and that do not only exploit these values commercially, bring several benefits to the company and its employees. The benefits reach areas that even the most skeptical understand: money, sustainability (in the sense of lasting) and innovation.
Learn more about the impact of diversity on companies, how having a team with more women, black people and LGBTQIA+ people can benefit your business and companies that are already working on this and setting an example for many others.
Three BCG pillars: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
BCG ( Boston Consulting Group ) is a pioneering business strategy organization that aims to empower organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive social impact.
They seek to drive measurable changes in diversity, equit latvia phone number lead and inclusion, a value that we agree with and promote here at 55 Lab. We have brought some of the data released by BCG, in a survey focused on the presence of women, which shows the importance of inclusion and diversity in companies:
53% of Fortune 500 companies have at least three women on their boards;
Inclusive companies saw a 14% increase in stock market value during the 2007-2009 financial crisis;
Companies that have 30% of leadership positions filled by women have a 6% higher net profit margin.
The impact of these three pillars on the business
Team and culture
Diversity in organizations helps mitigate bias and build diverse workforces. This requires incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices into business processes, such as equitable personnel policies across the employee lifecycle of hiring, development, and retention.
Companies that are able to build an organizational culture that promotes inclusion and encourages diversity need to have these values well-established from the beginning, making them present at all stages of the business.
Partnerships and business practices
By driving innovation and creating value for your company, you can serve broader market segments and establish minority supplier and distributor programs as a source of competitive advantage.
Social impact
Investing in diversity in companies also has a major social impact, especially when they use their voice, influence and philanthropy to catalyze diversity, equity and inclusion in their communities and around the world.
The career guidance you probably didn't have
Change can’t happen at the grassroots level alone. As we’ve seen in BCG’s data, the impact happens when women enter the C-suite, where strategic decisions are made. Susan Colantuono, CEO of Leading Women, a management consulting firm that empowers women, gave a Ted Talk about this.
She says that women represent 50% of middle management and operational positions, but the percentage of women at the top of organizations represents less than a third of this percentage. Why are there so few women leaders? Colantuono answers this question and also gives very important advice for those who want to change this rule:
Watch TED with subtitles
Diversity in companies today
Many companies are already looking for ways to reduce this gap and bring more diversity into their companies. Magazine Luiza opened a trainee selection process for black people and applications exceeded the number of candidates.
The multinational C&A has opened a selection process with more than a thousand job openings throughout Brazil for trans people. It is increasingly common for large and small companies to focus selection processes on diversity, focusing on women, black people and LGBTQIA+ people.
Nubank has also carried out a selection process focused on black people and, as we have already discussed in the articles Anitta, professional networking and wild entrepreneurship and Nubank + Warren Buffett: lessons and learnings that have to do with you – “mere mortal” of the market , it has sought more diverse alliances for the company's board of directors.
Businesses focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and that do not only exploit these values commercially, bring several benefits to the company and its employees. The benefits reach areas that even the most skeptical understand: money, sustainability (in the sense of lasting) and innovation.
Learn more about the impact of diversity on companies, how having a team with more women, black people and LGBTQIA+ people can benefit your business and companies that are already working on this and setting an example for many others.
Three BCG pillars: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
BCG ( Boston Consulting Group ) is a pioneering business strategy organization that aims to empower organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive social impact.
They seek to drive measurable changes in diversity, equit latvia phone number lead and inclusion, a value that we agree with and promote here at 55 Lab. We have brought some of the data released by BCG, in a survey focused on the presence of women, which shows the importance of inclusion and diversity in companies:
53% of Fortune 500 companies have at least three women on their boards;
Inclusive companies saw a 14% increase in stock market value during the 2007-2009 financial crisis;
Companies that have 30% of leadership positions filled by women have a 6% higher net profit margin.
The impact of these three pillars on the business
Team and culture
Diversity in organizations helps mitigate bias and build diverse workforces. This requires incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices into business processes, such as equitable personnel policies across the employee lifecycle of hiring, development, and retention.
Companies that are able to build an organizational culture that promotes inclusion and encourages diversity need to have these values well-established from the beginning, making them present at all stages of the business.
Partnerships and business practices
By driving innovation and creating value for your company, you can serve broader market segments and establish minority supplier and distributor programs as a source of competitive advantage.
Social impact
Investing in diversity in companies also has a major social impact, especially when they use their voice, influence and philanthropy to catalyze diversity, equity and inclusion in their communities and around the world.
The career guidance you probably didn't have
Change can’t happen at the grassroots level alone. As we’ve seen in BCG’s data, the impact happens when women enter the C-suite, where strategic decisions are made. Susan Colantuono, CEO of Leading Women, a management consulting firm that empowers women, gave a Ted Talk about this.
She says that women represent 50% of middle management and operational positions, but the percentage of women at the top of organizations represents less than a third of this percentage. Why are there so few women leaders? Colantuono answers this question and also gives very important advice for those who want to change this rule:
Watch TED with subtitles
Diversity in companies today
Many companies are already looking for ways to reduce this gap and bring more diversity into their companies. Magazine Luiza opened a trainee selection process for black people and applications exceeded the number of candidates.
The multinational C&A has opened a selection process with more than a thousand job openings throughout Brazil for trans people. It is increasingly common for large and small companies to focus selection processes on diversity, focusing on women, black people and LGBTQIA+ people.
Nubank has also carried out a selection process focused on black people and, as we have already discussed in the articles Anitta, professional networking and wild entrepreneurship and Nubank + Warren Buffett: lessons and learnings that have to do with you – “mere mortal” of the market , it has sought more diverse alliances for the company's board of directors.