The world is changing at a fast pace; so is the world of work. The idea of a global village has become a reality today. Even in low-income countries like Nepal, diversity and inclusion have become some key aspects of the workforce for some national and many international organisations. However, this concept is something that the Nepali job market is yet to understand properly.
In the global market, whenever possible, the human resource department endeavours in making the team diverse and inclusive. Employers are now equally cautious in selecting the employees having equally good hard and soft skills with diversity and inclusiveness at the core of recruitment.
Factors causing workplace diversity
There are several factors which contribute to increasing diversity in today’s workplace.
Day by day, the number of women is rising in the workplace. With the change in the notion of traditional gender roles, there is no sector left in which women’s number has not increased. Women with education and job are considered to have a special status in all societies around the world. This motivation has largely contributed to women’s interest to come out of house and work, along with men.
With the advancement in information and communication technology, there is no need for a team to be in one place and work together. A person may live in one country and work in another. This has also led to a global team with cultural diversity.
The greater shift in the world population is another factor that is significantly making the global job market diverse and unique. A report of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) shows the number of migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million in 2019; it is 51 million more than in 2010. This means the global workplace is becoming more and more diverse in terms of language, cultural and educational backgrounds. We can relate this finding with our own life. We all have some of our friends and relatives living and working abroad.
With longer life expectancy in developed countries, several generations now work together. For financial security, better health, and social connections, many people now opt to work as long as they can rather than to get retired early. DWP (2015) has shown that the employment rate for people of 65 and above has doubled in the last 30 years in the UK, from 4.9 to 10.2 per cent.
Diversity and productivity
Unlike what we believe hiring bright minds with outstanding qualifications and proven track record of meeting targets should be given top priority for better results, research shows something different. Several surveys and studies have repeatedly shown something new that worthy invention takes place only in those organisations where the team is diverse and inclusive, where the team welcomes all kind of ideas, celebrates the differences and challenges stereotypical thinking.
David McKay (2016) has found that companies grow when they are open to new ideas and new people. This is the reason why the world’s most innovative businesses, cities, and economies are the most diverse.
Another researcher McKinsey, after studying 366 companies, has found that those which were in the top quartile based on ethnic and racial diversity in their management teams were 35 per cent more likely to have better financial returns than the average for their industry. For the companies in the top quartile in terms of gender diversity, the change of them having better returns was 15 per cent more likely than the average. Cloverpop also reports surprising results about inclusive decision makings. The findings presented in the report suggest inclusive teams make better business decisions for up to 87 per cent of the time. And, the decisions taken and executed by diverse teams can produce up to 60 per cent better results.
Sundar Pichai, the Google CEO, says, “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone,”
Time has come for the recruiters all across the world who are fond of the homogenous team backed by nepotism and favouritism to learn something from worldwide research done on inclusion and diversity and keep the learning in mind while recruiting new employees for their companies now onwards.
The author is a development professional and the General Secretary of the Institute of Social Science Research (ISSR). He can be contacted at [email protected].
