Diversity & Inclusion at the Emmys

Diversity & Inclusion at the Emmys (or lack thereof)

If you watched the Emmy Awards on Monday night, you saw the opening skit poking fun at the meager advances in Hollywood regarding diversity and inclusion. A song and dance number titled, “We solved it,” performed by some of Saturday Night Live’s cast members highlighted the historical lack of diversity of the program. However, despite this year’s Emmys having the most diverse group of nominees in the show’s history, diverse winners were not delivered by the night’s end; twenty-two of the twenty-six winners were white.

This spotlight on Hollywood is a reflection of what is happening across all industries and career opportunities, especially in the corporate world. It is essential for organizations to commit and continuously work to create an environment that embraces differences and is truly inclusive.

Creating a diverse and inclusive environment can be challenging and often takes a concerted effort to ensure your organization is taking the right steps to becoming a culturally sensitive workplace with equal opportunity. When a diverse and inclusive workplace is created, employees are able to show up authentically at work which creates better engagement and, therefore, better business performance. Below are some of the benefits of diversity in the workplace:

1. Business Performance – A recent study, Diversity Matters, conducted by McKinsey found that diverse workplaces outperform non-diverse competitors by 35%. More diverse workforces are able enhance creativity within a workplace because of diversity of thought.
2. Talent – Organizations that are culturally sensitive and committed to diversity and inclusion are able to recruit top-talent. Diverse talent pools offer greater selection of talent, skills and expertise. Individuals from diverse backgrounds are able to provide organizations with innovative ideas and different perspectives.
3. Customer Satisfaction – More and more organizations are requiring that their business partners and providers are meeting certain levels of diversity. In some instances, in order to grant business to a partner, organizations are requiring that employers have diverse workforces that are trained to be culturally sensitive.

Despite the efforts of the Emmys and many workplaces alike to recognize the need for diversity, these initiatives generally fall flat when being put into action. At Exude, our systematic approach to cultural transformation begins with the assessment, design, and implementation of a comprehensive strategic diversity and inclusion plan.  We focus on “what really works” and help ensure that your diversity council, committees, resource groups, and strategic diversity and inclusion initiatives yield measurable impact throughout your workplace. Click here for more information about our diversity and inclusion solutions.