27Making Diversity Work

John Zinkin, BA, MSc

Managing Director of Zinkin Ettinger Sdn Berhad, a boutique consultancy specializing in Corporate Governance, Change Management, Ethics and Branding

Chris Bennett, MBA

Director, senior executive, researcher, consultant, and teacher/facilitator

This abridged chapter was earlier published by Ethics International Press in the first chapter of the book The Principles and Practice of Effective Diversity and Inclusion by the authors. Reproduced by permission of Ethics International Press.

Most literature about diverse business teams focuses on, “Does diversity lead to improved financial performance?” Studies have shown that sometimes it does, sometimes it does not, and sometimes it seems to make no difference at all. We believe the reason for this apparent ambiguity is that the question is poorly framed. Since under some conditions diversity does improve business outcomes, it is more important for boards to consider, “When does diversity matter?” or “Under what conditions does diversity improve performance?” and “Under what conditions does diversity impair performance?” We believe that answers to the questions depend on the impact of context, content, and salience.

Making diversity work requires more than meeting numerical targets against a range of diversity criteria. It requires an appreciation of the impact of context, content, and salience.

Context, Content, and Salience

Let us begin by defining “diversity.” The 2018 Gallup report ...

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