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NEED TO KNOW
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR
DIVERSITY
To find out how to leverage diversity for your own business, turn to our special section beginning on page 16.
FOR YOUR WORKFORCE
Between 2000 and 2050, new immigrants and their children will account for
83 percent of the growth in the working-age population.1 Two thirds of job seekers say diversity is an important issue when deciding whether to work for a company.2
FOR YOUR MARKET
As of 2014, people of color (African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American) had a combined buying power of
$3 trillion.5
As of 2013, the adult lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community had an estimated buying power of
$830 billion.6
Sources: 1.) Congressional Budget Office, “The Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market,” 2005. 2.) Glassdoor Diversity Hiring Survey, 2014. 3.) Stanley F. Slater, Robert A. Weigand, Thomas J. Zwirlein, “The Business Case for Diversity,” 2008.
FOR YOUR BUSINESS RESULTS
American companies with a strong commitment to diversity outperform their non-diverse peers. According to a 2008 study, the median difference in their net profit margins was a positive 2.7 percent per year.3 A study of the S&P 500 showed that businesses committed to promoting minority and women workers more than doubled their annualized return on investment to 18.3 percent over a fiveyear period compared to companies that didn’t.4
FOR YOUR INNOVATION
At companies with “two-dimensional” diversity (both inherent and acquired through experience), inclusive leadership is able to “unlock” employee potential. Compared to non-diverse companies, these organizations are
70 percent
more likely to have captured a new market in the past 12 months, and employees are 75 percent more likely to have had a marketable idea implemented.7
4.) Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2012. 5.) Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia Terry College of Business. 6.) Witeck Communications analysis, November 2013. 7.) Innovation, Diversity and Market Growth Report, 2013, Center for Talent Innovation.
Spring 2015
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