Can Diversity and Inclusion Keep Up with Globalization? WMFDP Co-Founder Says It Better

(PORTLAND, OR) January 17, 2017 - GLOBALIZATION: The process in which people, ideas and goods spread throughout the world, spurring more interaction and integration between cultures, governments and economies.

Globalization is one of those words, like gentrification, that by its very nature stirs deep emotion on a personal and professional level. Those emotions run the gamut, from elation to antagonism, and the only constant is that people have an opinion about it.

At the outset of 2017, there are several examples of globalization. The World Bank estimated the number of international migrants rose to over 250 million in 2015. More than 38 percent of them moved between developing countries in 2013. (1) The World Trade Organization (WTO) reports that 52 percent of developing countries’ exports went to other emerging economies in 2014, up from 38 percent in 1995. Trade between China and India was $1.7 billion in 1997, while it had reached $72 billion by 2014. Finally, India’s trade with Africa rose 60 percent in four years, to almost $48 billion, for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

“With globalization comes the necessity to examine how companies deal with issues of diversity. This has been a big problem in the corporate world for some time now, and it must rise to the occasion,” says Bill Proudman, co-founder of White Men As Full Diversity Partners (http://wmfdp.com/) (WMFDP).

CEOs and C-Suite executives are predominately white and male. WMFDP works with multinational firms to foster diversity & inclusion, taking an approach different than most, if not all, diversity consultancies. “When we work directly with leaders in the dominant group, we find that they want to help create more inclusive workplace culture, but often they’re unsure of how and where to begin. They step back from their leadership role and rely on others – typically women or people of other ethnicities – to work for change. Yet, when leaders take an active role, we’re more likely to see tangible, improvements in diversity and inclusion,” said Proudman.

Proudman is quick to point out that while globalization can spur cultural integration, its acceleration can breed conflict – Brexit and the current American political climate being the most notable examples.

Women’s workplace advocacy group Catalyst, a partner with WMFDP, (2) in their Inclusive Leadership: The View From Six Countries report, found that in India for example, 62 percent of innovation is driven by employee perceptions of inclusion. (3)

The link between diversity and innovation is not a new idea, but when company metrics prove it, people in high places take notice, like in the United Kingdom, where a study revealed that senior executive income rose 3.5 percent with every 10 percent increase in gender diversity.

65 percent of 321 executives of global firms surveyed by Forbes Insights claimed to have a plan in place to recruit a diverse workforce — but only 44 percent include staff retention programs.

“It costs a company about 5 to 10 thousand dollars to replace an hourly wage employee, and for executives it’s ten times that. Retaining good people is all about fostering a culture of inclusion, creativity and innovation. It makes moral sense and it also makes fiscal sense,” says Proudman.

No matter the political climate, the worldwide barometer tells us that globalization will continue to roll out across border and political lines. The numbers also indicate that the ratio of conflict to harmony will largely be determined by those that cultivate diversity and inclusion at every echelon.


Note: White Men as Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP) is a diversity and Leadership Development firm founded by Bill Proudman, Michael Welp and Jo-Ann Morris in 1996 in Portland, Oregon. WMFDP takes an unorthodox approach toward eradicating bias and discrimination in the workplace.