Diversity

We live in a globalised, individualised, VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, where innovation is the only assurance for corporate continuity. Durable organisational success can no longer be guaranteed by one single leader, one singular set of ideas, however brilliant those might be. Organisational success will increasingly come through leaders who have developed the skills to engage others, who are personally willing to adapt, and who can create a shared vision, a coherent end-goal that brings diverse individuals to a collective focus for superior results.

If you have any questions about this report, please contact Charlotte Harding at Charlotte.Harding@mercer.com. 

Mercer D&I Networks conducted this survey to understand how organisations develop their D&I strategies, set their top D&I priorities, define roles and responsibilities of their Board and various D&I Councils, define roles and responsibilities and reporting relationships of their Heads of D&I and their teams, establish global ERG governance and D&I budgets. 

Here, you can download an executive summary of the survey. For further information, please contact Charlotte Harding at Charlotte.Harding@mercer.com

When Women Thrive is a call to organizations and leaders to think and act differently to advance gender diversity. It is a business imperative with deep and profound social implications – an imperative that every business leader needs to personally drive. Now is the time for us to take action. 

Policymakers, academics, CEOs, nonprofits, media, employers, and women themselves recognise that advancing women in the workforce offers one of the biggest opportunities to impact growth, innovation, community, and vitality. But data shows that significant roadblocks remain, despite advances over the past several decades. 

Here, you can download a comprehensive summary of the report. To find out more about the project, or enquire about the full report, please contact Charlotte Harding at Charlotte.Harding@mercer.com. 

Culture, Diversity & Identity – interview with Martha Maznevski

Watch this short interview with Martha Maznevski, Professor at IMD Business School, to find out why company culture plays an integral part in organisations and whether organisations should aim to build one culture across the business. 

Martha Maznevski is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and International Management at IMD. She teaches courses and modules spanning a broad range of organisational behaviour topics, including teams and leadership in global and virtual (distance) contexts, diversity and inclusiveness, and the relationship between organizational and national culture. She leads company programs for Skanska, Adecco, Maersk and other companies.

Although many multinationals wish to appear to the world as truly “global” companies, the boards of directors of most of these companies continue to be dominated by natives of the company’s home country. This article in our third edition of Progress, CRF’s e-magazine, Professor Pankaj Ghemawat, from NYU Stern & IESE Business School, discusses the make-up of today’s global boards and the challenges boards face when integrating foreign nations, as well as the steps that can help ease integration. 

To read back issues of our e-magazine – Progress – please click here. 

Diversity continues to be a front page issue with greater external/internal expectations and pressures - organisations are pushed towards being more inclusive, fair, transparent, balanced and moral. But, CRF research finds, good diversity practice is patchy.

This model of diversity practice seeks to help in evaluating current approaches. The simplified table featured identifies five levels of organisation diversity practice.

This report puts forward the current diversity situation in organisations with specific references to gender, and evaluates its effects on business performance. The report highlights the hurdles that diversity programmes can encounter and the organisation cultures that most readily encourage it.

Here, you can download and view the report’s executive summary. The full report is accessible for CRF members only. If you are not a member and are interested in discussing membership please contact Harry Cloke on harry@crforum.co.uk.

Placing more women in senior roles has been a priority in many countries for the past decade. Targets have been set and initiatives launched in financial services, along with other industries where women are under-represented at the top. Yet progress remains slow.

Much work remains to be done. This report provides a better understanding of where things stand, the obstacles to progress, and how they can be overcome. The first chapter of the report looks at gender balance statistics from a number of countries and sectors of the industry before examining the points at which women exit the industry or stop progressing, and what kinds of support would enable women to keep progressing to the top.

Watch

Having a diverse representation of talent in the organisation isn’t the goal. Instead, when diverse talent feels included, valued and a core part of the team without having to become like the ‘norm’, then organisations see substantive gains in creativity, engagement and productivity. But how can we create an inclusive culture that supports diversity and productivity? 

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    Karen Ward CRF Associate
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    Dr Wanda Wallace President and CEO, Leadership Forum, Inc
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    Jonathan Kohn HR VP UK, Ireland, Nordics and South Africa - Shell
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