How can diversity and inclusiveness give a company a competitive edge? Can they really make a
difference in the bottom line? How? Identify one company/example (not already selected by a classmate)
sharing the competitive edge and difference to their bottom line.
As read in Bateman et al., (2019, p.313) diversity refers to more than skin color and gender and
is used to refer to all kinds of differences which can include education, political belief, religion,
and income in addition to gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. When companies have
diversity, it attracts employees from different backgrounds and can help motivate and retain
employees too. Also employees from different backgrounds can help increase various companies
understanding about different markets which are connected to their own diverse backgrounds.
As learnt in Kuligowski (2022), Sodexo is a company which has used diversity and inclusion to
its advantage and gain a competitive edge over others. They have made gender balance a focus
of its overall business strategy for 20 years and it has paid off over time. They were included in
the 2020 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, which tracks the financial performance of
companies committed to gender equality. Also women make up 37% of Sodexo’s executive
committee and 60% of its board of directors. They have a goal is to have women representing at
least 40% of its senior leadership staff. Organizations that prioritize diversity and inclusion are
35% more likely to have better financial returns than companies that don’t, according to
McKinsey & Co.
References:
Bateman, T., Snell, S., & Konopaske, R. (2019). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a
Competitive World. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kuligowski, K. (2022) How to Be a Diverse and Inclusive Company - businessnewsdaily.com.
Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15970-diverse-inclusivecompanies.html