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  • November–December 2020
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case

By: Robin Ely and David A. Thomas
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Leaders may mean well when they tout the economic payoffs of hiring more women and people of color, but there is no research support for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company’s performance. This article critiques the popular rhetoric about diversity and revisits an argument the authors made 25 years ago: To fully benefit from increased racial and gender diversity, organizations must adopt a learning orientation and be willing to change the corporate culture and power structure.

Four actions are key for leaders: building trust and creating a workplace where people feel free to express themselves; actively combating bias and systems of oppression; embracing a variety of styles and voices inside the organization; and using employees’ identity-related knowledge and experiences to learn how best to accomplish the firm’s core work.

Keywords

Diversity; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Change; Trust

Citation

Ely, Robin, and David A. Thomas. "Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 6 (November–December 2020). (Winner of the 2020 HBR McKinsey Award for the best article of the year in Harvard Business Review.)
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About The Authors

Robin J. Ely

Organizational Behavior
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David A. Thomas

→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • April 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law

    By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull
    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    A Systems Psychodynamic Perspective on the Persistence of Racial Inequality at Work

    By: Sanaz Mobasseri, Wiliam Kahn and Robin Ely
    • Aug 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Intervening to Advance Equity in Tech

    By: R. Ely, Sanaz Mobasseri and Wiliam Kahn
More from the Authors
  • Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull
  • A Systems Psychodynamic Perspective on the Persistence of Racial Inequality at Work By: Sanaz Mobasseri, Wiliam Kahn and Robin Ely
  • Intervening to Advance Equity in Tech By: R. Ely, Sanaz Mobasseri and Wiliam Kahn
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