Profiting from Inclusion: Embracing Diversity Makes Economic Sense

  • June 19, 2015

Recent studies in the corporate sector show that workforce diversity is very much a bottom line issue, directly enhancing corporate profitability.

A report by Standard and Poor’s 500 on hiring women and nonwhites found that “the stock market performance of the firms that were high performers on the glass ceiling-related goals was 2.5 times higher than that of the firms that invested little in glass ceiling-related issues.”

According to the Standard and Poor’s study, companies with the best track record in hiring minorities and women earned average returns of 18.3% compared to those ranking lowest, with an average rate of return of 7.9%. The study concluded that companies with above-average returns were led by CEOs who loudly and proactively championed diversity.