guest column
BY BARRY SALZBERG
CEO, Deloitte LLP
Diversify or Die:
Why Companies Need to
Embrace Diversity or Risk
Being Left Behind
Over the past several
years, corporate America
has put an intense focus on
diversity and inclusion. As we enter
the latter part of this decade, it’s a
good time to stop and ask, “How is
American business doing when it
comes to diversity?”
I’d say as a group, we’ve
certainly made progress from when
I began my career in 1977, but
we’re also not where I’d hoped to
be by the time my sons entered
the business world. Unfortunately,
I don’t think we’ve quite reached
the midway point between the two. Most businesses
still are not as diverse as they should (or could) be,
especially within the executive ranks. Too many
ceilings are still in place: glass for some people, cement
for others. But I know many managers and business
leaders are honestly committed to changing that
situation. And my hope is that the pace of change will
finally begin to accelerate.
So why all the recent talk about diversifying talent?
Consider this: In 2007, the Level Playing Field Institute issued key findings from a large-scale survey that
concluded U.S. employers spent $64 billion as a result
of losing and replacing professionals and managers
who quit solely due to workplace unfairness—events
ranging from racial and sexual discrimination to public
humiliation. The realization of the massive amounts
of money and reputation at stake is driving companies
to become more inclusive, to create diverse teams that
can work collaboratively and add to
the bottom line, not detract from it.
Supporting evidence can be found in
a number of recent studies demonstrating the benefits of having a
diverse employee base on everything
from driving productivity to being
more appealing to customers.
For these reasons, American
companies are throwing them-
selves into the diversity effort as
never before. Many have hired
chief diversity officers and cre-
ated diversity scorecards. Some
companies have developed special
training for employees to help them be more sensitive
to cultural differences and more mindful of other ways
of working. Others are focusing on new employees,
implementing special orientation programs to help
diverse hires thrive.
As a leader, I look forward to the time when assembling a diverse team is as easy as filling a glass with
water. But until we get there, if we want to transform
our companies into all-inclusive, globally competitive
organizations, we have to manage diversity.
Diversity Management 101
Hiring is only the first step in building a diverse organization. Unfortunately, in the past, too many companies
paid less attention to what comes after the contract
is signed, which explains why our executive suites are
still so largely white and male. The real work of managing a diverse-talent pipeline doesn’t happen in the HR
