How to foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace
Organisations must go beyond recruiting a diverse workforce and embed a culture of inclusion to reap the benefits, according to one executive.
Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit 2024, Matina Moffitt, partner, financial services – superannuation, audit, and assurance at BDO Australia, said true diversity can be achieved in the workplace when employees from different backgrounds feel comfortable enough to voice their ideas.
“For example, people from different cultural backgrounds may be timid. They may not be as outspoken. Different people work in different ways,” she told Money Management.
“Organisations need to embed that diversity and give employees the platform to share their thoughts. Support them in a way that makes them feel included and enables them to put forward their ideas.”
Moffitt underscored that leadership and management must set a tone of inclusion in their organisation and implement systems and processes that allow employees from various cultural, ethnic, and other backgrounds and gender to realise their potential and excel in their careers during their time in the organisation.
“Be open and allow people to express their views,” she said. “Make sure you’re not ignoring their ideas or opinions just because you disagree with them.”
Moffitt will elaborate on these issues during her panel session at the Women in Finance Summit, which will focus on how diversity and inclusion impact financial performance and overall growth in organisations in the finance sector.
She will unpack the impact of diverse teams on innovation and market competitiveness and offer strategies for promoting inclusion and creating equitable opportunities for all employees while overcoming barriers to diversity and inclusion in finance.
Moffitt urged organisations to avoid “paying lip service” to diversity and instead embrace and embed it.
“You can’t just say you’re doing this and meeting your quotas. Quotas can prompt organisations to do the right thing but it will fail if diversity is not implemented properly,” she said. “Ask yourself if it is being embedded to help improve your organisation.”
Several studies have shown that a demographically diverse workforce can improve an organisation’s financial performance.
For example, data from Forbes revealed that when mature diversity, equity and inclusion strategies were applied, 71 per cent of leaders reported beating their competitors to market.
Organisations also reported seeing an average 11.7 per cent gain in market share, while 36 per cent of leaders reported beating their most recent financial year by 10 per cent.
Moffitt stressed the importance of diversity as it allows organisations to have a wealth of knowledge.
“People will be bringing different ideas and solutions to the table, which then hopefully makes the company more efficient,” she concluded.
To hear more from Matina Moffitt about the financial benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace, come along to the Women in Finance Summit 2024.
It will be held on Friday, 15 November at the Hyatt Regency, Sydney.
Click here to book your tickets and don’t miss out!
For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.
This summit is produced by Captivate Events. If you need help planning your next event, email director Jim Hall at [email protected]
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
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