WASHINGTON—Corporate executives from the Coca-Cola Co., Microsoft Corp. and AT&T Inc. gathered Thursday at the Center for American Progress to discuss why diversifying the workplace is not only the right thing to do—it’s the smartest thing to do for a successful business.
Microsoft’s Greg McCurdy, AT&T’s Debbie Storey Coca-Cola’s Steve Bucherati discuss the importance of diversity on their companies’ bottom lines Thursday at the Center for American Progress in Washington. (Shaina Humphries/MNS)
“There are clear studies that show companies that have diverse leadership have higher customer satisfaction, higher productivity, higher profitability and lower turnover,” said Debbie Storey, AT&T’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president of talent development.
The panelists agreed that concerted efforts to increase diversity—of genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations—not only create an ideal work environment, but also effectively engage more consumers.
“The business case is quite clear. Because the diversity of who drinks our drinks is enormous,” said Steve Bucherati, Coca-Cola’s chief diversity officer. “If you look at it from a gender perspective, 83 percent of our products are either purchased, or the purchasing decision is influenced, by women. And it is 70 percent globally.”
From soda to cellphones, women often make the purchasing decisions in households. Storey said having more women in a company provides for a melting pot of backgrounds and mindsets that can better reach the target consumer. The same goes for having a variety of ethnicities and sexual orientations represented.
In order to achieve the sought-after diverse workplace, companies are working harder than ever to attract and develop employees from all different walks of life.
Greg McCurdy, senior policy counsel at Microsoft, said, “When we recruit at schools, colleges and graduate schools, it is a very important factor.”
But seeking out qualified employees with diverse backgrounds has proven to be more difficult for so-called STEM companies—those specializing in science, technology, engineering and math.
Storey said the pool of capable, diverse job candidates is dwindling, in part, because students think STEM careers “aren’t cool”. McCurdy added that the number of minority law school graduates has declined as well. Both emphasized the need to change the image of these important careers for the future workforce.
“In the legal department we have now started really focusing on pipeline—going into high schools, and colleges to [encourage to students] to consider law and engineering,” McCurdy said.
Storey, Bucherati and McCurdy all said diversity is not only a good policy to maintain at their companies, but an effective and necessary tool for companies to invest in.
“Diversity is the right thing, you want to be on the right side of angels,” Bucherati said. “But inside the company, you are competing for share of mind and for share of resources.”