With so many groups asking for a bail out, I am frequently being asked whether I think Corporations will bail out on their Diversity Initiatives?
One argument put forward in the conversation is that the economy is so bad that of course companies will be cutting back and diversity training will be the first to go.
The other argument is that with the Inauguration of Barack Obama, our first African American President, that the spotlight will intensify on diversity.
The Inauguration and the state of the economy notwithstanding, Global inclusion and diversity are not going away and in fact, the smart companies know that it will be more imperative than ever for them to manage their diverse workforce to maximize productivity and profits. Multi-cultural marketing is an essential part of business success today and recruiting the right people; appealing to a diverse employee and customer base is the bedrock of any successful business.
It is very tempting when funds are tight to cut the Training & Development budget and to take all of the “softer” management projects off the table, but Diversity & Inclusion should not be on your list of cuts.
Look at the challenges ahead of us – world demographics are shifting, with China and India becoming the growing economies, Europe is shrinking and while the USA demographic will increase in the next 20 years, it will not grow to the same extent as the Asia Pacific region. The fastest growing language in the world today is Mandarin, not Spanish
The need for us to understand the global economy in which we function, to pull together as a diverse nation and to work our way back to being the World economic leader is mission critical. In order to accomplish this we cannot take our eye off the Diversity & Inclusion ball and that is why smart companies will continue to support their diversity initiatives. Are you one of them?