Diversity and values In the wake of the protests in summer 2020 ,
many companies promised to strive for racial justice and to implement systemic changes to their hiring and retention practices .
In May ,
HP announced its 2030 goals for creating a more diverse , equitable , and inclusive workforce , based on four key metrics : gender equality in leadership ; staffing more than 30 % of technical and engineering positions with women ; meeting or exceeding the US labor market representation for racial or ethnic minorities ; and reaching one million people through worker empowerment programs . In addition , HP aims to double both the number of Black / African American executives at the VP level or above and in its technical representation in the United States by 2025 . Goals help create accountability and focus ;
this past year , 36 % of HP ’ s new hires were women and 38 % were minorities .
Other major corporations across all industries have made similar commitments . For example ,
Starbucks announced its goal to have people of color comprise at least 30 % of its corporate employees and 40 % of its retail and manufacturing employees in the United States — and that executive compensation will be tied to these goals . Taking these steps would not only be just , but would also benefit profitability and performance .
“ People are attracted to companies that care about the climate , human rights , and digital equity . I personally want to work for a brand that stands for the values that I stand for ,” says Slaton Brown .
“ When you know the community that you ’ re selling to , you can show up in a manner that ’ s reflective of its cultural nuances .”
— LESLEY SLATON BROWN , HP ’ S CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER
Diversity and innovation Companies with above-average total diversity have 19 % higher innovation revenues ( revenue from enhanced or new products in a three-year period ), and 70 % of diverse organizations are more likely to capture new markets , according to
research by BCG ( Boston Consulting Group ) and the Technical University of Munich . Martin Reeves , chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute and coauthor of The Imagination Machine ( Harvard Business Press , 2021 ), argues that teams with varied backgrounds and experience have greater cognitive diversity ( the ability to see the world in a different way ), which enables them to be more imaginative . HP / INNOVATION / FALL 2021 52