It’s not an easy question, as the third year of our intense Global Diversity Research reveals. We surveyed more than 200 corporate officers in 46 countries in eight regions. We found wide discrepancies in attitudes toward inclusion of women; ethnic, racial and religious minorities; people with disabilities; and people from lower-income or -class groups. The greatest differences are in inclusion of LGBT people, which varies from U.S. and European corporate cultures where LGBT resource groups are increasingly common to Asian, Middle Eastern and African countries where being out means being ostracized, imprisoned or even killed.

Our in-depth interviews with more than 20 corporations on their best practices revealed that a few multinationals, all of which have led the way in diversity and inclusion in the United States, have jumped out front in their efforts to create inclusive cultures. IBM is at the forefront of working to change attitudes and laws in countries that discriminate against LGBT people. Other companies, such as Ernst & Young, Sodexo and Deloitte, are determined to create safe spaces within their corporate walls in all locations.

The universal denominator in assessing global-diversity efforts is obviously gender, and the inclusionary efforts are as disparate as the forms of government in each country. We found that in many European countries and in Australia, the issues surround the proverbial “glass ceiling” and efforts to train women (and men) in culturally competent leadership styles. In Asian countries, the biggest concern is in helping women and their families balance traditional domestic responsibilities with the need to work and succeed outside of the home.

Our research increasingly shows that certain D&I initiatives—global and local diversity councils, resource groups, flexible workplaces and talent-development plans aimed at women and underrepresented groups—are having a demonstrable impact on the percentages of women in the workforce, management and senior management. This occurs in every region and in almost every country we studied.

We’re about to embark on our next round of global research in which we’ll expand the database and go even deeper to learn what’s having an impact and what next steps are needed. And our consultants are working with corporations to successfully implement their global-diversity initiatives. For more information, go to “Global Diversity Research Executive Summary: 203 Data Submissions in 46 Countries.”

Engaging workers globally is a distinct challenge, with issues that have similarities to the U.S. but also vary widely on a local basis. What’s universal is that solid best practices yield inclusive cultures—and more involved and effective employees.

–Barbara Frankel, Executive Editor and Senior Vice President, DiversityInc

The post What Does Engagement Mean Globally? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Disparities in Income

I think the trend of competitive people clustering will accelerate as global economics continue to evolve. Despite more than one-third of the world living on less than $2 a day, the average wage for every earner on the planet, according to the BBC article “Where are you on the global pay scale?,” is $18,000 per year in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars, which expresses what it would cost in the U.S. to get equivalent goods and services in your own country. The growth of the global middle class is accelerating for the same reason that the sorting inside our country is accelerating: technological advances in communication and transfer of money.

What’s the problem? The average wage in the United States is $42,980 (compared to $18,000 for the global average, which includes the United States). As economies grow, more people will be able to find work globally and there will be wealth generated, but not enough in the United States to keep up with the global growth rate. That means our average wage will likely continue to shrink as the developing world rises.

Why Top Performers Seek Diverse & Inclusive Workplaces

This tells me that the sorting trend is going to accelerate. The most talented people from around the world will sort themselves out. Many will come to the United States (if our government can get out of their way), since our economy is the largest on the planet. And the folks already here, your potential human capital, will aggressively sort themselves out, with the best and brightest proactively seeking “positive ecologies.”

Which folks are going to be attracted to YOUR company? Which business partners?

If you are a diversity practitioner and are concerned about “diversity fatigue,” here’s what I suggest you do: Connect the dots between reputation and talent development, philanthropy and supplier diversity. Reach out to your government-relations and marketing people, so they have a coherent understanding of your diversity reputation and how it applies to their roles. I still see many corporate diversity efforts (most not-for-profit and ALL federal-sector efforts) relegated to window dressing. Seen your budget shrink? That’s evidence of a sorting process, and you need to focus on getting that reversed. It starts with connecting the dots between your efforts and strategic trends.

Luke Visconti’s Ask the White Guy column is a top draw on DiversityInc.com. Visconti, the founder and CEO of DiversityInc, is a nationally recognized leader in diversity management. In his popular column, readers who ask Visconti tough questions about race/culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age can expect smart, direct and disarmingly frank answers.

The post Ask the White Guy: Why Do People Get Tired of Diversity? appeared first on DiversityInc.

To evaluate the impact of global diversity efforts, we have investigated best practices that correlate to results, measured in increased human-capital diversity and business opportunity. Through 203 data submissions and extensive interviews with 25 companies, we have learned that diversity-and-inclusion initiatives have been mostly focused around gender, while efforts to include ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities and LGBT people are just beginning to surface.

We studied all global regions and found the most successful diversity-and-inclusion efforts in Europe, Asia and Central/South America. Virtually all start with initiatives aimed at women that emphasize local cultural values. We found direct correlations between companies that have initiatives for recruitment and talent-development programs for women and increased representation of women in the workplace, management and the senior-executive ranks. We also note correlations between D&I initiatives such as resource groups and mentoring, and increased female representation in management ranks.

Support from corporate and local leadership is especially critical when addressing other dimensions of diversity. Companies in every region with global diversity councils have made far more significant inroads in LGBT inclusion. And companies with regional diversity councils led by local business leaders are far more likely to implement supplier-diversity initiatives.

In this report, we will document which best practices are working through analytical data and case studies demonstrating results. All of the companies we have analyzed tell us these efforts are just beginning and they expect to see rapid advancement in their global diversity efforts and enhanced competition for talent.

I. Methodology: DiversityInc’s Global Diversity Research

This report relies on two years’ worth of data submissions, totaling 203 entries from 46 countries. The submissions represent nine industries—professional services, technology, consumer-packaged goods, pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing, auto, hospitality and medical devices. The questionnaire was designed to be culturally competent, capturing and codifying demographics (gender, age and locally underrepresented groups where reportable) as well as best practices (talent and leadership development, resource groups, diversity councils, supplier diversity).

Our thirteen 2012 sponsors helped us determine what best practices to examine locally and globally to implement initiatives with sustainable results. Our interviews, with an emphasis on talent development, leadership pipeline and resource groups for underrepresented groups, gave us perspective on what has worked for different companies in different countries/regions, and how they overcame challenges. The sponsors are: Accenture, BASF, Cigna, Dell, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Ernst & Young, General Motors, Merck & Co., Medtronic, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sodexo and Wells Fargo.

Companies filled out the survey for each country they chose; most also provided information for headquarters. The survey continues to stay open. We add companies, countries and regions to our database with each new submission. The survey has approximately 100 questions and is divided into the following seven sections:

• General Information: Ascertains how long the diversity-and-inclusion initiative has existed, and how it is organized and staffed (full-time, part-time and volunteer).
• Headquarters: Assesses global diversity councils and global support and control of local diversity-and-inclusion initiatives.
  
• Leadership and Values: Examines what diversity and/or inclusion means locally, what the three biggest challenges/barriers facing successful D&I efforts in each country are, what type of internal diversity council has been established, the support of local business leaders, how D&I is integrated into the local business goals, what metrics are used to assess D&I success locally (i.e., what is the business case?), and how employee engagement is measured.
  
• Human Capital: Measures workforce, management and senior-management representation by gender, looks at the age of the workforce in each country, and probes whether the local organization has specific recruitment and leadership-development efforts for women and other underrepresented groups.
  
• Best Practices for Global Diversity: Looks at local efforts to implement global diversity strategies and initiatives that include resource groups, mentoring, training, outreach to LGBT people (where legally permissible), outreach to people with disabilities, work/life benefits (especially flexible workplaces), and website communications about D&I.
  
• Supplier Diversity: Studies whether local supplier diversity exists and, if so, what groups are targeted and what best practices are in place to support growth and impact.

 II.  Major Global Diversity Findings 

Our findings show significant correlations between established best practices and human-capital results, primarily measured in recruitment and promotions of women. The data and interviews support specific and proven approaches to recruitment, leadership development, flexible workplaces, formal mentoring, resource groups, generational issues and global executive diversity councils. Full findings are available to global sponsors and global consulting clients. (See more information on DiversityInc Global Consulting.)

Examples:

• Companies with formal recruitment policies aimed at women reported dramatic increases in female representation in the workforce. For example, in India, companies with formal recruitment policies had one-third more women in the workforce.

• We note a significant increase in management opportunities and promotions for women in companies that have locally based leadership-development programs aimed specifically at women. In contrast, leadership programs targeted at underrepresented groups are scarce globally. For example, in Brazil, companies with leadership programs for women had almost four times as many women in management as companies without these programs; in Japan, the difference was sixfold.

• Almost all companies surveyed felt that flexibility in terms of hours and location is key to increasing retention, engagement and promotions of women and younger people in general. The degree of flexibility often depends on the local cultural role of women and how strong their home/family duties are. For example, in France, companies with flexible workplaces have almost double the percentage of women senior executives and a third more women in management. They also have double the amount of women in the workforce.

• While formal mentoring and sponsorship programs are just beginning to catch on in most of the world, their impact in areas where they have been in place is dramatic. For example, companies in Australia with formal mentoring had one-third more women executives than companies without.

• Global resource groups traditionally are aimed at women and focus almost exclusively on talent development, but we are beginning to see groups based on age, sexual orientation and, in a few cases, race/ethnicity. There are definite correlations between having groups and increased diversity in the workplace. For example, in the United Kingdom, companies with resource groups had 10 percent more women in management.

• Our research shows a vast difference in the age of workers in various countries, with many Asian countries having very young workforces and some European countries having older workforces. The issues facing them are very different and, therefore, require a variety of solutions. For example, more than half of the workforce of the countries in Asia are younger than 34.

• Global executive diversity councils are increasingly used to set D&I strategies for the organization, which then are filtered to local diversity councils for implementation. They show organizational consistency in values and subsequent messaging, which produces results in the global workplace. For example, in Europe, companies with global executive diversity councils are twice as likely to offer domestic-partner benefits in countries where they are legal and three times more likely to include sexual orientation in training. And companies with global executive diversity councils are also three times more likely to have regional councils to implement strategies. Supplier diversity is a good example of that: Companies with regional councils in Europe are twice as likely to have formal supplier-diversity outreach. (There is virtually no supplier diversity in Asia yet.)

Case Studies:

Global Diversity Best Practice: Developing Female Talent in Australia: Can flexible workplace models and leadership programs provide measurable improvements in gender diversity? Read these case studies from Deloitte and Ernst & Young.

Global Diversity Best Practice: Flexible Workplaces in India: Global companies must combat a “leaky pipeline” of women talent, but these best practices from Sodexo, Merck, Dell and Deloitte can improve retention.

2 European Case Studies: People With Disabilities & Ethnic Minorities: How are Sodexo and Merck recruiting people from underrepresented groups in Europe?

Best Practice: IBM’s Global LGBT Support: How is IBM’s global commitment to the LGBT market reshaping its business advantage? It builds credibility and trust with clients—and increases revenue prospects.

III. Conclusions About Global Diversity

The direct link between diversity-management best practices and sustainable human-capital results is clear from this research as well as from the interviews with executives around the globe.

To highlight the key correlations:

• Companies with recruitment programs for women recruited 20 percent more women in Europe and Central/South America.
• Companies with leadership programs for women had 44 percent more women executives in Asia.
• Companies with flexible work arrangements had 34 percent more women executives in all areas studied.
• Companies with formal mentoring programs had 12 percent more women in Central/South America.
• Companies with global diversity councils were twice as likely to have global LGBT efforts in all regions.
• Companies with regional diversity councils led by local country executives were four times more likely to have supplier-diversity programs in Europe and Asia.

The best practices the companies have detailed for us, and which still are evolving, increase representation, engagement, productivity and marketplace connections. However, the research shows they work most effectively when specifically tailored to local cultural norms and when there is support from both global headquarters and local leadership.

There are demographic differences between regions, which we note in this research, such as the much younger workforce in Asia and older workforce in Europe. There are also varying standards on women’s roles in and out of the home, inclusion of LGBT people, the need for proactive efforts to include people with disabilities, and the importance of supplier diversity.

Global diversity is evolving at different paces in various regions and countries, but all participating companies agree to its increasing importance in having an engaged workforce that relates to the local population.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Our consulting practice can help build your global diversity initiative and successfully implement it on a local level. This service includes: Making the business case to local leadership; in-depth assessment of organization/current initiatives; roadmaps and specific plans of action; situational analysis; written and verbal debriefs.

Our next round of global research will start in the spring of 2013, and will focus on increasing our knowledge database, especially in emerging-market countries where there is significant business-growth potential. Sponsors will be able to shape the best practices we study and will receive data analysis of their submissions compared to the competitive set.

For more information on consulting and research sponsorship, visit DiversityInc Global Consulting or contact consulting@diversityinc.com.

The post Global Diversity Research Executive Summary: 203 Data Submissions in 46 Countries appeared first on DiversityInc.

Daniel Ayala, head of Wells Fargo’s Global Remittance Services, spoke to DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti about how cultural competence allows his company to better serve underrepresented groups. Wells Fargo is No. 33 in the DiversityInc Top 50.

Luke Visconti: How has cultural competence enabled Wells Fargo to help its customers succeed financially? 

Daniel Ayala: Cultural competence is a key element of being able to effectively execute a business strategy in today’s corporate world. Eighty percent of the consumer market growth in the last two or three years has been driven by diverse segments. When you look at the long-term implications that number is amplified because minorities are going to be the majority, so having cultural context and understanding the segment well allow us not only to perform the way we perform historically but really project ourselves into the future.

Visconti: What are the greatest differences among the financial habits of Latinos, Asians and whites, especially in the area of consumer remittances? 

Ayala: At the end of the day, consumer remittances is really people taking care of other people, so it’s as simple as a father sending money to his siblings and/or potentially to his kids and providing that day-to-day support. So it’s really not different from one segment to the other. One key thing about remittances on the international side is it goes beyond educational support. In some cases, people in the U.S. that come from Latin America and Asia are supporting families, extended families for their lifetime, so in those cases sending money to those families overseas is a key financial activity that they perform month after month.

Visconti: Can you talk about any specific cultural differences that you weren’t aware of but found out through your good work and were able to put to good use for serving your customers? 

Ayala: When you look at different ethnic groups you always look for the differences. But what I found is the immigrant experience has a lot of commonalities: First you need to establish yourself, then you need to make ends meet for yourself, and then your primary focus is to take care of your family back home.

There is one key theme that cuts across all immigrant segments no matter where they come from, and it’s the principle that hard work pays. And when it pays, they take care of their own. That’s a very unique thing about the immigrant segment. When you hear the stories about people leaving everything behind and in some cases not even speaking the language and surviving through all those challenges, it’s a great story of success, and you still hear about people being able to live the American dream through that.

Visconti: I can’t imagine what could be more relieving to somebody who is struggling to establish themselves than to know they have security, that the money that they are sending home, which in lot of cases is keeping people alive, is getting there safely and at a reasonable cost. 

Ayala: Absolutely. When you humanize that and you understand that the $300 transaction going from Oxnard, California, let’s say, to San Salvador, El Salvador, is going from a grandparent for his grandson’s birthday, and that money is going to be used to buy the bicycle and to pay for the birthday party, you understand how important that transaction is to that individual in Oxnard and how important it is to the family receiving that money. You can’t be late, it needs to be delivered on time and needs to be a positive experience for both sides. That’s the business we are in, and that’s why it’s important to understand who it is that you are really serving and for what purpose.

The post Wells Fargo: Cultural Competence Builds Global Remittance Business appeared first on DiversityInc.

Egea explained during a DiversityInc event how Prudential’s 2011 acquisitions of AIG Star and AIG Edison insurance companies forced Prudential to adopt a global-diversity mindset as “more than 50 percent of employees now speak Japanese.”

He credited the company’s emphasis on cultural competence with its success in forming common goals/connections with its new Japanese businesses and developing internal messaging that stays true to the core corporate culture and company values on an international scale. (Prudential Financial is No. 9 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50.)

The audience of corporate diversity leaders and executives was able to ask Egea questions on global diversity, contribute their best practices for cultural competence and diversity-awareness training and share their real-life success stories.

Executives from Deloitte, Monsanto, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, WellPoint and Kaiser Permanente discussed how a culturally competent workplace can help talent development—and productivity—flourish.

Global Diversity: Best Practices for Cultural Competence

• Build understanding and respect for cultural competence
• Ensure senior leaders are culturally competent
• Leverage resource groups to on-board international hires
• Have a consistent way to assess talent development
• Identify implicit biases, both internally and externally
• Use training and education to increase diversity awareness/sensitivity

Click to read the full Are You Culturally Savvy Enough to Profit in a Global Market? article, available to subscribers at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

Not a subscriber? Request subscriber information and pricing for DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

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Synopsis:

At our spring event, DiversityInc convened a panel of executives from global companies who grapple with these issues and have devised successful business solutions for global talent development.

Participants:

Nancy Calderon, Americas Region Chief Administrative Officer and U.S. National Partner in Charge of Operations, KPMG, No. 22 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity

Linda Clement-Holmes, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Business Services, Procter & Gamble, No. 5 in the DiversityInc Top 50

Pat Rossman, Chief Diversity Officer, BASF, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies

Sarah King, Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham Worldwide is one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies)

Here are their best practices for global talent development:

1. Align global talent development with corporate business goals: Senior management should regularly review top talent globally as well as the diversity of slates for openings.
2. Stay true to global values, especially on human rights, while respecting local cultures: Offering a wide range of diversity-training programs that address global cultural competence at a local level is important, especially regarding LGBT and women’s issues.
3. Convince talented managers about the benefits of global assignments: Companies need to identify employees during the “sweet spot” of their career: early enough that life circumstances (i.e., family, homeownership, etc.) more easily allow for travel, yet late enough that the role is meaningful. 

Other best practices revealed in this article include providing global cultural-competence training and education for employees and their families before doling out assignments; helping ex-pats re-adjust at home; and leveraging multicultural and multinational resource groups. 

Click here to read this 1,396-word report, featuring case-study examples from these four global companies and additional video clips.

The full article is available to DiversityIncBestPractices.com subscribers. Not a subscriber? Click here to request subscriber information and pricing.

For more on global diversity, read Ask DiversityInc: Who Has Global LGBT Groups?

The post 6 Best Practices on Global Talent Development appeared first on DiversityInc.

The key, said Jim Turley, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, at a DiversityInc event, is to have multiple approaches. (Ernst & Young is No. 6 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity.) He said it’s best to tailor your company’s initiatives by geography so diversity strategies remain central to local customs and beliefs. Once established, diversity leaders can then look to incrementally push the boundaries.

“The mental picture I have is of somebody pushing a round, heavy stone up a hill, and you have to lean into it and put your shoulder into it, and the real art is—and we all can picture this—if you lean too far, you will fall flat on your face and the stone rolls over you and you’re back at the bottom,” said Turley.

During his presentation, “The Growing Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility,” Turley spoke with DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti. He recounted the story of a recent trip he took to Saudi Arabia, where contact between men and women is rigidly controlled.

“We have a number of women in our professional staff,” he said. “They have to be in a separate office, separate everything. But they were sitting in the same town-hall meeting, which, technically, was probably a violation of the law in Saudi, but again, you push.”

In this 33-minute video, Turley discusses more about Ernst & Young’s global diversity strategies and shares best practices that can help companies achieve a more equitable workforce despite cultural barriers. Click here to watch.

For more on global diversity, read DiversityInc’s exclusive Global Research report with comprehensive data, demographics and best practices from 17 countries.

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Brown will speak about human rights, values and the implication on global business at DiversityInc’s April 24–25 event. His values and priorities were set early on by his father, Raymond A. Brown, a noted criminal attorney and civil-rights activist who defended Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and Joanne Chesimard.

“My dad was easily the greatest human being I’ve ever known because of his tremendous compassion for people, especially the underdogs. This influenced every aspect of my life,” says Brown, who is a partner in Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis’ legal department and chair of the White Collar Defense & Corporate and International Human Rights Compliance Group. Read more about Brown’s viewpoint on human rights and his father’s influence in Taking Risks for Your Brothers: The Power of Dr. King’s Words.

Brown was raised in what he calls a “Jim Crow housing project,” the Booker T. Washington complex. After a childhood watching his father organize protest marches and fight David vs. Goliath legal battles, he wanted to be anything but a lawyer.

He attended Columbia University, where the late 1960s student protests were getting under way, and he became an activist in the Black student movement. As a result of charges stemming from a confrontation between police officers and protesters, Brown “became the football in an important legal battle.” He wasn’t convicted and was never indicted, and the legal experience made him decide to become an attorney. “I realized that lawyers are the core who can challenge the legal system,” he says.

Working Within the Law for Change

He went to law school at the University of California, Berkeley, where activism and the legal knowledge went hand in hand. As he launched his legal career, the people he’d met through his father globally made him want to explore human-rights ramifications in and outside of the United States.

“It’s hard to be around a person like my father and not realize how important this is,” he says. “I grew up in the movement. I met my first aboriginal people who came to the U.S. in 1956 … I saw the Ghandists around Dr. King and the strategic value of non-violence. There’s always been an aspect of the civil-rights movement that had an eye toward all people who were oppressed.”

This “natural progression, intellectually and personally,” led him to an astounding career, domestically and globally. In the United States, where he’s specialized in white-collar crimes and corporate compliance, he’s appeared in high-profile trials, including the trial of former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan and the successful eight-year defense of senior executives of a large corporation charged with environmental violations. Globally, he’s conducted investigations in Kenya, East Africa, El Salvador, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Colombia and Sierra Leone.

What jump-started his work for human rights was being asked to be an anchor on Court TV, reporting on war-crime violations. He’s continued his legal/journalism career, hosting the Emmy Award–winning New Jersey Network Program “Due Process” and often serving as a legal analyst for broadcast programs. He has also taught international criminal law at Seton Hall University, has been a prolific public speaker and has received numerous awards, including the Award of Excellence from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Distinguished International Award from the National Council of Women in the USA and the Van Y. Clinton Award for “excellence as a tireless advocate for just causes” from the Garden State Bar Association.

His trial experience has included criminal cases, serious violations of international humanitarian law, RICO violations, environmental pollution and internal investigations for public and corporate clients.

Crimes Against Women 

Brown and his wife, Wanda, who is also an attorney, operate the International Justice Project, which fights human-rights abuses. “We focus on crimes against women. If you sexually assault women, you demoralize them and destroy the family union,” he says. “Women are the key to economic life. The deliberate attempt to destroy women is a big part of how the law looks in many countries.”

As a result of these experiences, Brown has pioneered the development of a new practice area working with corporations to make them aware of the risk-assessment and business benefits of their involvement with human-rights causes.

“A C-level person says, ‘Wait a minute. Think of the short-, mid- and long-term requirements of regulations and how we’re perceived at a time when businesses are required to act as sovereign entities.’ There is a profound transformation now culminating in a way that affects businesses,” he says.

For best practices on global diversity, read Best Practices to Overcome Global Diversity Challenges.

The post From Civil Rights to Global Human Rights appeared first on DiversityInc.

DiversityInc examined global diversity trends in depth in our exclusive global research. We analyzed data and demographics with more than 100 responses from 17 countries across Europe, Asia and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. The result was a wealth of information and best practices on cultural concerns and how they are being addressed. For more information on the global-diversity research, visit www.DiversityInc.com/globaldiversity.

This 1,835-word excerpt from the full “2011 Global Research Report” illustrates the complexity of this subject and the different views on what constitutes inclusion in varying regions and countries. Four detailed charts are included. 

Readers will take away:

• Which European countries dissuade valuing differences because of a cultural emphasis on assimilation
• How norms around advancing women vary between European and Asian nations, and what companies are doing to address issues of gender equity
• What two dominant challenges face companies in Asia
• The average tenure of diversity/inclusion programs in the BRIC countries and their projected progress toward inclusion
• There is a groundswell in several countries to hire one particular demographic group—see which is it and why

Go to DiversityIncBestPractices.com to read the “Why Is Global Diversity So Difficult” global report.

For more on global-diversity best practices, read “Best Practices to Overcome Global Diversity Challenges” and read ”The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Global Diversity” for a list of companies that excel in this area of diversity management. 

The post Why Is Global Diversity So Difficult? appeared first on DiversityInc.

The Obama administration’s shift in policy to support LGBT rights globally is a significant human-rights victory that will have long-term repercussions for companies doing business abroad. It is particularly relevant in countries where LGBT people must remain closeted for fear of ostracism, prison or even death.

The announcement, which came yesterday in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Human Rights Day and a memorandum from President Barack Obama, sets the stage for a more specific series of U.S. actions for countries that do not move to create equality for LGBT people. Although her speech was short on details, she did say that the administration would use the “tools of American diplomacy,” including the promise of foreign aid, to encourage countries to be inclusive. She mentioned reporting LGBT abuses in the State Department report and a $3-million fund to work with LGBT organizations globally.

These may seem like small steps initially but they are the harbinger of a changing governmental attitude about LGBT rights that mirrors the inclusivity of several leading corporations. In the United States, several corporations on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list have led the way in establishing domestic-partner benefits and advocating for same-sex marriage and the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. For more, read How Can Corporations Support Same-Sex Marriage?

Globally, a handful of companies, led by IBM, have been working to create a more inclusive workplace, especially in some Asian countries where being openly LGBT destroys not only careers but lives as well. The companies have done this by including orientation in mission statements and cultural-competence training, publicly stating their support for LGBT rights, and creating LGBT employee-resource groups wherever possible. IBM received DiversityInc’s award last month as the Top Company for Global Cultural Competence.

DiversityInc recently completed its 2011 Global Diversity survey of 17 countries in Europe, Asia and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The survey found that, overall, European countries were more inclusive for LGBT rights, and several have legalized same-sex marriage. Asian countries gener­ally ignore LGBT issues culturally. The most egregious is Malaysia, in which “homosexuality” is against the law and cannot be mentioned.

This has presented significant challenges for companies doing business in Malaysia and other countries that do not recognize LGBT rights. As one of our survey respondents noted about Malaysia: “Malaysia still retains its colonial-era penal code criminalizing sodomy, and fundamentalist Islamic nations have a heavy influence on the nation’s laws, politics, cultural norms and societal attitudes, especially LGBT.” And another bluntly stated:  “Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia. We cannot work on this topic.”

The companies we surveyed, most of which have their corporate headquarters in the United States, take more proactive approaches to LGBT inclusiveness in the European countries. For example, sexual orientation is mentioned in the local country’s diversity and inclusion strategy in 31 percent of the European countries, compared with 17 percent of the Asian countries and 22 percent of the BRIC countries. By contrast, it is included in 100 percent of the diversity policies of U.S. companies on The 2011 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. And while 17 percent of the companies in the European countries have public relationships with LGBT organizations there, only 2 percent of the Asian and 10 percent of the BRIC countries do. Again, 100 percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies in the United States have public relations with LGBT organizations, such as GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), PFLAG and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

The key here is that progressive corporations usually lead the way in changing both governmental and societal perceptions of inequities. As the U.S. government shifts to a more activist position on LGBT rights, the timing is perfect for companies with global presences to be outspoken and directed in their efforts.

For more information on our global survey and our upcoming 2012 global survey, click here.

Here is media coverage of Clinton’s speech and responses from LGBT organizations:

U.S. to Aid Gay Rights Abroad, Obama and Clinton Say
The New York Times reporters in Geneva and Washington, D.C., provide firsthand reporting of the pro-LGBT-rights initiative announced yesterday by the Obama administration and the potential backlash.

Hillary Clinton calls on world not to discriminate against gays
In this Los Angeles Times article, Clinton is cited as linking gay rights to other social-equality issues, such as women’s rights, racial equality and religious freedom.

Hillary Clinton On Gay Rights Abroad: Secretary Of State Delivers Historic LGBT Speech In Geneva
The Huffington Post provides a full-length transcript and video of Clinton’s address in Geneva. 

Sec. Clinton: LGBT Rights Are Human Rights
HRC President Joe Solmonese met with Clinton in Geneva prior to her speech. He shares his thoughts on the initiative.

NGLCC Co-Founders Attend Historic United Nations Speech by Secretary of State Clinton
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce leaders provide their reactions to Clinton’s speech and global LGBT equality.

Hillary Clinton Attacks Anti-Gay Hate Crimes
The New Civil Rights Movement provides Clinton’s prepared remarks on LGBT rights from the conference in Geneva that celebrated International Human Rights Day.

The Arcus Foundation Announces Support of Global LGBT Initiatives Announced by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
The global foundation, which is aimed at advancing social justice, announces its support of global LGBT equality.

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