Luke Visconti: How does diversity management help TD Bank reach an increasingly diverse footprint, both in and outside the United States
Bharat Masrani: Within TD, this has been a very strategic initiative that started many, many years ago. Obviously, diversity is the right moral thing to do. But it is the right business thing to do as well. We are in the people business, and in the people business there’s a war for talent. This is a phrase that you’ve probably heard from many executives, from many companies, that what makes the difference is talent in an organization. If that is correct, which I firmly believe it is, then why would you not want to have the best talent that is available out there Therefore, if you have problems with diversity, then you are probably not attracting all the talent pool that is available out there. And generally, if you have a problem with one particular group, chances are pretty high you’re going to have a problem with some other groups as well. And if your tendency is to hire people that look like you, there’s a good chance you’re probably precluding 80 percent, 90 percent of the talent that is available there. That is a very important component from a business perspective.
